November 2011
40 posts
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Dig this: The Spanish Channel
Vocalist Jaime Garamella ‘06 attended Berklee with guitarist Lauren Stockner ‘08, but it wasn’t until they connected with producer Tim Mitchell ‘05 that things really caught fire.
The energetic performances of their band, the Spanish Channel, have won over wide-ranging crowds, garnering a national battle of the bands title, a sold-out CD release in New York, and a spot...
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“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts,...”
– Shel Silverstein (via libraryland)
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Duotrope is dope
If you don’t know about Duotrope, then your day is about to brighten considerably.
Duotrope is an award-winning, free writers’ resource listing over 3600 current Fiction and Poetry publications. It allows you to search for markets that may make a fine home for the piece you just polished. The site includes a free online submissions tracker for registered users.
The site is usually...
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Author Kate Flora discusses her story 'All That...
Kate Flora is over at Level Best Books discussing her new story “All That Glitters.” Click here to read more.
Flora’s books include series mysteries, police procedurals, suspense and true crime. Current projects include a true crime and a novel in linked stories. She spent seven years as editor and publisher at Level Best Books. Flora is a founding member of the New England Crime...
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Dig this: Morwenna Lasko & Jay Pun
Violinist Morwenna Lasko and guitarist Jay Pun met in a class called Music of India in their last semester at Berklee in 2003. The two found a common interest in exploring musical vocabulary off the beaten path and moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to incubate their unique sound in this hip enclave at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Their iconoclastic sound has been a hit with...
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Dig this: Gina Cimmelli
Born and raised in New York, singer-songwriter Gina Cimmelli said her “whole life changed” when she came to Berklee.
One thing is for certain—without coming to Berklee, she wouldn’t have met the members of her band Gina’s Picture Show: drummer Matt Weber ‘11, bassist Jeni Magana ‘08, and guitarist and clarinettist Mat Coser ‘08.
Together, they are...
Keep Maine warm
The cost of home heating oil has skyrocketed of late, and in Maine the heating oil assistance program has been cut back dramatically.
In case you haven’t been to Maine in the winter, it’s really, really cold up there. People die.
Stephen King is offering a $70,000 matching contribution to help folks who can’t afford heating oil. If you’d like to contribute to that...
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One of my very best teachers...
…is a man I’ve never met, yet I learn from this guy all the time.
His 2003 Acceptance Speech for the National Book Award is no exception.
Though one caveat that says as much about how I’m wired as it does him, if not more: my admiration for the man is made possible by his clear moral grounding. If it weren’t for that, the words wouldn’t mean much to me.
Holiday Mail for Heros
There are a number of chain emails and social media posts urging you to send holiday cards to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed medical center. It’s a great idea, except that Walter Reed closed down and is not accepting mail.
However the Red Cross is still running its Holiday Mail for Heros program, which does the same thing. To send a card to a wounded serviceman (or -woman), address it...
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Dig this: Laszlo Gardony
Berklee Piano Department professor Laszlo Gardony has just released his ninth album, Signature Time, a blend of originals and ambitious reinventions of classic tunes.
Hungarian-born Gardony ‘87 graduated from the Bartok Conservatory and the Science University of Budapest before working as a sought-after sideman in Europe. After releasing his own recordings overseas, he matriculated to...
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What I like about writing novels
After months of outlining and character development, I’m finally back into putting-down-pages mode, and I realized one of the things I really like about long-form writing: it forces me to be zen. A certain inner calm and belief in one’s self are both required to do the job and reinforced by it.
When writing short stuff – stories, songs, poems – there is a strong sense that if...
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Nose in a book: HELPLESS, by Daniel Palmer
From Library Journal:
Palmer, Daniel. Helpless. Kensington. Feb. 2012. c.416p. ISBN 9780758246653. $25.
Former Navy SEAL Tom Hawkins has moved back to New Hampshire to raise his teenage daughter after his ex-wife dies under mysterious circumstances. His spotless reputation as high school guidance counselor and girls’ soccer coach begins to unravel when he is accused of sleeping with one of his...
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Dig this: Christian Scott
Edison Prize-winning and Grammy-nominated trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Christian Scott is widely considered to be one of the leading jazz artists of his generation. Raised in New Orleans, Scott toured from his early teens in his uncle Donald Harrison Jr.’s band. After graduation from Berklee in 2004, where he completed two degrees in just two years, Scott signed with Concord Records....
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Blog shout-out
I’m honored to have gotten a nod in the Maine Crime Writers’ blog. While I’m not from Maine, my story “Coronation” is set there. I’m not sure if it’s something in the water, some radioactive isotope of granite, or just the cold keeping them inside at their laptops, but there are a lot of talented writers up in Maine.
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File this one away
Junot Diaz on voice and vocabulary. Figure out what the character’s relation is to the story he’s telling.
I’m putting this up for my own use as much as anyone else’s.
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Good review!
Best New England Crime Stories just received a great review from Reviewing the Evidence!
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Mouth. on. floor.
If you’re wondering how the CrimeBake was, I’ll just tell you this: the first email in my inbox was from keynote speaker Barry Eisler telling me he loved my piece in Best New England Crime Stories.
It was that kind of weekend.
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Dig this: Adam Glasser
Born in Cambridge, England, and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Adam Glasser ‘81 is a keyboardist, a composer, and one of the U.K.’s leading chromatic harmonica players.
He has performed with a wide variety of artists, including Martha Reeves, Joe Zawinul, Sting, the Eurythmics, Jimmy Witherspoon, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Hugh Masekela, and filled in for Stevie...
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Another publication!
My flash fiction story The Jinx was just published by EWR: Short Stories. It don’t take but a couple minutes to read, so click on over!
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Published again!
I’m happy to tell you that my super-short story “The Jinx” has been picked up by EWR: Short Fiction.
I’d tell you about the story, but come on, it’s flash fiction. It would just be faster to read it.
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Published!
It goes on sale today!
Best New England Crime Stories 2012: Dead Calm
New England’s most acclaimed, award-winning crime and mystery writers, along with several exciting new voices, weave twenty-seven original tales from the region’s dark side.
If you want to get your’n, visit the publisher’s website.
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On the radio NOW!
Tune in to 95.9 WATD at 8:40 am to hear my first author interview. If you’re in the Boston area, you can hear it on a real radio. No matter where you are, you can tune in online.
We’ll be talking about Dead Calm: Best New England Crime Stories, which launches on Saturday.
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On the radio!
Tomorrow I’ll be doing an author interview on 95.9 WATD at 8:40 am. If you’re in the Boston area, you can hear it on a real radio. No matter where you are, you can tune in online.
We’ll be talking about Dead Calm: Best New England Crime Stories, which launches on Saturday.
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Dig this: Underwater Airport
Peter Spellman works here at Berklee with me, and just announced the new record by his band Underwater Airport.
Right now I’m digging the track “One Giant Eyeball,” which reminds me a little of the classic Miles Davis album In A Silent Way, which is one of my *all-time favorites.*
Nicely done, Peter et. al!
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Everybody makes mistakes
I read a great blog post about creating characters with depth, and I’d like to share it with you. The gist is this: Everybody makes mistakes. If your characters don’t make any, they’re not like real people.
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Getting excited
This Saturday my first published story comes out in the anthology Dead Calm: Best Crime Stories by New England Writers. The actual book launch is part of ‘Crime Bake,’ the Mystery Writers of America annual conference.
It may be a modest achievement, but I’m proud of it. It’s pretty cool to know that my story will be in a real book that real people can buy or check out of...
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6 free e-books on writing
Today only - Writer’s Digest is offering 6 free e-books on writing.
Here’s where to get them.
Remember, this offer ends with the sunset. If you’re into it, don’t delay.
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Dig this: Neara Russell
Composer, pianist, and vocalist Neara Russell ‘10 grew up singing to cows in her home state of Wisconsin, but she didn’t stay in the cornfield long. While still in high school, she was featured on National Public Radio for her achievements as a classical pianist. She then went on to win a prestigious full-tuition Presidential scholarship to Berklee, where she majored in composition...
Great charity: Room to Read
John Wood used to be one of the marketing warriors at Microsoft. Then he quit his job and started Room to Read, a charity which builds libraries and schools for people who desperately need them.
To date, he’s opened 12,000 libraries and 1,500 schools.
To learn more about Room to Read, read Nicholas Kristof’s piece on it.
Or visit Room to Read directly.
WatchWanna get knocked on your a$$? Watch this video. There’s a picture of a flower and a butterfly that punched a hole clean through me. Still can’t shake it.
Okay, it's just a commute, but...
I saw a train come around a faraway bend, cutting through the fall foliage and dappled with the rosy gold of early-morning sunlight.
It’s not even eight-thirty and I have seen something beautiful. That’s a good start.
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Wisdom from Tom Waits
“If you want to give your kids advice and have them remember it, do it in twenty-one words or less.”
I’m sure you know what you’ll find if you count the words in that little maxim.
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Yes, it feels awesome.
I just found out someone pre-ordered the anthology I have a story in.
Ok, yes it’s my cousin. So what? I wrote a story, it’s in a book, and we’ve registered a sale - I’m psyched!
If you’re so inclined, you too can pre-order the book.
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Dig this: Field Trip
Instrumental funk-jazz quartet Field Trip has just released their debut album There’s Shag on Jupiter. The 10-song disc features 2003 alumni Ryan Fleming and Tim-Paul Weiner on guitar and bass respectively, and recalls some of the groundbreaking collaborations between John Scofield and Medeski Martin & Wood.
Field Trip is supporting the album with a tour in Sweden before returning to...
