Blatant Promotional Post so Feel Free to Ignore if That's Not Your Thing
But if you're interested in meeting me, journalistic thrillers championing the true free press, and/or soccer dramas featuring a budding American superstar, maybe you'll want to read this.
For those unfamiliar with my blog, I post my regular newsletter on the first and third Saturday of the month, a night of fiction or nonfiction writing/essays/writing advice on the second Saturday (Prose Night at the Writing Life), and original poetry on the fourth Saturday (Poetry Night at the Writing Life).
On the rare months I have a fifth Saturday in a month, I have typically posted some sort of bonus article, fiction, or other piece. However, since:
It’s Labor Day weekend and I didn’t want to think too hard about a post, and
I’ve got a couple things to promote,
I thus decided to make this a low key promotional post. If you have no interest in such things, feel free to take a pass this week. However, if you’re interested in attending one of the few events I have coming up this fall, you’ll find information here. And if you wanted to read a journalistic thriller championing the true free press, or a soccer drama featuring a budding American superstar (the first in a series), then I’ve got a couple books you might be interested in reading. Shall we?
Upcoming Appearances
From 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, 5 September, I’ll be out at Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington, Iowa. I’ll have some copies of my books The Yank Striker and The Holy Fool available for purchase and/or signing as part of the farmer’s market event there. (Keep reading for more information about those books.) It’ll be my first appearance here and I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m headed back to the Des Moines area from 12-6 p.m. Sunday, 6 October, for the Windsor Heights Book Fair. This will take place at the Agora Events Center, 7692 Hickman Road, Des Moines. This will be the second year I’ll have participated in this event, and I’m eager to return.
Finally, I’ll be participating in the Local Writers’ Book Fair, which will be part of the 2024 Iowa City Book Festival. It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, at MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. This is again my second year of participating, and I am looking forward to being back in Iowa City.
Hope to see you around.
What Books Have I Written and What are They About?
I consider myself to be a writer of fiction about subcultures, subcultures contained around unique professions I have an interest in, such as journalism, soccer, and (recently) pro wrestling. It would be cool if I could market myself as the newest voice in dark academia fiction or Civil War era romance fiction, but alas, my interests are varied and not easily classifiable. While I might not find massive fame and fortune with my writing, I’ve determined if I’m going to spend night after night writing stories, they might as well be stories that entertain me, because what’s the point otherwise?
After years of working in print journalism and thinking about what a story about a declining big city newspaper and one journalist’s efforts to save his paper alongside his colleagues, The Holy Fool came into being. I go into great detail about its creation, what the book’s all about, and where you can buy it, here.
The Holy Fool
Debut novels are tricky things. While I’ve not asked this question specifically of some of my fellow writers, the general impression I get is most writers consider their debut novels both with pride at their accomplishment and ruefulness at missed opportunities for improvement. And I’m no different.
A fellow Iowa writer and organizer of the Windsor Heights Book Fair, Tyler Granger, recently did a review of my book: you can find it here.
A couple years later, my decades-long obsession with the sport of soccer and its culture got me thinking what a story about an aspiring American soccer star might be like. This produced the book The Yank Striker. I go into great detail about its creation, what the book’s all about, and where you can buy it, here.
The Yank Striker: A Footballer's Beginning
What would an American soccer superstar look like? Not just someone who was a good player, but an actual legendary, world-class player, someone on the level of a Lionel Messi, a Diego Maradona, a Pele? Where would he come from? What would he be like as a person? And what would his path to soccer superstardom look like?
The paperback version of this book can be found on Amazon and the site of my publisher, Biblio Publishing. It is also available in ebook format on Amazon here.
You can hear the interview John Buzbee, host of The Culture Buzz radio show in Des Moines, did with me regarding The Yank Striker here.
Also…
For full links to these and other helpful places having to do with me and my writing, you can go to this page on my Wordpress site, Liegois Media.
You can also get my books in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:
JUST ADDED: Burlington By The Book, 301 Jefferson St, Burlington.
Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines
Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.
I’m always looking for some new places to place my books, so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.
That’s it for the promotions for now. I’ll be back with the newsletter next Saturday and I’ll lay off the promos then. 🙂