writers

Hey Critics: In the Future, Book Judges YOU!

A Dutch artist comes up with an idea that just might help the world: A book that won’t open unless you appear to be in the right frame of mind to read it.

You won't be able to read the unemployment report today, Mr. President.

You won’t be able to read the unemployment report today, Mr. President.

“To open the book you must align your face within the cover’s robot visage. A camera at the top of the cover captures your facial position, and Nxt software processes the abstracted data to determine your emotional state. If you’re overly expressive (a smile or scowl, for instance) the screen behind the cover will blink red. A neutral facial position will turn the screen green and send an audio signal to an Arduino board that will pop the metal lock open.” — from Wired

Think of other uses for this technology: You could put an “emotionality lock” on your phone to keep you from calling your ex- during a breakup. Trying to post to Facebook when you’re feeling snide or angry? Bad idea (usually). Hey! There’s an app for that. Maybe you shouldn’t be driving angry. DON’T DRIVE ANGRY!  Don’t worry: technology’s got you covered. Chill out.

The utopian in me says that we should make books, phones, cars, and even toasters operate only if the users are smiling. We could use a lot more smiles in the world. This would help.

Yes? No? You don’t like that idea? I can tell. I can see you frowning.

book-cover-

Eye of the Diamond-T is a book with a cover that won’t judge you. At least the current edition won’t. Get more info HERE. 

More Praise for Diamond-T!

Another astounding review for Eye of the Diamond-T:

From the very beginning, I was immediately drawn into Bill LaBrie’s excellent debut novel, Eye of the Diamond-T. It wasn’t just the frenetic narrative style, nor the immersive, highly believable descriptions of life as a long-haul trucker in the 1950s Southwest, complete with the colorful dialogue of the lifestyle, from the truckers’ cant to the long-in-the-tooth-flirt drawl of the truck-stop waitresses. (And) it wasn’t the author’s clear love affair with words, which calls to mind John Updike’s assessment of Vladimir Nabokov as being a writer who “…writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically.”

. . .

It presents a wild story combining Greek, Hopi and Biblical mythology, mashes things up further with a narrative that leaps back and forth in time and, it seems, into different metaphorical realities, and yet the character of Nick is still so recognizably, agonizingly relatable. In many ways, the entire novel comes down to Nick’s struggle to forgive, and how he comes to that point is an incredible ride.

Read more of this great review at Goodreads HERE

Check out Eye of the Diamond-T HERE

Eye of the Diamond-T Print

“Selig” means “Blessed”: Happy Coincidence

A dear friend brought up something interesting about my choice of locales for Diamond-T the other day. Something I hadn’t thought of at all. It was serendipity. Just a happy coincidence.

feninger66

The pivotal scenes in the book happen in Seligman, Arizona. You might remember that name from various human-interest stories about the hardy eccentrics who still live in this little town–one of the last along Route 66 to be bypassed by I-40. It also served as an inspiration for the Disney movie Cars, which thanks to my 8-year-old son, I have seen upwards of 100 times.

Anyway, this friend called to express delight about the book, but also to ask me if I knew what “Selig” (as in the first part of “Seligman”) means in German. I really didn’t. I knew the town to have taken the name of a railroad official in the area at the time the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe laid rails through the area near what had long been a wagon path, and before that a footpath, and before that an animal migration route.

It turns out that “Selig” means both “blessed” and “departed.”

In the context of the book’s location and what happens there, that’s pretty astounding. What makes it even more so are the Germanic natures of those who oppose my protagonist, Nick Pente.

So the main character finds his solace and redemption near a tiny Arizona town with a name that means — in German — “blessed, departed man.”

That, my friends, is only one of the many such happy coincidences that shaped Eye of the Diamond-T.

I hope reading it will also give you an inspiration to find the happy coincidences in your life.

Check it out at diamondtbook.com

And the Story Goes On . . .

I’m hard at work on the next book, which will take place 100 years after the the first.

dome the future is soon

They both share a common universe, but each book stands fully on its own.

If Diamond-T is the purgatory, then the next book will be the final descent into the depths of Hades, with a triumphant redemption towards the end.

And yes, you can expect off-kilter characters, wacky situations, and both pop-cultural and mythological references — not to mention stretches of dialog which sound lifted verbatim from people once overheard arguing about lawnmowers and transcendence outside of a nudie bar somewhere near Elko, Nevada. That’s just how I write. Sometimes.

Anyway, please get “Eye of the Diamond-T” and start the mystical journey through love, war, the American West, mental illness, CIA mind-control, sheep, explosions, semi-trucks, and Perry Como today.

PS: And thanks to all who’ve already started! Keep those cards, letters, and reviews coming.

https://diamondtbook.com/

Four Undramatic Plot Structures

Four Undramatic Plot Structures:

gauld-four-undramatic-plot-structures-690

–From @tomgauld for The New Yorker.

I think I avoided most of these in Diamond-T,  though I probably have inadvertently uncovered a whole bunch of new things writers shouldn’t do. Hey! It’s not default literature. I’m sure every reader will find something to love and hate in it.

Check out Eye of the Diamond-T HERE.

Another Great Review for Diamond-T!

“I really loved reading this book. The character weaves in and out of time, and LaBrie is able to paint such vivid pictures with his writing, capturing drastically different settings of the first half of the 20th century in rich detail.

The book flows easily and yet it’s also rich with layers of meaning. It’s suspenseful, action-filled, witty, and deeply psychological, so I think anyone would really enjoy reading it and get a lot out if it. Plus, the protagonist is really relatable, even for me as a female. Even after finishing, I still find myself thinking about him and his journey. I’m going to buy several copies of the book for people for the holidays because I’m so eager to talk about it. There’s so much to take away.

Highly recommended!”

— Kate Goldhouse
Check out Kate’s nutrition and wellness page at http://goldhousegourmet.blogspot.com/

Diamond-T available in print/Kindle on Amazon HERE

kate-goldhouse-diamon-t

Great Picture of a Diamond-T

Ahh, the Diamond-T.

Try to think of a time when this design graced the front of a piece of industrial machinery. Is it any wonder that it inspired a book about a mystical journey, one that tries to capture the essence of the America that produced such a thing? This is the mysterious flying-Diamond-T. Stare into it long enough and it stares back at you.

diamont-hood-ornament diamond-t-hood