17 Thursday Jan 2013
More good news. BOOKLIST gave FELLOW MORTALS a Starred Review in their latest issue:
Carefully yet implacably drawing upon the theme that we are all connected, Mahoney’s quietly powerful debut snapshots the lives of suburban neighbors who become bound to one another through an almost unbearably banal yet utterly real tragedy…. With the barest glimmer of hope to buoy the calamities of his deeply earnest, lyrical story, Mahoney can share shelf space with Dave Eggers and Stewart O’Nan.
17 Thursday Jan 2013
Thrilled to post that Barnes & Noble has chosen FELLOW MORTALS for its Spring 2013 Discover Great New Writers Program.
You can read the official announcement here. From February to May, they’ll promote the book on their website and Twitter, via the Nook, and with face-out displays in all of their physical stores.
B&N will be running an interview with me in the coming months, and I’m going to write a short essay for them, too. I’ll post links when those are up.
16 Wednesday Jan 2013
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Weather
Three inches of snow closed the schools. Fun day at home with the boy and dog.
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I’m late in posting my New Year’s resolutions but have, in fact, been trying to keep them over the past two weeks. Here goes:
1. Do 100 consecutive pushups. My max is nowhere close to this (think Bill Murray in Stripes), but I’ve heard you can make rapid progress with the humble pushup. It works the chest, arms, shoulders, and core: a perfect, do-it-anywhere exercise. Plenty of apps and strategies exist for building up to a hundred. I think I have a legitimate shot.
2. Finish the first draft of my next novel. I’m halfway into it now but have a long way to go. It’s a bigger book than anything I’ve written before, but it’s also more enjoyable than anything I’ve written before.
3. Learn to do that crowd-parting, taxi-stopping finger whistle. At least once a season I could really use this, and at least twice a year I see someone do it, summoning dogs or people well beyond shouting range. I finally learned the proper technique and started making progress, but it has to be mastered for quickdraw situations.
4. Reread all of Shakespeare, for fun instead of duty. That’s about three plays a month and easily doable, especially if I’m reading for kicks, which is maybe the best way to read Shakespeare anyway.
5. I need at least one excessively optimistic fitness goal (aside from 100 pushups), so let’s say washboard abs. And then I shall wash shirts and linens upon mine abs and lo, the shirts and linens shall be clean. Getting leaner abs has less to do with exercise than it does with eating better, and losing extra pounds is going to help me hit that 100-pushup goal a lot quicker.
6. Straighten out my sleep schedule. I’m all over the place. Some months I’m awake past midnight, other months I’m sleeping at 10pm and up at 5am. I nap too much. I need to pick a schedule that works and carve it in stone. Eleven to six looks promising.
7. My wife is pining for an island in our too-small-for-an-island kitchen, so I’m going to build a wall of cabinets with an island that emerges from, and then returns to, the cabinet wall. I’ll call it Sandy Island, in honor of the vanishing island that was recently “undiscovered” after erroneously appearing on Google Maps. My wife will be delighted that I’m going on record about this project.
Colonial-American Word of the Day
Rantipole: (n) a rude romping boy or girl; also a gadabout dissipated woman
Go Forth!
FELLOW MORTALS picked for Barnes & Noble’s Spring 2013 Discover Great New Writers Program!
Music
“Punk Rock Girl” by The Dead Milkmen
10 Thursday Jan 2013
Posted in Fitness, Working Out
Tags
Weather
The dog poop is gonna be a lot harder to find if I don’t pick it up before the snow melts.
Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, by Robert Riggs
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I did my first-ever boxing workout last night. Not preparing to fight, mind you. I wouldn’t want to hurt a guy with my Crushing Power just to get in shape. No, this was heavy bag and speed bag work, and doing rounds with a trainer wearing target mitts, and jumping rope, all of which proved I’m fairly out of shape.
I have some experience with the heavy bag in our basement, but the speed bag is trickier than it looks. Jumping rope is exactly as tricky as it looks. And trying to keep good form, employ basic defensive techniques, and throw combinations at alternating target mitts made me appreciate just how much science The Sweet Science involves.
The length of the workout is the equivalent of a fifteen-round fight, so: crazy tiring. I’m going to go once a week and do the rest of my workouts at home with the heavy bag, pushups, pullups, and a kettlebell. For local readers, the boxing trainer is Paul Brown at the Waterford Youth Boxing Club. He’s awesome, a patient pro. Here’s a flyer. I recommend it.
Colonial-American Word of the Day
Woodpecker: (n) a bystander, who bets whilst another plays
Go Forth!
I read a whole book about Giant Squid and this is awfully exciting to me
Music
“Fascination Street” by The Cure
08 Tuesday Jan 2013
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Weather
We had our backyard maple tree pruned so it’s brighter out there. Less branchy.
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I just pre-recorded a local radio show of songs I associate with FELLOW MORTALS. Personal reflections:
It’s hard to be casual with a big mic in front of your face, even when the recording isn’t live.It’s probably not as bad as all that. I’ll post airtime info in early February if you want to listen to some great tunes and laugh at the DJ.
Colonial-American Word of the Day
Pettish: (adj) passionate
Go Forth!
The Rooster Returns: The Tournament of Books 2013
Music
“Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin
02 Wednesday Jan 2013
Weather
Crusty cold. Or Krusty Kold, if you prefer.
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I could go ahead and recap the holidays, which were great, but let’s get on with the Shiny New Future Year instead.
Early reviews of FELLOW MORTALS are cropping up. So far so good. I’m excerpting the Publishers Weekly review here because the rest of their writeup gives away a bit too much of the plot. And I’ll be able to post another good review soon; I saw an advance copy but it isn’t out yet.
Publishers Weekly on FELLOW MORTALS:
Mahoney weaves together the patterns of a community… and depicts the aftermath of a catastrophe with an unwavering eye. A strong debut reminiscent of the novels of Stewart O’Nan.
Sweet.
I’ll share a list of resolutions soon, because I like both lists and resolutions.
I’m back to writing my next novel after a two-week holiday. Nice to be with those characters again. Authors always say this kind of thing, but this novel-in-progress really is my favorite book I’ve ever worked on. It’ll be done in seventeen more years.
OK, one Christmas thing: I got a new camera, so I’m going to post higher quality pictures of Bones and stuff.
Also: the rubber-sealed tree stand remained free of leaks throughout the holiday. Product recommended.
Colonial-American Word of the Day
Dismal Ditty: (n) the psalm sung by the felons at the gallows, just before they are turned off
Go Forth!
I never tire of looking at Saturn
Music
Smashing Pumpkins, “Cupid de Locke”
