We have another winner of our Advance Reading Copy giveaway of my debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING!  The winner gets a free book, weeks before the official October 2013 release date.

CONGRATULATIONS
LISA D. of MARYLAND!

Your signed proof edition of PHOENIXVILLE RISING is on its way.  Enjoy the read!

And the rest of you Early Risers, hang in there. More opportunities to win are coming soon. You just have to be on the email list for your chance to win. You are on it, right? If not, go ahead and join right now. No spam, no address sharing, no inappropriate photos. Just good, clean fun. And free books!

I'm lucky to be connected to a vibrant community of creative talents--writers, musicians, artists, filmmakers--from all over the country. One creative I am forever fortunate to know is the documentarian Dan Hornberger.

For nearly a quarter of a century, Dan has been a 12th-grade English teacher in Reading, PA. By all accounts, he is a beloved, respected teacher. His is the class everyone wants to take before they graduate. You know the type.

But there's more: Dan is also a first-rate documentary filmmaker.  Just a few years ago, he started his own film company -- Rockfish Productions -- and began creating an impressive slate of engaging, important films.

Rockfish's first production, RINK RATS, told the story of a now-dormant street hockey rink in Berks County, Pennsylvania.  A rink full of memories and history.  

Dan's next film, TWISTS & TURNS, gave us the tale of an inspiring woman at work in a pretzel shop, trying to survive against a battered business climate and a city in decline.

Dan's current work-in-progress is a film I am particularly excited about: STANDARDIZED is an exposé of the standardized-testing industry and the negative impact it has on our children's education. STANDARDIZED is an important film, into which Dan has poured his heart and soul, not to mention his years of experience in the classroom. The trailer speaks for itself:

Several years ago, I took part in a week-long summer program at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. I still stay in touch with my excellent instructor from that week, Geoffrey Becker (author of HOT SPRINGS and BLACK ELVIS), and some classmates, including Jael McHenry (author of THE KITCHEN DAUGHTER). The workshop was terrific and Iowa lived up to its status as an inspiring haven for writers and readers alike.  Best of all, the work I did in Iowa was a catalyst for my new debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING.

That’s not what I want to talk about.

On my way home from Iowa, I made a side trip to the cornfield that served as the setting for one of my favorite films, FIELD OF DREAMS.  (The movie, of course, was adapted from W.P. Kinsella’s book, SHOELESS JOE, written in part at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. But I digress.).

I loved every minute of the visit. I played a little pick-up baseball on the diamond, watched parents and kids play catch in the outfield, took my turn emerging from the rows of corn like Shoeless Joe Jackson, and sat on those iconic bleachers along the first-base line.  And all the while, that famous line ran through my head: 

“If you build it, they will come.”

Come on, say it with me.  In your best James Earl Jones voice.

“If you build it, they will come.”

It took me years to write PHOENIXVILLE RISING.  Hours and hours at the keyboard, too many drafts to count. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears. I think it shows on the pages. I feel good about the work (well, as good as most writers feel about their own writing). Early reviews are promising.  

So, now that the thing is built, I want to be sure that everyone who cares about it, knows about it.

As you can probably tell, my summer has been devoted to the ins and outs of book marketing.  Not only marketing this one book, but developing a “brand” or “platform” as a writer.  Most of my time in recent years has been spent writing and editing -- now I’m exercising some old marketing muscles that have been dormant for a while.

I’ve been experimenting with different ways to spread the word about PHOENIXVILLE RISING. Some work, some don't, some you can't tell. (That's marketing, folks.) Every day, strangers are signing up for my email list, hundreds of people are visiting my website every week, early readers are finally getting their hands on the book and saying nice things.  

I’m building a platform.  A website, a blog, social media, interviews, public appearances ...

I worry that I’m doing too much, too soon -- over-marketing, coming on too strong.  I don’t want to make people sick of the book, especially before it even comes out.  

And I worry that I’m doing too little, not reaching enough potential readers, getting lost in the cacophony of internet noise and information overload.

These are my concerns.  But there is one worry above all else.  

The worry that still keeps me up some nights, wondering if I’m doing enough, or doing too much:

Now that I’ve built it -- will they come?

We’ll find out.  October 2013.

This guy knows what he’s doing. Seth Harwood has published four crime novels -- YOUNG JUNIUS, THIS IS LIFE, and the bestselling IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and JACK WAKES UP -- that hit you hard and leave you begging for more, even as you’re picking yourself up off the ground.

Armed with an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a fertile imagination jam-packed with kick-ass stories, Seth entered the game running. In 2006, he was the first crime author to serialize his work as a podcast-only novel.  That novel, JACK WAKES UP, and Seth’s engaging podcasting style made for a dynamic duo that was hard to resist.  I discovered Seth through these podcasts and grabbed every bit of his writing I could get my hands on.  

Now we’re in for a treat!  Seth stopped by the blog for a fascinating Q&A about the creative life. A teacher and constant champion of new writers, Seth has given me some great advice and inspiration over the years. The world is changing, kids, and Seth Harwood is a writer leading the way.  

Hey, Seth, thanks for being here.  Can you tell us when you knew you wanted to be a writer? And when did you know you were one?
Looking back now, I can see I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Even before I could scrawl, I would dictate stories to my mother or the babysitter who would write them down in these little construction-paper books that I would illustrate. Later, I wrote in journals, tried to tell serialized stories to my classes, and crafted detailed narratives in my head for hours while I played with action figures of one form or another (He-Man and G.I. Joe were favorites.) 

In my early twenties I was living in New York City. I started to write in earnest. Something told me it was important to do this, that I should do my best to pursue a writing life. That was a pretty crazy period for me, characterized by too much weed and a few other substances. (Read my short stories if you want to know more.) - ROBB'S NOTE: Check out Seth's story collection, A LONG WAY FROM DISNEY  - Through the haze, I stayed committed to writing. The practice has had a lot of ups and downs and still does, but I often allow myself to believe that I’m a writer now.

Believe it or not, it wasn’t getting my MFA from Iowa or publishing my first book that made me feel I was a writer. It was reaching my first audience of strangers through my podcasts. Knowing those people were out there, that they wanted me to write more for them to hear, that’s what made it real.

Who or what inspired you as a child? … as a teenager?
As a child, James Bond, Alfred Hitchcock, Conan Doyle. A teenager, comic books: X-Men, G.I. Joe, Daredevil.  

What creative work most recently inspired you?
DRIVE, both the movie and the book. What a short epic. Also, “Choctaw Bingo” by James McMurtry. 

In moments of self doubt, how do you push through?
Take a walk. Or seriously, these days I just say “f--- it” and go do something else. I’ll get back to the story sooner or later.

Have you ever abandoned a creative project?
Yes. To date I have a few novel or novella projects that are on the shelf. They need to be. Not every idea is going to pan out all the way to the end. Though that’s not to say I won’t hijack a part here or there and recycle it. I’ve done that already, actually. 

My favorite character in fiction is …
Philip Marlowe

The last concert I saw was …
Some classical music out at Tanglewood this summer with my family. We nerded out for a while. 

The next book on my reading pile is …
THE TOWN / PRINCE OF THIEVES by Chuck Hogan, though it’ll probably get kicked aside by THE NEW FATHER, or HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY CHILD. I’m serious.  

The book I can’t wait to read again is …
HOMICIDE by David Simon

Does The Great American Novel exist (yet)? If so, what is it?
It does. Several of them. There will be more, but I’d say the main one I think of is THE GREAT GATSBY, traditionally. Cliché or not. For crime, it’s THE LONG GOODBYE. No question!

More recently, America has changed a great deal, as we know. I’d say the new “Great American Novel” would be something by Richard Price, either CLOCKERS or LUSH LIFE, though those would be less popular picks. 

I was reading recently that the Great American Novel is a song by James McMurtry called “Choctaw Bingo.” Also, in a sense the long-form TV series today operate like our novels, so I’d be comfortable picking "The Wire" or "Breaking Bad." 

What creative work might we be surprised to find on your bookshelf or TiVo?
LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET by Rainer Maria Rilke? It’s a must read for any young creative, I’d say. 

Facebook and Twitter: friend or foe to a creative?
Yes, definitely! Both, alternatively. What a double-edged sword!

In addition to writing, how do you express your creativity?
Hitting a heavy bag. Used to be basketball, but my back has gone to crap. 

The most difficult thing about the life of a creative is …
Keeping any money in the bank.

The all-time starting lineup for the Boston Celtics is …
Bird, Russell, McHale, Reggie Lewis (RIP), Cousy. I’d put KG at the top of the reserves, and Paul Pierce has made a great case for himself to be the two, but I’ll stick with Reggie because people should remember him. I want to say Sherman Douglas should be a reserve point guard, but of course that’s just crazy. This is highly biased to those players I’ve seen, those in my time.  

_________________________

How about that? Good stuff, right?  If you haven’t already, go grab some Seth Harwood books today. You can listen to all of Seth's novels as FREE podcasts on sethharwood.com and iTunes. (That's where I first got hooked.) His new novel, IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, is one of my favorite reads of the year. And be sure to check out CrimeWAV.com, a podcast series of free crime stories hosted by Seth himself.  A Boston boy now making his home in San Francisco, Seth is a great guy -- and I'm totally with him on PRINCE OF THIEVES, Chandler, Richard Price, and HOMICIDE. OK, that's it, gotta go listen to some James McMurty right now ...


If you enjoyed this blog post, please check back for more about the creative life.  And join my email list to stay up to date on my debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING, coming in October 2013.

Although my debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING, won't be released until October, I wanted to share my very first review here on the blog.

New York Times bestselling author William Lashner, creator of the Victor Carl series and THE ACCOUNTING, got hold of my novel. Here's what he had to say:

"PHOENIXVILLE RISING is a beautifully written love letter to the American industrial town.  In a novel spanning centuries, and centering on three hard-luck kids, Sketch and Tara and the unforgettable Boo -- clear-eyed and reckless and insanely-loyal Boo -- Robb Cadigan gives us a timeless story of the enduring legacies of love and friendship. Noir and romantic and richly emotional, PHOENIXVILLE RISING is superb."
 

My first real job out of school was as a copyeditor at TV GUIDE. It was a fine job, with friendly people, a convenient location for a kid who didn’t have a car, and an opportunity to use the vast store of pop-culture knowledge taking up valuable space in my brain.

The job also gave me access to piles and piles of scripts and videotapes of the TV shows on the air in 1988.

The more I read and watched, the more I thought: “Hell, I could do this.”

I became obsessed with the idea of writing a TV script of my own. But first I needed to understand the structure of a good script and what made a story work (or not work) on the screen. I took scripts home and, at night in my little almost-condemned apartment, I studied every show I could get my hands on: "thirtysomething," "St. Elsewhere," "21 Jump Street," "Moonlighting" ...  

And I started to write scripts of my own.  I wrote a "Hill Street Blues," a "Cheers," a "Hooperman" (a great John Ritter show that went away too soon). None of my scripts were any good. But I was learning.

Malcom Gladwell talks about 10,000 hours of practice.  This was my practice.  My apprenticeship.  My grad school.

Finally, using a trial my father had when he was a defense attorney, I wrote a script for "L.A. Law." I created subplots so that all the main characters had something to do. I gave the big stars some potential "Emmy moments." I broke the whole thing into four acts, just the way the other drama scripts did. 

It was pretty good. Honestly, I thought it was very good. So I stuck my script into an envelope and sent it right off to Stephen Bochco, creator of “L.A. Law.” No agent, no introduction, no friend of a friend of a friend who worked there. Nothing. 

Ah, youth.

A few weeks later, there was a message on my answering machine from one of the producers at Stephen Bochco Productions. Of course, there was. Because that’s how this is all supposed to work, right?

I returned the producer’s call.

We had a long, lovely chat. They liked my script. They liked my script quite a bit, actually. BUT (you knew a “but” was coming), the producer explained, they didn’t buy freelance "spec" scripts. Especially from someone who didn’t live in Hollywood. Someone who had never written a TV script before. Who had no credits to his name. Not even a dog-food commercial.

“Would you consider moving to Los Angeles?” the producer asked.

“Are you offering me a job?”

“Um, no. But you would be closer to the action. You would be part of the industry.” [“The Industry”]

We talked some more. The conversation took on an "off-the-record, here’s the truth, kid” sort of tone. The producer told me his version of "how Hollywood really works."

In truth, he was pretty down on television. And he absolutely hated movies. The staff writer had no real power. Everything was collaboration with people who weren’t as talented as you were, kissing the rear ends of Suits who knew nothing, wasting time playing the game when all you really wanted to do was tell stories. It didn't sound too appealing. Certainly not to a control freak like me.

“Can I give you a piece of advice?” the producer asked me.  

“Sure.”

“If you want to control your destiny--if you want your ideas and stories to stand on their own--if you want to be master of your own fate -- YOU REALLY SHOULD WRITE A NOVEL.”

And with that, my 10,000 hours started all over again.

(My debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING, will be released in October 2013.)

We have another winner of our Advance Reading Copy giveaway of my debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING!  The winner gets a free book, well before the official October 2013 release date.

CONGRATULATIONS
HENRY M. of MARYLAND!

Your autographed proof edition of PHOENIXVILLE RISING is on its way.  Enjoy the read!

And the rest of you Early Risers, hang in there. More opportunities to win are coming soon. You just have to be on the email list for your chance to win. You are on it, right? If not, go ahead and join right now. No spam, no address sharing, no inappropriate photos. Just good, clean fun. And free books!

One of my all-time favorite writers, Laura Lippman, stopped by the blog to answer a few questions about creativity, inspiration, and (just for the hell of it) TV dads. 

I’ve loved Laura’s novels from BALTIMORE BLUES, the very first book in her top-notch Tess Monaghan mystery series, and I’ve long considered her stand-alone thriller WHAT THE DEAD KNOW to be a damn perfect crime novel. Laura has won every major award out there for crime and mystery writing--including the Edgar, Shamus, Agatha, Anthony, and Quill Award--and I was thrilled this New York Times bestselling author took the time to answer some questions for our readers here on robbcadigan.com.  

[Laura and I were going to play a game of 4 Questions, but we had so much fun, we’re sharing the whole Q&A with you.]

Hi Laura. Thanks for being here.  Why don’t we start off with this: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? When did you know you were one? 
Laura:  I was four when I first attempted to write a book, I was 12 when I made a run at it, but I think I knew I was going to be a writer when I took some pretty tough criticism from a workshop leader who didn't like my work. I wasn't discouraged or deflated by the experience. (It helped that her predecessor, Sandra Cisneros, had been immensely supportive.) 

Who or what inspired you as a child? … as a teenager? 
I had some really good teachers as a kid. Mrs. Schapiro for 2nd and third grade, who shared her love of modern art; Miss Klemm in 8th grade, who was kinder to my untamed imagination than my previous year's teacher; Lynn Collins in high school. She taught math, but she was my homeroom teacher and she kept me from doing the stereotypical girl panic at mathematics. 

Does the “Great American Novel” really exist (yet)? If so, what is it? 
How can there be just one? Whose America? 

In moments of self doubt, how do you push through? 
I look at the previous work-in-progress when it was at the same point as the current work-in-progress and am immensely cheered to see that it was even shittier than I remember.

Have you ever abandoned a creative project? 
Not yet. (Knocking wood wildly.)

Can you “turn off” your creative impulses and disconnect? 
Yes. 

The best fictional detective is … 
Harriet the Spy. 

Facebook: friend or foe to a creative? 
Well, it's like alcohol and I don't think I have a problem with alcohol and no one's staged an intervention, yet. I actually like Facebook. It's my water cooler.

The book I can’t wait to read again is … 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BEANY. It's the only Lenora Mattingly Weber book I don't own, so it's been a while. 

The most underrated creative artist is … 
I do wish more people read James Hynes. Lots do. But more should.

Which of your works comes closest to the way you heard/saw it in your head? 
Closest? I think it really might be the next one, AFTER I’M GONE. I saw a series of set pieces, rituals that define lives. They all ended up in the book. 

In addition to writing, how do you express your creativity? 
You've heard about dancing like no one's looking? I hope no one's looking. I also love to cook. 

Mike Brady, Howard Cunningham, or Eric Taylor? 
None of the above. Danny Thomas! I want to be the child of a New York entertainer and live in that apartment. 

What is a “guilty pleasure” creative work we probably would be surprised to find on your shelves or your Tivo? 
I refuse to feel guilty. I like the “Real Housewives” of pretty much every city. And you know what? I never shame people about their choices in TV. Unless you're watching child pornography, animal torture or something that really exploits/demeans a person without that person's informed consent, what's the big deal? 

Who is your favorite literary character or hero? 
I'm going to go ahead and say it: Tess Monaghan. I created a character I wanted to be able to spend lots of time with, and I succeeded. She's funny and loyal. 

Do you read reviews of your work? 
Sure, but I don't seek them out. 

The book I really should have read by now is … 
written by a friend. It's hard, in a wonderful way, knowing so many talented people.

What was the best writing advice you ever received? 
"Finish."


A big thanks to Laura Lippman for visiting the blog today.  If you’re looking for a first-rate read, give yourself a treat and grab Laura’s most recent novel, AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD, or any of the terrific Tess Monaghan series (I’m partial to IN A STRANGE CITY because of its Edgar Allan Poe connection and THE GIRL IN THE GREEN RAINCOAT). And be sure to look for Laura’s next novel, AFTER I’M GONE, coming in February 2014.  You can find out more at lauralippman.net.  But you’ll only hear about her affection for Danny Thomas right here.