Happy New Year!

Well, 2012 is upon us and those who strongly believe in the Mayan Prophecies will think we only have about a year left before the whole world goes to Hell in a hand cart. I don’t believe for a moment this is going to happen, of course, but world events certainly do point to some kind of dramatic change. Whether or not that change is positive or negative is up to all of us, of course. It’s in our hands, people. Let’s do things right. 

The new year also tends to bring about the idea of change and/or the concept of “taking stock” which is what I tend to do more than make any New Year’s resolutions, though I suppose I do in my own mind but half the time, like most people, I never stick to them. There is also a tendency to forget the really good things that happened over the course of the past year. We get so wrapped up in the immediate moment that if we sit back for even just a moment and reflect, we often discover what seemed like a blip on the screen actually contained some really great moments. That happens to me all the time. 

For me, I got to travel a bit: St. Lucia, Baltimore, El Paso, which totals nearly a month away from the can of bees called New York City. I was also very productive on the writing front and naturally since this blog serves as a promotional tool for me and my work (among other things, of course), please forgive the blatant self-promotion that you are about to receive. 

Two novels came out in 2011 (although they were both written the year before), and a slew of short story eBooks, an idea that occurred to me one afternoon while browsing Amazon and seeing that with the advent of the eBook, there was a potential to breathe life into a slowly disappearing art form. What better way for an author to get his work out there by issuing single story eBooks for very cheap, allowing a curious reader to sample him or her at very low risk to the pocket book. This idea turned out to be better than I ever imagined it would be, having sold a bunch of these stories, and naturally, I am eternally grateful and thankful to those who did buy them. It means more than you know. So without any further ado - and of course for those who may have missed the posts over the past year - here is what I currently have available in the event that you decide you might be interested in checking them out for your own (hopefully) reading pleasure:

Nadería (Novel) 

What happens when an American poet, a Uruguayan painter, a Peruvian chef, a Syrian belly dancer, an Algerian musician and an Italian religious fundamentalist are all searching for meaning and their lives intersect on the streets of Paris? "Nadería" is a story about failed hopes, unrealized dreams, the nature of identity; and when their respective journeys do intersect, the very notion of "meaning" suddenly gets called into question and can potentially have dire consequences.  

Available in Paperback, PDF, and Kindle Edition.  

A review/interview was written and conducted by writer Garry Crystal can be found here. 

Be Still and Know That I Am (Novel) 

Being yourself in a sea of mindless cretins is the hardest battle any kid could face. September 1982. In a working class neighborhood in Queens, New York, sixteen year old Nico Razza is a perpetual outcast, often victim to the taunts of his classmates, peers and neighborhood bullies. Steeped in Punk Rock culture, he is not only rebelling against society, authority and his peers, but also his recently widowed father, who struggles to keep his family together at the dawn of the Reagan era. Angst ridden Punk Rockers, Van Halen T-shirt wearing Camaro driving bullies and their brain dead foot soldiers, Lower East Side squatters, Alphabet City junkies, Hardcore bands and the infamous A7 club, Reagan’s promise of “Morning in America” and those left behind who still wanted to believe it, working class angst, High School confidential - when these worlds collide over the course of the next ten days, the lives of everyone involved will be changed forever.

Available in Paperback, PDF, and Kindle Edition. 

A review/interview was conducted by writer Garry Crystal can be found here.  

The Algerian in Room No. 4 (Short Story eBook) 

He always told everyone he was a lowlife - including his wife Margot - but she married him anyway, hoping they would one day have a normal, stable marriage. But one evening, while on his way to meet a friend, a prostitute on the Rue St. Denis with a unique tattoo catches his eye; and what was at first a simple curiosity soon becomes an unhealthy obsession.

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition  

Sahara (Short Story eBook)

He had gone to Morocco only six years earlier as a tourist. He had met a friendly and unassuming man named Bilial and they had become good friends. Six years later, he is returning to Morocco only this time he isn’t coming as a tourist. He has something else in mind - something that will put their friendship to the ultimate test.

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition. 

Soon After the Fall (Short Story eBook) 

Early 1990. A young American student is studying in Budapest to learn more about her family history, her roots and her culture. Living with an eccentric yoga loving roommate and dating a shy would-be poet, she will navigate the general post-Cold War malaise, getting more of an education than she ever imagined.

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition

Rage Against the Dying of the Light (Short Story eBook) 

Mario, a Lower East Side coffee shop owner befriends a youth named Jared, a shy, introverted poet who spends his days sitting outside the shop begging for change. There is more to Jared than meets the eye and it takes the help of Mario’s assistant Kaitlin to help coax Jared out of his shell. Slowly Jared begins to ingratiate himself with the local literary community due to the weekly poetry readings Kaitlin had begun to stage at the coffee shop. But some strange customers begin appearing, those who don’t like the idea of this kid hanging around the shop and Mario begins to navigate the line between compassion and the changing character of the neighborhood. 

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition 

Sangre (Short Story eBook) 

Two American G.I.s - Richard Harris and Paul Lamb - survive the bloody allied invasion of Sicily during World War II. Hunkered down in a small Sicilian town, the daughter of a bar owner catches Paul’s wandering eye. The horrors of war soon collides with a local vendetta that follows no rules of war nor does it care about who’s side one is on. 

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition  

Black Roses (Short Story eBook) 

Jerome is an aspiring actor, loner and a dwarf who often spends his time attending small off-Broadway plays. After seeing a play in a small Greenwich Village theater, he becomes obsessed with the lead actress, Barbara Connor. He begins hanging around her Perry Street apartment, leaving one black rose in front of her door every Sunday morning. But someone is out to steal his thunder, a smooth talking, self-absorbed acting companion of Barbara who intends to take credit for Jerome’s handiwork in order to get closer to Barbara. Will Barbara ever learn the truth?

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition 

Stars, Cigars and Boxcars (Short Story eBook) 

1957: A middle aged New Jersey man watches his young son in the comfort of their middle class home and begins to reminisce about his days riding the rails during The Depression. It is the eve of a world changing event and while he contrasts his own upbringing with that of his son, he can’t help but wonder what this unexpected event will mean for his young boy.

Available in Kindle Edition and ePub Edition 

There was also another interview written and conducted by Garry Crystal which grew out of the interview for my most recent novel, “Be Still and Know That I Am.”  It concerns itself with the pros and cons of indie publishing and the slow rise of the independent author.  It is called “Self-Publish or Perish” and it can be found here.  

I just want to take the time to thank everyone for their support over the past year.  You all made 2011 a great and inspiring year.  There is more good news in the coming days.  Stay tuned.  

Thanks again everyone!  You don’t know how much I appreciate your support!  

Onward...