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Winners and a Reading

Thanks to all of you who entered the book club giveaway for The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.  With the help of Random.org, Anne Berger won a book for each of her club’s 8 members.

Congrats to her and her members, and we hope that you enjoy it.  Hachette Group will mail the books out to you and your book club soon.

 

 

Also Congrats to Margaret who won a copy of Irish Lady by Jeanette Baker from Sourcebooks.

 

I also wanted to update you on the reading I attended at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Md., which turned out to be a mostly empty room and me as the only woman in the room — other than Wiggles.  The illustrious authors were Eric Goodman, author of Tracks — which I’m sure by now you’ve heard me rave about — and Eric Dezenhall, author of my newly acquired book, The Devil Himself.  Each author took to the reading in a different way, with Eric Goodman reading abridged short stories from his novel in stories, Tracks, and Eric Dezenhall deciding to tell the true story behind his historical fiction novel set during WWII.

Goodman read the Prologue, which is told from the point of view of the conductor, and Prewitt’s story from the beginning of the book.  Both stories are funny in their own quirky ways, and provides the initial set up for the rest of the book.  He also read the story about the poet and his climb on the mountain of sand, which is as true to the life of a poet as any story could be.

Dezenhall began by shying away from reading from the book and told us of how he verified the historical facts in his novel.  Operation Underground began when Naval Intelligence realized that German spies could have been responsible for the sinking of the Normandie near Manhattan following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  In order to police the docks and discover the spies, the government made a devil’s pact with the Jewish and Italian mobs that controlled them at the time.  Meyer Lansky, a real life mobster, agreed to help the government in exchange for benefits for Lucky Luciano and other mobsters.  There is a convoluted spy game afoot here, but I’ll not recount it because you must read the book.

Want to learn more about the book, visit Dezenhall’s Website.

There was no formal question-and-answer following the reading, but there was a more informal reception for the readers and the guests, which turned out to be less than a dozen due to the cold weather.  I did not partake of the cheese and beverages, but did have a nice conversation with Goodman about Social Media and the firewall it provides those of us who are more shy in public.  I also got my copy of Tracks signed, and my new book signed by Dezenhall, who seemed to take a shine to Wiggles — I think it was the cheeks.

Here’s a couple of pictures and a really short video since my memory card ran out of space:

Have you been to any great readings in your area?

Giveaway: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

As part of Hachette Books’ Giveaway, I’m offering a book club up to 10 copies of The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

Description from GoodReads:

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Henry’s fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry’s gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners’ team captain and Henry’s best friend, realizes he has guided Henry’s career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert’s daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment–to oneself and to others

Read an except, here.  Also check out the Facebook Page.  Téa Obreht, author of THE TIGER’S WIFE, calls THE ART OF FIELDING “an intricate, poised, tingling debut. Harbach’s muscular prose breathes new life into the American past-time, recasts the personal worlds that orbit around it, and leaves you longing, lingering, and a baseball convert long after the last page.

Of the blogs participating in the tour, one of the winning book clubs will be selected by Hachette Books to have a Skype “call in” with Chad Harbach. Hachette will contact the Book club representative to coordinate their meeting schedule with Chad Harbach’s schedule.

To enter the giveaway, you must be a U.S. resident and all 10 books can be mailed to you or individually to your book club members.

1.  Leave a comment about your favorite, recent book club pick and fill out the form below:

2.  Facebook, Twitter, or Blog share this giveaway and leave a link for up to 3 more entries.

Deadline is Feb. 10, 2012, at 11:59PM EST