Letting It All Hang Out
January 1, 1970
November Newsletter from the desk of Karen BrichouxContents:
*News
*Article: Letting It All Hang Out
*What I’m Reading
News:
*FALLING INTO THE WORLD will be released November 7, 2006. To find a Book Sense independent bookstore near you, try the Book Sense website at http://www.booksense.com/store/index.jsp
*On November 30, I’ll be meeting with the Quail Run Bookclub to discuss my debut novel, COFFEE & KUNG FU. If you are a member of a book club and plan on reading one of my novels and would like to have me drop by either in person (if you’re local) or by phone, feel free to contact me at email@karenbrichoux.com to see if we can’t set something up.
*On November 11, I will be signing books at the Overland Park, Kansas Sam’s Club. Rumor has it that the signing will be at noon, but details are still up in the air. If you’re in the area and want to stop by, check with Sam’s Club or my website (http://www.karenbrichoux.com ) for updated information.
*If you would like to be added to my snail-mail mailing list to receive a postcard informing you of upcoming releases (this amounts to one postcard a year and is the only thing I will send you), send your address to email@karenbrichoux.com Please put “mailing list” in the subject line. The amount of spam lately is making it difficult to figure out what is legitimate e-mail (this goes for all e-mail). I try to always respond when I receive an e-mail (even if it takes a few days), so if you don’t get a reply, I probably didn’t get your e-mail.
*Article: Letting It All Hang Out
One of our local radio stations has a DJ who has been waxing eloquent over the beautiful fall colors eastern Kansas has experienced this season. Listening to him, I think about how so many people would call him silly or geeky or over-the-top because he is willing to let it all hang out and show genuine emotion over something as trivial as natural beauty. All too often in this country, the only thing we can show genuine enthusiasm over is a sporting event. Book reviewers like to use terms like “sentimental,” “melodramatic,” “emotional,” etc. when they feel that a book has not displayed the proper amount of cynicism and harsh reality. I’m not advocating a return to the dime-novel evil villain attempting to evict the heroine and her family because they can’t pay the rent, but cynicism and brutality can be equally cliche and unrealistic. Tired of this new cliche, I find myself gravitating toward those books where the author is willing to let it all hang out and bring me into his or her world on a wave of enthusiasm.
And I’d like to say thank you to the DJ who thought the firework show put on by the oaks and maples this autumn was worth talking about.
Here’s hoping there is something beautiful in your life that you want to tell everyone about this holiday season.
--Karen
*What I’m Reading:
We’ve just started a fun book in our family reading: TANGERINE by Edward Bloor. I also recently purchased THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova and am eagerly waiting to start it!