For my last stop on the Forest of Fortune tour before I head back to SoCal, I’m super stoked to be reading in Chicago with Joe Meno and Curbside SPlendor authors at Words+Music #6. This event will be held at The Empty Bottle at 1035 N. Western Ave. Show starts at 9pm. Free with RSVP. I’m bringing my mother so you know it’s going to be EXTRA filthy…

On a brutally hot autumn day in L.A. I had a chance to sit down and talk with Colin Marshall for the Los Angeles Review of Books podcast. If you are familiar with Colin’s work at Notebook on Cities and Culture, you know he is a brilliant observer of the structures that bring people together, so it should come as no surprise that he zeroed in on Forest of Fortune‘s casino culture. It was also very gratifying to talk about the dispatches I wrote for McSweeney’s about my experiences working in the Indian gaming industry, which I wrote while I was still employed by the casino, but wasn’t able to share because I was afraid of losing my job. I don’t work for the casino anymore and I’m spilling all of my secrets…

I’m reading Sunday October12 at the Three Tents reading series with Pamela Erens, Roy Kesey and Sara Lippman.

The event will be held at The Big Hunt at 1345 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20036. Doors at 7pm reading at 7:30. 

I didn’t choose to go to Radford University; Radford chose me.

After bombing out of high school and enlisting in the Navy, Radford was the only school in Virginia that would take me; but I received close, individual attention from my professors. Whether it was Lou Gallo inspiring me to write longer works of fiction by showing me the manuscript of his massive novel in progress, Jolanta Wawrzycka preparing me to present at an International James Joyce Symposium while I was still or an undergrad, or meeting writers like Tim O’Brien and Allen Ginsberg thanks to the efforts of Tim Poland, my education at Radford was first-class and an indispensable part of the lifelong learner I am today.

The past is a murky place but my memories of this campus are vivd and clear, and I’m so glad I was able to come back and reconnect with so many outstanding people. Tim gave me this photo yesterday, taken April 11, 1991, and yes that’s me on the far right, photo bombing out of the past.

Many thanks to Peter Tieryas for his generous take on Forest of Fortune at ENTROPY:

“…it’s a fast-paced read, hard to put down, as flashy and addictive as the casinos they describe. But like those casinos, it’s not just luck that makes the book so good. There’s a designer at the helm, managing every hand, every nuanced interaction.”

I’ll be signing copies of my novel, Forest of Fortune, at the Alumni Village tent on the Moffett Quad today from 2pm to 5pm. I’ll be joining other Radford University alum who have also written books. Come by and pick up a $100 poker chip to my make-believe casino that will get you arrested in real life if you try to cash in in.

Super excited to be reading at my alma mater as part of the homecoming  celebration. 

First, I’ll be giving a reading on Thursday 10/9 at 7:30pm in Heth Hall. 

Then on Saturday 10/11 from 2-5pm I’ll be at the Alumni Village on the Moffett Quad to sign and sell books. 

Many thanks to Aaron Galbreath, Lincoln Michel and Electric Literature for publishing my piece about the blurb trade. The response on social media has been incredible, which is a huge relief as I was very nervous about going public with this story (even though I don’t name names). A lot of people have been sharing blurb stories with me today and they are CRAZY. Keep them coming! An excerpt: 

I prepared to type out my reply with the rage of a thousand furious trolls, but I didn’t know what to say. It’s okay? I understand? It wasn’t okay and I didn’t understand. I felt as if I’d been poleaxed. It would have been better if the blurber had declined to read the book when I emailed in the first place. To receive an endorsement only to have it withdrawn after they’d read the book was like being declined for a second date after having sex on the first.

This weekend I’m back on the road with a series of readings at in the city where I was born, the campus where I went to college, the city where I’m form (sort of), and the part of the country I still hold a grudge against thanks to the U.S. Navy. I’ll have copies of Forest of Fortune at all of these events:

10/04     Brooklyn, NY     5pm
Vermin on the Mount
(Space limited. Message for details)

10/09     Radford, VA     7:30pm
Reading and book signing
Heth 019, Radford University

10/11     Radford, VA     2pm – 5pm
Book signing at Alumni Village on Moffett Lawn
Radford University Homecoming

10/12     Washington, DC     7pm
Three Tents Reading Series with Pamela Erens & Roy Kesey
The Big Hunt 1345 Connecticut Ave NW

10/16     Chicago, IL
WORDS+MUSIC with Curbside Splendor authors and Joe Meno
Empty Bottle 1035 N. Western Ave.
$8 at the door or free with RSVP