Refreshingly Unorthodox

The first review of my new novel, Then We'd Be Happy, is outstanding:

“A refreshingly unorthodox tale of the challenges facing modern, lower-middle-class 20-somethings.” 
— Kirkus Reviews

Preorder now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound.

A Voice We Won't Hear Again

Dan, Sandra, Me, and Joanne

Sandra touched people.

If you were talking to her, she might reach over and touch your arm to let you know she got your joke or felt your pain.

You could open up to her.

She was warm and tenderhearted.

Also stubborn and fiery.

She cared about fairness. She cared about people who needed a second chance. Like she did. Like we all do.

She made mistakes but learned from them and did her best not to repeat them. She learned to stand up for herself, though sometimes her courage failed her.

She hated being taken advantage of or stolen from. There was no need for that. All you had to do was ask.

She let you know she loved you in spite of your faults. Maybe even because of them.

She liked to drink and gamble, dance and sing.

I loved her voice. Not just the singing. The way she talked. It was a sweet voice that suited her perfectly.

I won’t hear that voice again.

But I will hold Sandra in my heart forever.

Fasten Your Seatbelt

Greg Bardsley's new novel is a madcap race against time and conflicting priorities in California's go-go Silicon Valley—a raucous parody of the valley's twisted family and corporate values.

I'm telling you, this guy has style. And a wicked imagination. And nobody has more fun with a story than Greg does.

Blog Tour: The Possibility of Snow

The Possibility of Snow has been making the rounds. Here's what book bloggers are saying:

“In the end, you may feel both a sense of loss and peace, but also anger. Whatever your reaction to this work, it will be visceral.” 

— Naomi Leadbeater, Naimeless

“I loved the story and the way it was handled ... this was an honest, real, emotional and very well written book.” 

— Bri Wignall, NaturalBri

“The Possibility of Snow reminds us what it is like to develop a new relationship and all of the emotions involved. [It] keeps you turning the pages as Al Riske pushes the limits with the friendship of these two characters.” 

— Rachel Rennie, Rachel's Blog

“The author does a great job of showing the boundaries of new friendships and what happens when those boundaries are crossed.” 

— K.M. Hodge, In Review

“The ending blew me away! This book will challenge the way you think.”

— Avid book reader, Granny Loves to Read

The Limits of Belief and Forgiveness

As I look back, I see that I've often written about missteps and misunderstands, crossed signals and bad timing, usually between men and women. In The Possibility of Snow, it's two guys. 

They become friends and then, well, not.

Big deal, right? Guys tend to become friends almost by accident—some combination of shared circumstances and sensibilities—and drift apart as easily as they came together.

The central characters in The Possibility of Snow, Steve and Neil, meet in college, where, away from home for the first time, guys find themselves in need of new friends as never before (and perhaps never again, not with the same urgency).

It's also the place and time in which we are all looking to define ourselves, to decide what and who we want to be.

The combination of similarities and differences that bring Steve and Neil together makes it hard for them to either stay friends or simply go their separate ways. Each is unlike anyone the other has ever known. 

To me, that dynamic proved fascinating, mystifying, and ultimately unsettling.

Through their story, I found myself exploring the limits of loyalty, compassion, belief, and forgiveness. 

See what you think.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

Dust-jacket Preview

Totally thrilled with the design of the dust jacket to my first hardcover novel, coming May 1 from Luminis Books. Click to enlarge.

A Moveable Feast

I've been reading the Additional Paris Sketches in the restored edition and the Forward and the Introduction by Hemingway's son and grandson, Patrick and Sean, respectively.

It's easy to see why the additional sketches were not included before. They're not very good. It's also easy to see why they are included now. They're still pretty interesting even if they're not very good. The really interesting part, though, is comparing edited stories with restored versions: what was gained or lost or regained.

Usually both versions are good in different ways and it's hard to say which is better.

The Fragments included at the end are quite sad, showing Hemingway's repeated attempts to write an introduction to the book. (The previously published introduction was apparently fabricated by Mary Hemingway, his wife at the time.) Though each attempt contains some spark, all in the end fail miserably.

Though people persist in referring to A Moveable Feast as a memoir, Hemingway clearly considered it a work of fiction, saying: "All remembrance of things past is fiction."

Perhaps it should go without saying that memoir is simply a genre of fiction.