Excerpt in Newport Review

Link:
Paperboy excerpt in Newport Review

Excerpt at Matchbook Lit

Nice venue. Good people.

Here's the link:  Paperboy excerpt at Matchbook

My advice: Ignore the Excerpts, Read the book

A couple of quick thoughts.

1) The Excerpts

My first agent believed the book, because of its subject matter, would be a hard sell and virtually impossible to market. And I think he was right on both counts. I know the excepts I've released are all "soft" and don't hint at the emotional experience of the whole. Frankly, I don't know what to do about that. (I refuse to release any sections with "spoilers," and I wouldn't dare release the harsher sections as excerpts, which would also give perspective readers the wrong sense.) Lately I feel like I'm showing a few fragments of a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle in the hope that people will be enticed by the picture they can't yet see.


2) Reader comments:

Meanwhile, a steady stream of notes continue to pour in.
Here are a couple more:

"I just finished reading your book.  Devastating!  Of course, I recognized Jack in the wounded part of myself, which is what made the story so painful, but also so necessary.  Finding the right words to capture the truth of a terrible childhood is the greatest challenge a writer faces, and many back down or flinch before they get to the end.  Not you.  Bravo!
I admire you for staying with your subject for an entire book."

* * *

"Poor Jack. I wept my eyes out."

* * *


all best wishes,

Bob

Sold out of signed copies

Many thanks to everyone who purchased a signed copy. I have no more available. - bt



*

More Links, more Excerpts, more personal notes

There's an excerpt in the June issue of The Collagist

An excerpt at Word Riot

Liquid Imagination has an Excerpt / and part 2 of our Conversation / Interview


* * *
Notes from readers continue. Some are touching, heartwarming, some disturbingly candid. Most I can't share. But here is one I have permission to post.

From a therapist who worked for a good number of years with "lost children" and "emotionally disturbed" adolescents:

I finished Paperboy....I know that it is a compliment to say that it was so good that I couldn't put it down...I have to say it was so real I had to put it down, but could never leave it. So many faces of kids from over the years flashed before me. It was as like a 3d version of their histories in the med records. What we read about them brought to visual. Painfully well done!


Good wishes to all,

Bob

Kindle Version of PAPERBOY now available

You can read the Kindle edition of "Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel" on your Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, PC or Mac.

Here's the link:

Kindle Edition:
Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel

Combined Links for PAPERBOY: A Dysfunctional Novel

To make things easy I've consolidated these links into one post:


Info at publisher's site:
http://www.casperianbooks.com/catalog/1-934081-31-0.html

Amazon reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Paperboy-Bob-Thurber/dp/1934081310

B&N reviews:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?EAN=9781934081310&x=

Good Reads reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10335948-paperboy

Three Guys One Book:
http://threeguysonebook.com/paperboy-by-bob-thurber

Excerpt at NthWord:
http://shorts.nthword.com/2011/04/coloring-christ-excerpt-from-paperboy.html

Excerpt at WordRiot:
http://www.wordriot.org/archives/2846

Excerpt at Electronic Literature:
http://electricliterature.com/blog/2011/05/01/perfect-throws-%E2%80%93-excerpt-from-paperboy-by-bob-thurber/

Hometown press / Pawt. Times ran a front page story:
http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/content/pawtucket-native-writes-first-novel

Local press / Sun Chronicle ran a feature story:
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2011/05/02/news/9221663.txt

Local/ N.A. Free Press ran a feature story:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/northattleborough/fun/entertainment/arts/x527526446/North-author-pens-first-novel

Interview at Mourning Goats:
http://mourninggoats.blogspot.com/2011/05/15-bob-thurber_01.html

Excerpt = Chapter 27

Chapter 27 in its entirety ( about 700 words ) is in this month's issue of Word Riot.

Here's a link to Word Riot and here's a direct link to the excerpt.

Dancing into May!

Today is May Day, as well as the release date of Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel.

In rural regions of Germany, "May Day" or Walpurgisnacht celebrations are traditionally held the night before. The festivities include bonfires and the wrapping of maypoles; young people party all night, while the day itself is used by many to simply get some fresh air.

The German motto is : "Tanz in den Mai!"

Translation: "Dance into May!"

Honestly, for reasons that I won't go into here, I don't feel much like dancing today, though I think I could definitely use some fresh air. I'm thrilled to have my novel published. It's an event worth celebrating, but the last few months have been so ungodly rough that right now I feel caught somewhere between Boohoo and Whoop-dee-do!

But I'd be remiss, and an irresponsible author, if I didn't take the time to post on the release of my debut novel.

• There's an interview online at: Mourning Goats
• An excerpt at: EL's blog The Outlet
• A local press feature article at The Pawtucket Times
• Another article at The Sun Chronicle.
• And, though unrelated to the book, a new story at Cafe Irreal
A few other things forthcoming.

Please spread the word. And by all means buy the book. Odds are you've never read a novel quite like it. That's a criticism as well as an endorsement. And when you've finished reading it, let's talk.


Thank you all, sincerely, and have a great day.

Bob

*

Choroidal Neovascularization strikes again

  Sudden and rather severe deterioration in my vision has advanced into my last good remaining eye. As some of you know, the central vision in my left eye has been gone for years, and so I've been dependent on my right eye, which now, I'm sad and distressed to report, is rapidly failing. This is not good. This is not good at all. At present, I can still read, though barely, and at a snail's pace. But it's a strain, requiring off-set focus, repeated adjustments, increased magnification. And it is tiring as all hell. Though I'm receiving treatment from a fine doctor at the eye institute, there are few options, and the prognosis is not good....

all best wishes,

Bob

Excerpt at nthWORD Shorts

An 800 word excerpt titled Coloring Christ is available at nthWord Shorts


best wishes,

Bob

Five weeks until the release date.

May 1st is five weeks away. What do you suggest I do on that day?
If you have any suggestions, write me.

I have three (3) signed copies remaining.
The rest have been reserved, paid for, packaged and are ready to ship.

To reserve a signed copy, refer to this post below: Quick Link

Or you can pre-order (for a few bucks less) a copy at B&N

all best wishes,

Bob

Review at Three Guys One Book

Reviewed by Jason Chambers of Three Guys One Book (3G1B)

The thing is, reading this book, even at it’s darkest places, you can see Bob Thurber’s fingerprints. He’s so sharp – especially at short fiction – that he writes short burning chapters from which you can’t tear away. He slugs you right in the gut without any maudlin posturing – you’ll probably ask for more. Raw and horrific throughout, but genuinely funny in places, Paperboy is a fine first novel, if hard to bear.

Read the entire review here...

And while you're there browse the site. 3G1B is full of good things.

A reader's comments:

The reader of an advance copy of Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel recently sent me this note:

I finished Paperboy this morning, and I'm stunned.  There is so much beauty and ugliness in it.  Your writing, is that of a craftsman, an artist, and speaks of truths that few have the courage to admit.  The plight of your protagonist is heartbreaking and gut wrenching, so very sad and disturbing.  A loveless world (not that your novel is devoid of love) is a terribly horrific imagining, and for some an all too real existence.  Your story moved me, took me to places I didn't want to go, fought and tore at my insides like a panther attempting to claw his way free from my gullet.  Don't ever doubt your talents as a skilled practitioner of your art.  I bare witness to the excellence of your mastery.  Congratulations ...what a terrifying ride...what an amazing journey...you've left me weak in the knees.

(Posted with the permission of JMG. Thank you, sir.)

First Review

I was recently alerted to the first review posted at B&N

"To read Paperboy is to participate in a relationship that is inextricable from the reader’s own reality. We come to realize that we can only be the latest editions of ourselves, built upon what the world has delivered up to that day. The writer, Bob Thurber (a different kind of paperboy, perhaps) has managed to establish that relationship by exacting emotions from his audience with piercing observations that puncture the thin skin of human subjectivity and reach beyond into realms of objective truth."

There's more, before and after. Read the entire review at B&N - LINK

Reserve a Signed Copy (Limited Offer)

I have a small number of copies available for anyone who wants to reserve one.

Use the button below to make your purchase. Fill in the comments section if you would like the book personalized.

Total cost with shipping (USA only) and fees is $19.50 *
For shipments outside the US, contact me, and we'll work out the cost.

*All sales are final. PayPal charges a fee for refund transactions, though you'll absolutely get your money back should I run out of copies.

You can purchase the book for less elsewhere. Links to vendors at top of page.

Comments / Instructions

Excerpt

The publisher now has an excerpt of Paperboy on its website.

Click here to Read the first seven pages of the novel.


- bt

Pre-order Link for Paperboy

Though they have the release date wrong (It's actually May 1st)  Barnes & Noble already has a pre-order link for  Paperboy

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Paperboy/Bob-Thurber/e/9781934081310/?itm=1

* Side note: I've been informed that both the publisher and author receive more revenue when copies are ordered direct from Casperian. If you choose that route, I thank you in advance for your support of independent publishing.

The moon is an important and influential aspect of Paperboy, almost a character. Here's a neat and information slide show at the NY Times:

A Cultural History of the Moon

Press Kit - Paperboy

Here's the publisher's Press Kit for Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel

It's available in PDF (70 kb). Contact me and I'll email it to you.