Silk for the Feed Dogs is currently on promotion in Australia. "I got into my dress and new Prada shoes, smeared Ravish-Me-Red on my lips, and arranged the netting of my hat over one eye. I grabbed my coat and couldn’t get out of that draughty warehouse fast enough. Instead of traffic, the streets were now … Continue reading Love fashion? Read from SILK FOR THE FEED DOGS by Jackie Mallon
Colin O’Sullivan’s review of THE NIHILESTHETE by Richard Kalich
Helmut Lang Exhibition by Jackie Mallon
Kirsten for Lang back in the day
As a devotee of his runways in the late 90s and early aughts, I was mighty curious to see this exhibition. The press release describes his use of materials “with a certain history, elements with irreplaceable presence and with scars and memories of a former purpose.” Right then. I was all ready for a nostalgia trip, a slideshow of campaigns featuring his favorite model, Kirsten Owen, captured by his favorite photographer Jurgen Teller, washing softly over my eyeballs as I walked to the Bowery.
Inside I was rewarded with an opportunity for contemplation that would last longer than the time I spent in the gallery and it looks like I won’t arrive at any conclusions during this post either: there’s always time for ruminating on the longevity of fashion; the recycling of clothing; the myth of a fashion icon and the destruction of…
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Colin O’Sullivan on Random pointless questions from rock music obsessives
Like the character of Bernard in my debut novel, Killarney Blues, many of my friends are music obsessives, the kind of people who wouldn’t be out of place in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity.
These cardigan-wearers (to which I am a fully fledged and flouting member) often fire out pointless emails asking all kinds of random music questions. These have been happening for years, and the sad fact is that I have begun to cherish the arrival of these useless inquisitions.
Below are an example of some of the kinds of questions my muso buddies like to ask, and my deeply considered answers (we’re talking hours people, days). Please note also that these answers are liable to change. For example, when recently asked about my favourite Bowie album I instinctively answered Low, but on the following day could just have easily said Station to Station or Hunky Dory. Such is the kind…
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Today: Sam Hawken’s choice
The book I read the most often might not necessarily be my favorite book, but it is the book which speaks to me the most: No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy. When I first read the book in 2005, I knew I’d found the key to unlocking my own voice in writing. Up … Continue reading Today: Sam Hawken’s choice
“CENTRAL PARK WEST TRILOGY is not your average novel.”
"...wrought with dark humour and a multitude of literary, philosophical and psychological references. The trilogy is an essential read for anyone who enjoys a challenge: predictable neither in content nor in form, CENTRAL PARK WEST TRILOGY is not your average novel." Full review here: http://www.palatinate.org.uk/?p=52129 Richard Kalich's book is on promotion in the UK and … Continue reading “CENTRAL PARK WEST TRILOGY is not your average novel.”
Happy New Year! “The Party” by Richard Kalich
Tired of being a stay-at-home and a couch potato, Charlie P gives a gala New Year’s Eve party which not only he but nobody else attends. Even Charlie P was surprised at the turnout. To be sure, this is the best party he’s never been to. The one he would least have wanted to miss. … Continue reading Happy New Year! “The Party” by Richard Kalich
Today: Donald F. Mayo’s choice
Anyone doubting the enduring power of the social realist novel need look no further than Tom Wolfe's 1987 masterpiece, still as relevant today as it was almost 30 years ago. Set on Wall Street in the midst of the 1980s boom, it charts the downfall of Sherman McCoy, star bond salesman who struggled to make … Continue reading Today: Donald F. Mayo’s choice
Today: Colin O’Sullivan’s choice
“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?” Franz Kafka In an alternative translation of the above Kafka quote, “wound” and “stab” are written as “bite” and … Continue reading Today: Colin O’Sullivan’s choice
Today: Richard Kalich’s choice
Reading The Fall was a life-changing experience. But let the novel speak for itself: “Don't lies eventually lead to the truth? And don't all my stories, true or false, tend toward the same conclusion? Don't they all have the same meaning? So what does it matter whether they are true or false if, in both … Continue reading Today: Richard Kalich’s choice
Richard Kalich: “I see the world metaphorically.”
Richard Kalich in conversation with Lucy Sweeney Byrne It is clear, when talking to Richard Kalich today, that he is a novelist whom, once you hear of him, you wonder to yourself how you haven’t heard his name before. He is not a writer one would describe as prolific. He has endured writer’s block and the terror … Continue reading Richard Kalich: “I see the world metaphorically.”
Kindle edition of GIFTS free this week!
Christmas is not always magic but good books always are. Whether you love or hate Christmas, you might enjoy a good story. Our collection GIFTS: NINE BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS STORIES is free on Amazon this week: getBook.at/FREE_GIFTS
KILLARNEY BLUES #1 in Australia
Congratulations to Colin O'Sullivan whose novel KILLARNEY BLUES is performing extremely well on Amazon Australia: Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary … Continue reading KILLARNEY BLUES #1 in Australia
Promotion in Australia on Dec. 15: KILLARNEY BLUES (read excerpt)
Excerpt from KILLARNEY BLUES by Colin O'Sullivan "Cathy is ignoring Janet’s requests to open the door. She stays in the same position. On the floor. On that nice soft carpet. Her legs are stretched out in front of her. Her head hangs low. She is a collapsed marionette. But who will pick up the strings … Continue reading Promotion in Australia on Dec. 15: KILLARNEY BLUES (read excerpt)
GIFTS on www.BookDepository.com
A limited print edition of GIFTS is now also available here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Gifts-Betimes-Books/9780992967444 Free delivery worldwide!
Kat, Edward, Gatsby, Capote…and Kevin
The Plaza Hotel in NYC by Jackie Mallon
The Plaza Hotel is legendary.
It opened in 1907 when rooms cost $2 50 per night. Now they cost around $800. At the time it placed the largest ever single order for gold-encrusted china and boasted 1,650 crystal chandeliers.
In today’s New York it looks discretely down its nose at all these precious little lifestyle and boutique hotels, hipster upstarts serving their Stumptown coffee as if that can begin to compete with the ceiling of the Palm Court.
As a Manhattan landmark it represents the regal opulence of The Great Gatsby and not the Trumped up hubris of The Donald. It continues to be a goddess of the silver screen from its first starring role in Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller North By Northwest to parts in The Way We Were, The Great Gatsby, Almost Famous, Sex & The City, and American Hustle.
Scene from 2013’s The Great Gatsby set…
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Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Kevin Stevens
From “The Return of Eddie Sloan” by Kevin Stevens: “She checked on Wardell. He was fast asleep, dreaming of sugar plums. All the doors were locked. The backyard was deserted and the thin cover of fresh snow showed no footprints. In the parlor, the Christmas tree stood lightless and lonely, the angel on top askew. … Continue reading Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Kevin Stevens
Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Colin O’Sullivan
From “Be Good for Goodness Sake” by Colin O’Sullivan: “It is Christmas Day and they are having Christmas dinner, and Anita is trying her best to enjoy herself, trying to acclimatise. But the dreams keep coming back to her, the nightmares, the flashbacks, she doesn’t even have to be asleep, all she needs to do … Continue reading Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Colin O’Sullivan
Donald Finnaeus Mayo on our Christmas Collection: “The perfect Gift for anyone who loves writing!”
Take the pain out of giving this Christmas – look no further than Betimes Books’ Gifts
In many ways, it was born out of frustration. Frustration with editors who want the same formulaic junk that sold by the bucketload last year, frustration with editorial decisions being made by accountants, frustration with marketing departments who reserve their entire budget for the same half dozen or so big names, frustration with being constantly depressed by the gloomy state of the publishing industry.
People still like to read good books, don’t they? I know I do. They can’t all want the latest ghosted biography from some C-list celebrity or yet another Andy McNab knock-off.
So I was delighted to join the list of Betimes Books, a new imprint designed to retain the best elements of publishing (good taste, rigorous editing, high production values) whilst taking advantage of the digital revolution that, frankly, caught…
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Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by David Hogan
From “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by David Hogan: “It’s because of this spark that Mary called her brother, Brendan, back to Boston just before Christmas when he’d have preferred to be with his own family. It’s because of this spark that Brendan is now gathering leaves on this grey and bitter December morning. … Continue reading Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by David Hogan
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