Bloomington Book Fair and other stuff

My goodness, it's already coming close to a week since the Bloomington Book Fair and I'm just getting around to writing about it now? I'm thinking it might be time to rearrange my priorities. Maybe watching reruns of News Radio shouldn't be so high up on the list (but I digress).

Last Saturday was my third stint at the Bloomington Book Fair. As is the norm ~ my face hurt from constantly smiling, but also as is the norm, I did have a good time and met some wonderful people. This year I had the pleasure of having a table next to Erin Hart. For those unfamiliar with Erin's work - shame on you. She's an amazing mystery writer, and I believe the past president of the local Sisters-in-Crime chapter. Being side-by-side with Erin had its advantages and disadvantages. Her table certainly attracted quite a crowd. Unfortunately, once they got their signed copies of Erin's books, they gave me a per functionary smile, and if I was lucky, a few picked up my card.  Still, I did manage to sell a few books and did a lot of networking.

My table (sans crowd)

Erin's table (bunches-o-people)

Otherwise, I've been devoting the majority of my time promoting Spyder. I'm happy to report that for those of you who still love the feel of holding a real book in your hands, Spyder can be found at most of the independent bookstores around town along with many of the online sites, including Amazon and B&N. Ebooks are also available at most of the online sites. I hope to set up a reading or two in the coming months, but so far nothing is set in stone. Fear not ~ as soon as anything is set up, I'll let you know.

I'm very pleased to announce that my friend, and children's book author, Stacy Waibel, will soon be releasing her fourth in the series of Rudy, the cute poodle books. The newest should be out sometime in April. For more information on Rudy and Stacy, check out their website at Rudy's Little world.

I know that I'm forgetting to mention something (this getting old thing really sucks) but at least when I remember what it is, it will give me something to write about next blog.  Until then . . .

Spyder has hit the streets!

Now that Spyder has been released, I was going to talk about Spyder, talk about marketing, how important that is (it is) and how uncomfortable I am doing it (I am).  Blah, blah, blah ~ I've talked it about all before and I really think I'd probably be repeating myself.  Then I saw Nancy Silveria's review.  Needless to say, I was in awe and it rendered me speechless. So, I'll let her review do all the talking for me.
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Spine-tingling author David Fingerman goes in a bold new direction with the release of his 231-page book of fiction entitled SPYDER. (ISBN 978-1-60318-264-5) 

Named for the books main character, SPYDER takes us on a candid journey into the inner city of Everyday-Metropolis, USA. From a first person accounting, the author sets the reader on the edge of reality with nowhere to go but into the raw pulse of the human condition. 

Using a colorful combination of characterization and sarcasm, Fingerman moves readers across this edgy work with denial and fascination, creating the "I know it's tragic, but I can't help but watch" mentality. A sensation I find similar to enjoying Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. 

Allow me to introduce you to Spyder, a thirty year old man who has already tasted the worse flavors life has to offer. 

"Actually, I go by the name of Spyder, that's Spyder spelled with a y. In my younger days living on the street, I got a black widow, complete with red hour-glass, tattooed on my right cheek just below the eye; about the same place a gang-banger tattoos a tear drop after he offs somebody. Thus, my name. It shows the high creative intellect that's out on the street." 

He's a man of crass wit possessing a bad ass survivalist approach to life in the drug filled alleys and wayward streets. 

"Let's see, I dissed the Latin Kings this morning; by noon tomorrow I'd be dissing the Vice Lords by not showing up. Hell, the day was young and I still had plenty of time to diss the Bloods, Crips, Disciples, and the Naturals to make me a complete moron and walking dead man. Not a problem. I licked the twenty clean of any remaining powder and walked out the door to see what the rest of the day might bring." 

Fingerman peels back the layers from the shunned world of opportunistic relationships that breed from the raw needs of addiction, violence, and homelessness. The book opens when Spyder's girl friend Olivia, a relationship of convenience rather than attachment, dies from an drug overdose, thus forcing Spyder to consider steady employment and sobriety over living hand to mouth and strung out on the city streets. 

From the violence of guns over taking Spyder's hard learned experience with a blade, and the fact that his body is aging pass the peak of his youthful days of becoming a street renowned VIP, to the loneliness that comes from a lack of familial support and emotional contentment, Fingerman paints Spyder's journey. 

What unfolds is one man's attempt to change his life, to build stability and relationships from scratch without possessing a single social skill other than the ones learned from surviving life on the streets. 

SPYDER begs the question: Can a man who has only known a life of drug dealing, gang violence, and the pitfalls of affection magnified under such a heated spotlight, find a peaceful existence within the structured expectations of civility? 

If you've read either of David Fingerman's books, the collection of short stories Edging Past Reality or his first novel Silent Kill, than you know it's a good bet you're going to love SPYDER, too. I couldn't put it down! 

I've read all his books, and he's quickly become one of my favorites because reading one Fingerman book doesn't mean you've read them all. He's versatile; a rare quality and a true mark of a great writer.