Quick Pick: Q by Evan Mandery

Q: A Novel by Evan Mandery

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks

Publication Date: August 23, 2011

Source: Review copy provided by publisher

“Q, Quentina Elizabeth Deveril, is the love of my life.”

Shortly before his wedding, the unnamed hero of this uncommon romance is visited by a man who claims to be his future self and ominously admonishes him that he must not marry the love of his life, Q. At first the protagonist doubts this stranger, but in time he becomes convinced of the authenticity of the warning and leaves his fiancée. The resulting void in his life is impossible to fill. One after the other, future selves arrive urging him to marry someone else, divorce, attend law school, leave law school, travel, join a running club, stop running, study the guitar, the cello, Proust, Buddhism, and opera, and eliminate gluten from his diet. The only constants in this madcap quest for personal improvement are his love for his New York City home and for the irresistible Q.

A unique literary talent, Evan Mandery turns the classic story of transcendent love on its head, with an ending that will melt even the darkest heart.

(Goodreads)

I love the concept of Q, and I have to say it was a novel defied my expectations. I thought I'd had a good idea of what would happen, yet I was very surprised at some of the twists!

What if time travel was possible? What would you do if your future self showed up and warned you not to proceed with a marriage, a change in career or other life decision? Would you heed their advice or take the risk anyway? In Q, this isn't an easy choice for the unnamed protagonist to take.

Overall I really enjoyed Q. It was an entertaining read, and the last chapter was an utter delight. My only complaint was that sometimes the action dragged as the unnamed protagonist liked to go on tangents that didn't add much to the overall narrative.

I recommend Q to anyone looking to read a novel that's a little quirky, and quite romantic.

Visual Inspiration (9)

Australian author Steph Bowe posts inspiration photos on her blog. I love this idea and hope to participate as often as time allows. All photos are from Tumblr or Photo Donuts and do not belong to me.

Inspirational Music (8)

Every once in awhile you have to step away from your computer and dance out that writer's block. I've been a huge fan of the Scissor Sisters' for years now, and they are my go-to band for when I need to lift my mood and shake off the blues.

Review: Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman

Domestic Violets: A Novel (P.S.)-Matthew Norman
Publisher: Harper Perrenial
Publication Date: August 9, 2011
Source: Review copy provided by publisher
Author website

Tom Violet always thought that by the time he turned thirty-five, he’d have everything going for him. Fame. Fortune. A beautiful wife. A satisfying career as a successful novelist. A happy dog to greet him at the end of the day.
The reality, though, is far different. He’s got a wife, but their problems are bigger than he can even imagine. And he’s written a novel, but the manuscript he’s slaved over for years is currently hidden in his desk drawer while his father, an actual famous writer, just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His career, such that it is, involves mind-numbing corporate buzzwords, his pretentious archnemesis Gregory, and a hopeless, completely inappropriate crush on his favorite coworker. Oh . . . and his dog, according to the vet, is suffering from acute anxiety.
Tom’s life is crushing his soul, but he’s decided to do something about it. (Really.) Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness—even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way.

(Amazon)

So, I read a lot. More than anyone I know in real life (aside from my mother). I generally like most of the books I read, but honestly it's getting rarer to find a book that I want to clutch to my chest and sing a praise chorus for.  Domestic Violets is one of those books.

I can't imagine wanting to be a writer if your father had blazed that trail before you. There's a reason someone like Stephen King's son chose to go by a pen name instead of riding on his father's (and mother's, his mom is an author too) coat tails. You're always left to wonder if you're really good at what you do, or because of who your dad is.

So Tom's dealing with that, a job he hates and a co-worker that he wants to punch in the face, and some, erm, biological problems on top of that. When his dad arrives at his house late one night and tells Tom he's just won the Pulitzer Prize, our story really begins.

What follows is a little Office Space, a little Arrested Development, and an original take on what it's like to approach middle age and still not be sure who you are yet.

This was one of my favorite reads of the year so far, and I can't recommend it enough!

In My Mailbox (35)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event held by The Story Siren. Just a few books to talk about this week:

From the library:

Strings Attached by Judy Blundell & Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

For an upcoming blog tours:

Naughty In Nice (A Royal Spyness Mystery) by Rhys Bowen

 Q: A Novel Evan Mandery

I also received a nice surprise package from Little, Brown:

The Shattering by Karen Healey, Winter Town by Stephen Edward (this one looks so good, like a cross between a graphic novel and a regular novel!) and a Sergio beach towel.

For review:

Past Perfect by Leila Sales

 Virtuosity Jessica Martinez

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

Thanks to Little, Brown, Simon & Schuster, FSG, TLC Book Tours & Crazy Book Tours!

What was in your mailbox?

What I Learned at WriteOn Con

Last year I signed up for Write On Con, but I ended up not committing as I'd hoped for one reason or another. In hindsight, I can say that's probably because I wasn't in the right frame of mind to think about the 'next step'. A year later, I'm not 100% ready for that next step, but I'm leaping forward anyway. Even if you're reading this post as a book blogger who is just toying with the idea of writing a book, or someone who isn't serious about getting published, you should take a look at the conference materials on the Writeon Con website.

I devoted most of my time during the con to absorbing as much information as I could. I took a ton of notes and started researching the industry more than I had previously.

The biggest piece of advice I took away came during one of the agent/editor chats. They were discussing alternating first person perspective and how this is really hard to pull off. I glared at the screen as a few agents and editors agreed to this, and I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Cry because it meant re-writing my epic, pain in the ass WiP that took me ages to plot out, but laugh because it was a lightbulb (or a-ha if you're Oprah) moment I was looking for. I knew the book wasn't working, and now I know why.

I also learned a lot about editors and agents in the industry, those that I already followed on Twitter, and those I didn't know at all.  I came away from WriteOn Con with a happy glow about what I'm doing and with a feeling that I know I'm on the right track. Is it possible to feel optimistic when you know you have to climb a mountain? Well, I guess it is, because that's how I feel. I know it's going to be a huge trek, but at least now I feel like I know the right path to take to reach the top.

Since I doubt I'll be able to attend a real life writing conference anytime in the near future, I want to thank the ladies who organized Write On Con. It really was a wonderful experience for me, and I can't wait for next year!

Did you attend WriteOn Con? What did you take away from it?

Inspirational Music (7)

This week's song is another from my 'It Will Happen' inspirational play list. It's one of those songs that makes you feel better after listening to it.

Visual Inspiration (8)

Australian author Steph Bowe posts inspiration photos on her blog. I love this idea and hope to participate as often as time allows. All photos are from Tumblr or Photo Donuts and do not belong to me. This week I'm focusing on inspiration again, and most of the images came from a Tumblr I love, Confessions of a Writer.

Light Posting Week

I won't be posting much this week due to the fact that I threw out my back over the weekend and need to heal, but more importantly, because Write On Con is this week. I signed up last year but was overwhelmed by the awesome and didn't really participate the way I would have liked to, so this year I'm setting aside most of my days during the con so I can get the most out of it.

If you're a YA/MG writer and you're not participating, you really should as it's free!

Kicking Ass & Saving Souls by David Matthews

Kicking Ass and Saving Souls: A True Story of a Life Over the Line-David Matthews
Publisher: Penguin Press
Publication Date: July, 21, 2011
Source: Review copy provided by publisher

The story of a boy from Baltimore who evolves from a safecracking, jewel-heisting, deep-sea diving, ultimate-fighting, international playboy into a globetrotting humanitarian.

Stefan Templeton was born a child of extremes. The son of Ebba, an aristocratic Norwegian love child, and Roye, a militant African American philosopher, Stefan spent his early years shuffling between the discipline of his father's house and dojo in decaying west Baltimore and the eccentricities of his mother's life as a healer and artist in the wealthiest enclaves of Europe. The confusion formed a singular man who had nothing but his own abilities. By age eighteen Stefan was a skilled fighter, philosopher, lover, horseman, and swimmer who exuded confidence and competence.

His highs came from adventure, always. He hunted in Macon, France; brawled in Oxford, England; lived as a kept man off the Champs-Élysées; served as a medicine man in Colombia; escaped death on the Amazon; and trained to serve on Cousteau's Calypso in Marseilles. Love of the mother of his first child temporarily settled Stefan in Norway, but poverty and adrenaline addiction soon kicked in.

Eventually, Stefan found himself in a labyrinthine criminal world-where he pulled off one of the biggest jewel heists in Scandinavia's history as a player in a smuggling consortium. He eluded capture, but the downward spiral continued until he hit bottom one night in Tokyo.

Alone and in need of redemption, Stefan lost himself in the south Asian jungle, but fate brought him an opportunity to help the wretched Karen people of Burma. By serving the forgotten, Stefan could begin his restitution. This Renaissance man at last utilized his uncommon skill set to embrace the call of humanitarian relief. Disasters like the Indonesian tsunami and the Sudanese civil war and drought required all of him.

The adventure of Stefan Templeton tests the bounds of human possibility, and even the most hardened of skeptics will be gripped by this account of David Matthews, Stefan's childhood friend and sometimes harshest critic.
(Amazon)

I'm a sucker for a good memoir, and I know it might seem cliche, but Kicking Ass & Saving Souls literally has it all. A not always likable protagonist, living a double life between urban Baltimore and European splendor. Seriously, what's not to like?

Stefan Templeton became friends with the author in 1970's Baltimore. Baltimore is rough town even now, and from an early age Stefan realized that would have to carve out his own path in life, and what a life he's lived. When I read any memoir, I take it with a grain of salt. Unless you're some hopeless narcissist who recorded all your conversations, you're not going to remember conversations from 1985. That said, Stefan seems like the type of person that these sort of things would happen to. Moves to Europe, ends up in Colombia, stumbles into a criminal life, then begins to redeem himself by doing humanitarian work.

When I finished this book, I couldn't help but wonder what it's like to live a life over the line. To pack so many great and varied experiences into such a relatively short period of time. I wish I was a little bit more like Stefan Templeton. I doubt I'll be diving in Europe or working as a bouncer in Tokyo, but if I can take one thing from this book it's that perhaps I should try to be a little bit more fearless in my daily life.

Visual Inspiration (7)

Australian author Steph Bowe posts inspiration photos on her blog. I love this idea and hope to participate as often as time allows. All photos are from Tumblr, Flickr or Photo Donuts and do not belong to me.

This week's I'm sharing some of my favorite inspirational images from around the web. Hope they help inspire you!