Five Reasons to Give Books this Holiday

Today's post on Dead Guy is Five Reasons to Give Books this Holiday. I know there are many more...please stop by and share yours!

Also, Tyrus Books has started one of my favorite holiday campaigns, through which you can give someone a book (for free) or help spread good books.

More Reading = Better World

Today's Dead Guy post is about my favorite pet project, FridayReads, which had a tempest in a teapot sort of day today.

Two-Post Friday

Today, 11/11/11, I have a couple of posts for your consideration...

First, Tyrus Books was good enough to let me climb up on their soapbox to talk about THE SAMARITAN. It's not crime fiction, exactly--so was a bit of an unusual read for me--although it does have crime in it. And regenerating body parts. And it is a complex, moving book. I liked it more than I thought I would, and it touched me quite deeply.

And today's Dead Guy post is about the week that was through the lens of...quotation marks. We had a plagiarized book (yeah, I'm mad about that) and a series of event that could be considered either scandal or a tempest in a teapot, depending on your perspective. All courtesy quotation marks.

I Like You…But Do I Like You?

Today's Dead Guy post is about what it really means (and doesn't) when someone clicks that pesky Like button on Facebook.

Interview with James Lee Burke

A couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite authors, James Lee Burke, was gracious enough to do an interview with me in conjunction with FridayReads. In case you didn't see it, it is below, with hearty thanks to Lauren O'Brien for her help with the questions.

In addition to being a consummate storyteller, JLB is a kind, funny, and thoughtful person who shares readily of himself with his readers. I hope he continues writing for a long time to come, and if you have yet to read his stories, I suggest you start immediately. I'll have a review of Feast Day of Fools  for you soon.

If a reader is new to your books, with which do you suggest he or she start?
I believe my best novel is Feast Day of Fools. However, all the books I have written were intended to read independently of one another, so a person could start anywhere.

“Feast Day of Fools” brings back one of your scariest villains in Preacher Jack Collins. When you finished writing “Rain Gods,” did you plan to bring him back?
I never know the ending of a story, but toward the last part of the last chapter of Rain Gods I believed Jack would probably be back. Hemingway said he never outlined a story, because if he did, he would know the ending, and if he knew the ending, so would the reader.

There was a long period of time between “Lay Down My Sword and Shield” and “Rain Gods.” Why did you circle back to Hack Holland after so long? Is there something specific about him as a character and the stories around him that appeal to you now?
That’s a very good question. When we first meet Hackberry, he is profligate in his personal life and often cynical and bitter. I believed he was a better man than I portrayed him, and consequently I felt I owed him an amends.

“Feast Day of Fools” addresses numerous timely societal issues. Do you feel your success as an author has given you increased freedom to tackle subjects some consider controversial?
The themes in my stories have never changed. My political views have never changed, either. I’ve always feared approval more than rejection or animosity. To paraphrase my father, if everyone agrees on something, it’s probably wrong.

You've set your series in Texas, Montana and, perhaps most famously, Louisiana. Why did you choose these locales? Have you spent time in south Texas?
I was born in Texas. My mother’s family was from Yoakum. My great-grandfather was Sam Morgan Hollan (without the “d”). He was an alcoholic gunfighter and cattle drover who eventually became a Baptist saddle preacher. He’s also the grandfather of Hackberry Holland (with the “d”).

Many of your books deal with forgiveness and redemption. Do you think there are people incapable of redemption and undeserving of forgiveness? Or is there hope for everyone?
Jesus forgave those who murdered him. What person could be beyond redemption or forgiveness?

You've described “Feast Day of Fools” as your best book. Why?
I believe stylistically it’s my best, and in terms of scope and literary experiment it’s my best. The downside is I may never never surpass it. When I catch the bus, I’m taking this one with me.

We've seen a number of authors, including Lee Child and Lawrence Block, explore series characters’ backstories in recent books. Do you have any plans to do this with your series?
No, my books and stories are linear in nature. In my view, yesterday’s box score is yesterday’s box score. Everybody gets to the barn soon enough. Why go back to the places you’ve already been? I respect what others do, particularly Larry and Lee. Everyone writes differently.

Have you noticed a difference in the reaction to your books from men and women? If so, how do they differ?
At first most of my readers were men. Today the majority of my readers are women. But I think the attitude toward the content of my books is the same in both groups. Those who enjoy them are usually people of good will who believe in an egalitarian democracy. It has been a great honor to meet and talk with them during the fifteen years my wife and I were on the book circuit.

How did you come to be aware of the medieval Feast of Fools custom? Did you think of it as the title of a book first, or write the book and then select thetitle?
I’m a fan of the culture of the Middle Ages and also of Elizabethan theater. What we call “the dark age” was actually a festive one. How about Chaucer’s characters? What a hilarious bunch! Do you remember the Miller’s tale? In terms of ribald offensiveness, it has no peer. I used to tell my lit students they might forget everything else they learn in college, but they would never forget the Miller’s tale.

You've won many awards and accolades over the course of your career. Is there one that is particularly special to you?
I appreciate equally all the rewards I have received. The greatest reward, however, has been in the letters and the emails telling me that my work has helped some people find sobriety.

What are you reading now?
“The Man Who Never Died,” a biography of Joe Hill.

Thanks for having me on board.

What's in a Name? Money.

On November 1, my venerable local daily paper, the St. Petersburg Times, announced that it is changing its name on January 1, 2012 to the Tampa Bay Times. My reaction to this change has been decidedly bifurcated.

Personally, I’m annoyed. I don’t live in Tampa Bay. Or Tampa, for that matter, thank you very much. I live in St. Petersburg. I consider the St. Petersburg Times a great independent paper, and I’m proud to have the name of the town where I live on it. The vast majority of the world’s great papers contain the name of the city in which they’re based, even though they serve an area far larger than just the city. Those that don’t have a city name tend to forego a geographic tag in their brand altogether.

Lots of people agree with me…on Twitter, at least. Local blogger and political commentator Peter Schorsch has an immediate and visceral reaction, involving the technical term “bullshit.” Roy Peter Clark, well known to fans of grammar and superlative journalism, Times reporter Drew Harwell, and former Times staffer Andy Boyle each poked fun with slightly less sharp sticks.

Professionally, though, I get it.

I’ve lived here for about 10 years now. One of the first things I learned when I relocated from Boston is that everyone outside this immediate region doesn’t “get” the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater market at all. I long ago lost count of the number of times I had to explain that, no, the Miami Herald is not, in fact, the largest circulation paper in Florida, nor is the Orlando Sentinel. When people look at the Tampa Bay area, they assume the Tampa Tribune is the largest and/or only paper; the reality is that the Times is significantly larger. And yes, people live here. Quite a few of them. And no, this is not a backwater haven of redneck hicks (ok…we have some hicks…but we’re not all hicks…).

Even companies for whom Florida is a crucial market don’t necessarily understand that to reach people in Florida, the St. Petersburg Times is your best bet. Even when one explains it and provides clear data, people are skeptical. The truth is, the “St. Petersburg” in the brand is a hindrance to the Times, especially in attracting the attention of ad buyers/planners and CMOs ensconced in the glass castles of Madison Avenue.

The St. Petersburg Times is also one of the lone remaining independent newspapers in the world. It is owned by the non-profit Poynter Institute. This does not, however, exempt it from the pain being felt by content creators—newspapers, magazines, even music and movie studios—these days. Simply put, they need income. Said income can come from subscribers, yes, but mostly from advertisers. While the St. Petersburg Times gets some of its revenue from local companies well familiar with the nuances of the geographic area, the big bucks come from companies and ad agencies outside the greater Tampa Bay area.

In that context, the Tampa Bay Times makes some sense. It does not, however, address of itself the lack of comprehension of the importance of this area to marketers. The re-branding process might well give the paper the opportunity to address this, but they’ll need to be smart about it. Very smart.

I have previously bemoaned the Times’ lack of real understanding of social media. As an organization—many of their super reporters aside—they’re still floundering on this front. They seem to lack an enterprise-wide comprehension of how to engage new and existing consumers/readers. I hope they figure it out soon; they’re missing an opportunity in this area, leaving money on the table, if you will.

In announcing the name change, the Times has been fiercely on-message, repeating versions of “we serve the region, not just the city, dammit.” But this doesn’t address the core of the problem, that the world is becoming more local, yes, but this doesn’t mean anyone understands your locale.

And the bugaboo of being on message is those of us who have questions not addressed by said messaging are left scratching our heads. I emailed the contacts from the Times’ news release asking whether someone might like to comment on the timing for this undertaking, given that re-branding is mega-expensive and in the context of the paper having just reduced their staff (among a few other questions), but they haven’t yet responded. If they do, I will update this post.

I hope this move proves lucrative for the Times, I truly do. It’s a grand paper with a proud history and a tradition of excellence that the Corporate Media Conglomerates will never match. And you can bet I’ll be buying extra copies of the December 31, 2011 edition, too.