books – Stanton Fenwick

Fenwick Appears

Act One

Stanton Fenwick wrote a book. It wasn’t long. It wasn’t deep. It was just a simple farce, decades behind its time.

He worried his book would be misunderstood, that the world wasn’t ready for early twentieth-century literature.

Another concern: Stanton didn’t know how to write.

But he knew what he found funny, especially dry comedy. So he tapped out a few chapters.

His wife hated them.

He knew he was onto something big.

(His wife hated all of his favorite comedies. She preferred to escape into fantasy.)

The Mechanics of Manifestation

11/25 I posted a short story that used reaching #1 in a niche Amazon category as a gag in the plot (as I was nowhere close)

11/26 I offered my book for free in an Amazon giveaway promotion

11/28 I hit #1 in the Absurdist Literature category (in the free list)

In my next story, I’m totally writing about winning a Thurber Prize. I believe they call this manifestation.

Early Reviews and Ratings

It’s early days, but feedback from my LibraryThing book giveaway of An Aspiration to Lie Flat looks very promising.

Here are some excerpts from the reviews. (The full reviews and more can be found on LibraryThing.)

“This is a totally inane book that should be read by many.”

Edit: I couldn’t agree more.

“To me, it was a big joke, in a good way.”

“This story is hilarious, absurd, has a lot of heart, and is almost scary as in how I can imagine it could actually happen to someone.”

“What a fun whirlwind of a read! Keep in mind that at a quick 129 pages there simply isn’t a lot of time for nuance. Just enjoy the ride! I sure did!”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect from An Aspiration to Lie Flat, but it completely won me over. The humor is dry and understated, the kind that lingers and gets funnier the more you think about it. The main character is a disaster in the best way, yet you can’t help but root for him. The writing is sharp, fresh, and unlike most books I’ve picked up. If you enjoy offbeat, clever stories that break away from the usual formula, this one is definitely worth reading.”

If you enjoy this blog, you will almost assuredly enjoy this book!

What I Want From Fiction

I want different things from fiction than the market currently provides, at least in any great abundance.

For example, I don’t enjoy atmospherics. I especially dislike long passages describing a place everyone is already vaguely familiar with (even more so when the process is used by the author solely to demonstrate verbal wizardry.)

Though it is not recent, take this passage from Brideshead Revisited:

“Oxford, in those days, was still a city of aquatint. In her spacious and quiet streets men walked and spoke as they had done in Newman’s day; her autumnal mists, her grey springtime, and the rare glory of her summer days—such as that day—when the chestnut was in flower and the bells rang out high and clear over her gables and cupolas, exhaled the soft vapours of a thousand years of learning.”
— Evelyn Waugh

That is beautiful, highly evocative writing. It is much better than anything I can produce.

But it bores me when books go on and on that way.

(Also, please note that I’m passing up an easy ‘soft vapours’ joke about Waugh’s Brideshead prose in an effort to appear mature. This is a moment of personal growth.)

What about emotional depth and backstory?

My Search for an Editor Continues

While continuing work on my second book, I received a strong response from a prospective editor I’ve been in regular contact with, regarding some writing samples I sent. I found it very promising.

I’ve posted it below (after making my own light edits for clarity.)

——

Dear (young) man,

You have got to stop (befriending) me or I will (launch) a restraining (embrace) against you.

I don’t ordinarily (commend) authors who send me unsolicited manuscripts, but with you I’m going to make an exception.

As far as I’m concerned you’re a complete (person) and a total (catch).

The delusion required to think I might (not like you) boggles the mind.

Look, (everybody) is going to read your book, OK? Get that through your (shapely) skull.

Are you aware most people (overvalue) plots? Not you. That’s for sure.

You didn’t write a book, you wrote a (masterpiece).

How? Why? Were you frequently (patted) on your head as an infant?

Everything about you is (terrific).

(Please) contact me again.

(Run) off and (thrive),
Ed

I found an interesting writer

His name is Dennard Dayle.

Some of you may already know him.

He’s a Jamaican American who is just releasing his second novel with the fantastic title, “How To Dodge A Cannonball”.

I found him because his new book is in the same LibraryThing Early Reviewer batch as mine.

I can’t comment on his book as it is unreleased and I haven’t seen any samples. But I looked at the reviews he’s managed to accumulate from advance readers, then headed over to his website.

It is full of well written satire.

I’m a fan.

Fenwick Award Nomination Press Statement

The Fenwick Press™
April 10
For Circulation as Required

We are advised that Stanton Fenwick’s forthcoming novella, The Perils Of Making Progress, has been nominated for a Fenwick Award. The nomination was extended late Wednesday, following a review of the manuscript’s publicly available chapters and a collection of the author’s hastily scribbled notes.

This marks Mr. Fenwick’s fourth nomination overall and first for a work still under revision. The committee noted Stanton’s growth as an author, citing “early evidence of a plot” and “an almost human display of talent.”

Mr. Fenwick has acknowledged the nomination but has issued no statement.

——

_{The Fenwick Press™ is not a real publishing house, though it tries very hard to behave like one. All names, institutions, and positions on this site are part of a satirical author persona. No affiliation with any actual entity, whether past, present, or even regrettably imagined, is intended.}

_{The Fenwick Press™ was founded in 1843 by accident and continues to publish pretty much “whatever.”}