This pleasant surprise came across my desk yesterday. A blogger at The Skeptical Bureaucrat writes: I picked up some nice items at the AAFSW* book fair last week, and one of them was this quirky novel Two Pumps for the Body Man, which the author describes as a soft-boiled diplomatic noir... The story is a … Continue reading Blog of the Week
review
this is what i do when… #4
Summer fantasy surf quest In Episode 4 of this is what i do when i should be... we recap skateboard and bike camp, move operations up to the beach, and take a stab at that notorious dragon, Smaug. True to form the conversation allows escape from what we really should be doing, which is reviewing Brian Booker's … Continue reading this is what i do when… #4
The first readers
It's almost twenty years since I first shared my fiction beyond the confines of family or classroom. I found three trusted readers during the months of pre-service training as a Peace Corps Volunteer. What else to do on the dusty plains of Central Malawi beneath the boiling sun, the cloudless sky? I wrote my first novel. I wrote … Continue reading The first readers
The Big Zero
The latest from Don DeLillo subjects readers to suffocation in a plotless environment hosting flat characters who live out an endless procession of questions about life, death, and the consequences in between. That is Zero-K. Whether or not the flattened nature of this enterprise is intentional—to emphasize confinement, restriction, joylessness, life as a movement toward death—the result is … Continue reading The Big Zero
Marine Security Guards at 70
The Marine Security Guard program this week celebrated 70 years protecting U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. Happy Fourth of July to the Ambassadors in Blue. Two books covering their service, one non-fiction, the other fiction: Greg Matos’ Shattered Glass—The Story of a Marine Embassy Guard... recounts the December 2004 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. … Continue reading Marine Security Guards at 70
DeWildt’s Brutal Rural Noir
C.S. DeWildt writes a sick rural noir in Kill ‘Em With Kindness, no surprise given the strength of his previous release Love You to a Pulp. The narrative blazes through the rural backwoods of Horton burning down churches and meting out vengeance on more than a few good ol’ boys—some who deserve it, some who don't. And … Continue reading DeWildt’s Brutal Rural Noir
Dark, hilarious, cutting
Exactly the kind of review that makes it all worth the effort. Somebody thought enough of Two Pumps for the Body Man to post this. Mission Accomplished. Came on top of a great plug from killer noir writer C.S. DeWildt (Love You to a Pulp and just last week Kill 'em with Kindness) who said of Two Pumps: "...Full of … Continue reading Dark, hilarious, cutting
Heroes In Literature
Among the acknowledgements listed back of my debut novel is Barry H. Leeds, Connecticut State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at CCSU. Hemingway, Mailer, Kesey—these were the writers Dr. Leeds expounded to us, models who wrote tough, lean sentences and big, enduring books. I worked like hell to write the strong prose Dr. Leeds demanded in his … Continue reading Heroes In Literature
Farce Within a Farce
This review captures the tenor and purpose of Two Pumps for the Body Man with incredible brevity and precision. I wish I knew more about the reader, who goes simply by "B". In some ways, that mystery (I know only that they also reviewed Soul Combat+ Ultimate Active Performance Over-Ear Headphones, Storm Black) adds to the satisfaction of having such an … Continue reading Farce Within a Farce
What is the WOT
Three novelists offer their views of Two Pumps for the Body Man, a satire about life on the front line of the War on Terror. ...the pace is fast... Two Pumps is a page-turner, baby, and it takes some real balls to satirize the great Christian crusade of our times. ...a wry ode to the cluster-f*** of … Continue reading What is the WOT
Ben East Books 