Living Above the Fold

A comic tale with a serious edge, this novel by a former Adbusters editor takes place in a not-too-distant future when advertising pervades every aspect of daily life. Companies use phony car accidents and hostage crises as publicity gimmicks and hire professional “coolhunters” to ferret out new targets for ad campaigns.

Review: Everyone in Silico (January 29, 2003)

Life isn’t easy for thirteen-year-old paperboy Peter Paddington: He weighs two hundred pounds, he’s at the bottom of the school social ladder, and he’s struggling with strange new feelings about his male classmates. Even worse, his body is changing in unexpected ways — his nipples have started puffing up and speaking to him, urging him to act out his deepest desires.

Review: The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington (East Bay Express, August 31, 2005)

In “The Accidental Connoisseur,” Lawrence Osborne undertakes a formidable task: writing an unpretentious book about wine. He starts strong, describing his youth as a good Catholic boy in London, where wine was an awe-inspiring holy drink, imbued with a mystical quality that belied its earthy origins in fermented grapes.

Review: The Accidental Connoisseur (San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 2004)

Sometimes you need to get away from it all, and Vegas and Disneyland just aren’t far enough away. That’s when you reach for your passport and your travelers’ checks and head for some distant paradise. Nothing compares to the giddy thrill of trekking through uncharted jungle or lying on a tropical beach.

The Agony and the Odyssey (East Bay Express, May 24, 2004)

Speaking of self-publishing, here’s another piece on the topic.  This one asks the essential preliminary question: Is self-publishing right for you?  How can you use it to propel your book to success!  Let’s see, shall we?

6 Ways that Authors Can Succeed by Self-Publishing Books (PBS Mediashift, October 24, 2008)

I met Bob Fowler at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco a few years ago and was immediately fascinated by his most unusual collection. Fowler collects Chick tracts, which, if you haven’t heard of them, are these little religious comics that you sometimes find in public restrooms or bus stations that explain how rock and roll is the devil’s music or how Dungeons and Dragons is satanic.  They’re published by southern California evangelical Jack Chick (WARNING: Link may be offensive), under the idea that the best way to reach potential converts is not with long-winded theological debates but with amusing little comics.  I’ve always been intrigued by those things; they’re just so bizarre.  Fowler has written a book where he attempts to interpret and catalog the entire Chick oeuvre.

You Don’t Know Jack (East Bay Express, April 30, 2003)

Okay, say that you’ve written the Great American Novel. And maybe you don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of finding a publisher — so you decide to publish it yourself.  What’s the best self-publish service for you?  I took a look at several options in this Mediashift piece.

5 Great Services for Self-Publishing Your Book (PBS Mediashift, March 2, 2009)

This is one of my favorite articles.  There are blogs dedicated to everything these days, but this is one blog subculture that I didn’t know much about going in.  I have a sneaking suspicion that some of you may find it interesting to learn about the thriving world of zombie blogging…

Zombie Bloggers Create Communal Horror Stories (PBS Mediashift, June 29, 2009)