Steinbeck: Goodman's Book "Terrific"

Thomas Steinbeck may be writing in the shadow of a great cypress (Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck), but he also wrote In the Shadow of the Cypress. And Down to a Soundless Sea.

Just this month, his third book of fiction, The Silver Lotus, was published by Counterpoint. With advance praise from Publisher’s Weekly and T.C. Boyle, the publisher sold out of the first print run within two days!

I’m honored to say that Steinbeck read Tracks — and liked it! In fact, he called Tracks “a terrific collection of stories.”

Steinbeck also wrote, “Short stories are often an under-appreciated art form. In Tracks, Eric D. Goodman takes the craft to the level of art. An exciting talent.”

Thomas Steinbeck knows a thing or two about writing good stories. His first book of fiction, Down to a Soundless Sea, was a collection of short stories.

Learn about Thomas Steinbeck and his books at his website.

http://www.thomassteinbeck.com/

Flightless Goose Lives!

At Thanksgiving, families everywhere have turkey on the mind. Gilbert, the flightless goose, thanks you for that.

Although my focus this year has been on Tracks: A Novel in Stories, goose fans everywhere will be happy to know that Gilbert is alive and well.

In fact, earlier this year, our publisher sent me (the author) and Nataliya (the illustrator) on a book tour to Chicago where we presented Flightless Goose to three different schools in Chicago, and to a childrens’ hospital. We even did an interview for a local television station and appeared on the television show “Storytime with Dot!”

On the heels of the Chicago tour, we did a month-long blog tour for Flightless Goose. I appeared on a number of “mommy blogs” in support of Flightless Goose. You can find some of the reviews and interviews from the month-long blog tour at the links below.

http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/help-your-child-cope-with-bullying-with-flightless-goose-a-review

http://livingatthewhiteheadszoo.blogspot.com/2011/06/flightless-goose-virtual-book-tour-june.html

http://flipflopreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/flightless-goose-virtual-book-tour-stop.html

http://www.confessionsofapsychotichousewife.com/2011/06/blog-tour-review-flightless-goose-by.html

http://www.spanish4kiddos.com/2011/06/flightless-goose-virtual-book-tour-and.html

http://www.intentionalconsciousparenting.com/2010/10/childrens-book-review-flightless-goose.html

http://kathrynmcgowan.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-flightless-goose.html

http://www.stowedstuff.com/2011/07/flightless-goose-author-is-here.html

http://www.lifeas5.com/2011/07/interview-with-flightless-goose-author.html

http://www.lifeas5.com/2011/06/flightless-goose_23.html

http://www.mommyblogexpert.com/2011/07/flightless-goose-virtual-book-tour-kids.html

http://www.prettyopinionated.com/2011/07/book-tour-and-giveaway-the-flightless-goose/

http://www.ourfamilyworld.com/article/flightless-goose-book-review-gilbert-the-goose-has-a-zest-for-life/

http://www.ourfamilyworld.com/blog/2011/07/11/flightless-goose-book-tour-interview-with-eric-d-goodman-and-giveaway/

http://www.ourfamilyworld.com/blog/2011/08/09/gilbert-the-goose-giveaway-win-a-100-back-to-school-prize-pack/

http://www.frugalityisfree.com/2011/11/flightless-goose-by-eric-d-goodman.html

http://raisinglittlesaints.blogspot.com/2011/07/flightless-goose-virtual-book-tour-for.html

http://adventuresinallthingsfood.blogspot.com/2011/06/flightless-goose-book-review.html

http://www.graceandme.com/2011/07/friendship-friday-flightless-goose.html

http://en.paperblog.com/flightless-goose-book-review-and-giveaway-48874/

http://www.simplystacie.net/2011/07/book-review-giveaway-flightless-goose-ww/

http://stinkylittlefeet.com/2011/07/27/its-a-giveaway-its-a-book-review-its-a-chat-with-an-author-its-gilbert-the-flightless-goose/

http://www.joysautismblog.com/?p=2597


As a result of the blog tour and Chicago tour, Gilbert has garnered quite a few new friends. More than 5,000 fans “like” Gilbert on the Flightless Goose Facebook page. You can too!

http://www.facebook.com/flightlessgoose

You’ve visited the blog posts; you’ve friended Flightless Goose on Facebook. Now, enjoy some recreation at the Flightless Goose website.

www.FlightlessGoose.com


And top it off with a visit to the original website: www.RunGoose.com.

Happy holidays from the Goodmans and the Goose!

Today is Tracks Day

Today is the day—Tracks has arrived via Atticus books. Tracks is on the bookshelves of bookstores (brick and mortar as well as online) across the nation.

Want a taste before you order your copy? Tune into Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, on the radio or online tomorrow. That’s 88.1 FM and www.wypr.org. I’m reading from Tracks on NPR’s The Signal at 12 noon and again at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 1. The broadcast will air again on Saturday, June 2.

With the release of Tracks, I’m sighing a breath of relief. It’s a big moment for me as a fiction writer—decades in the making. It may have only been five or six years from first draft to agent to bookstore shelf … but prior to writing the first lines of Tracks, I spent decades writing fiction. From the moment in the third grade when I got hooked by a short story assignment, I dreamed of the day I’d have a literary agent and an independent publisher share my novel with the world. All of the prior novel drafts, comments from publishers, agents, and editors, and hard knocks lead me to what has become my debut novel in stories.

As surely as I’m breathing that sigh of relief, I’m also holding my breath. I’m a debut fiction writer with a small indie press facing an army of goliaths. You may have notice I’ve punched up the publicity for Tracks, in recent weeks, and that’s why. It’s hard for a debut book to be heard in the chorus of established bestsellers.

So please consider sharing Tracks. Whether you tweet it, post about it on Facebook, send an email to your list, mention it in your newsletter, suggest it to your book club, share it with a friend, ask about it at a bookstore that doesn’t have it in stock, or just mention one of the stories that may have hit home with you in a conversation—anything you can do to spread the word about Tracks is very much appreciated. Each advocate is an extra arrow to still my quiver, to continue battle with an army of goliaths analogy.

Today has been a whirlwind with all of the activity on Facebook, online, postcards, phone calls, and all of the congratulations. Thanks to all.

It’s been a long and winding line of track. Now it’s time to enjoy the ride.

Learn more about Tracks at www.TracksNovel.com where you can read excerpts (long and short), listen to past NPR radio readings, find out what others are saying about Tracks, get a timetable of readings and events, and order your copy.

Yes, Amazon Has Tracks Too

The countdown continues; it’s only twelve days until the release of Tracks, a novel in stories from the author of Flightless Goose.

You can pre-order your copy anytime. You can buy your copy just about anywhere books are sold, including your favorite brick and mortar or online booksellers.

And in case you’re wondering, yes Amazon will have it too. In fact, it’s featured at Amazon’s website with a number of endorsements from other writers, information about the book, and free shipping for any orders of $25 or more.

(Note that Atticus Books is selling Tracks with free shipping and no minimum purchase requirement. Learn more at http://atticusbooksonline.com/online-bookstore/trade-paperbacks/tracks-a-novel-in-stories/)

But no one can argue with the ease of using Amazon. If you shop at Amazon, here’s where you can find Tracks on their website.

http://www.amazon.com/Tracks-Stories-Eric-D-Goodman/dp/0984510575/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Baltimore Sun’s Read Street—E-Marketing Books

This week The Baltimore Sun’s book blog, Read Street, published my article about the e-marketing of books. Specifically, Dave Rosenthal (the editor) asked me to write about my experiences in e-marketing Tracks, my novel in stories, and to mention the contest, which is still going on through June 30 (so it’s not too late to enter).

Dave Rosenthal wrote, “I'm always astounded that an author has time to write books -- what with all time needed to market their earlier works. So I asked local author Eric D. Goodman for a guest post on the topic …”

Read it on Read Street at the link below—and feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment!

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2011/06/tracks_giveaway_and_a_lesson_i.html

Loyola Interview with Tracks and Goose Author

Tracks and Goose on the Tube

Recently, I did a television interview at Loyola University. In the interview, I talked about Tracks and Flightless Goose, writing in general, offered advice to aspiring writers, and discussed my own beginnings as a writer and inspirations for Tracks.

Watch the 10 minute video at the link below and you’ll even learn whether or not any of the characters in Tracks are based on real people, and what three people I’d want to hop on the train with. (At least my spontaneous answer when hit with the unexpected question.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWII9ds_eCk

Borders Offers 40 Percent Off

Borders is still in business. And they’re getting competitive. For a limited time, they’re offering a 40 percent off coupon. But Hurry--the offer only lasts from now until Monday!

You can order your copy of Tracks or Flightless Goose from Borders between now and Monday and you’ll get 40 percent off the cover price! You’ll also get free priority shipping on orders over $25, so buy one of each! (The 40 percent only applies to one item.)

Of course, you can also print the coupon and take it to a physical Borders bookstore, so you’ll get your 40 percent off without having to think about shipping.

Here is a link to the coupon offer.
http://www.bordersmedia.com/coup/20110610sa40.html?cmpid=SA_20110610

Let the Contest and Countdown Begin

We’ve turned the page of the calendar to Tracks Month! Tracks, a novel in stories, is being released by Atticus Books on June 30—let the countdown to Tracks Day begin!



Tracks is a chapter book that may be a little difficult for some of the readers of Flightless Goose. But it may make a good gift for a parent, aunt or uncle who enjoys reading a good book.

Atticus Books, the publisher of Tracks, wants to send two lucky readers a free copy of Tracks hot off the press! There are five easy ways to enter the contest. You can enter as many times as you’d like during the month of June, and each entry will increase your chances of winning one of the free books.

1. Share Tracks on Facebook. Write a post and share the link to www.TracksNovel.com, or repost / share one of my Tracks-related posts (like this one). Be creative!

2. Share Tracks on Twitter. Tweet all about Tracks and include a link to www.TracksNovel.com. Condense your wit to 180 characters!

3. Share Tracks with your contacts. Send an email blast to your list of friends and colleagues about Tracks and be sure to include the www.TracksNovel.com link.

4. “Like” the Lounge at http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Tracks-the-lounge-car/182330691789512

5. “Friend” Franklin, the Conductor, at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001923080723

Each time you do one of the above, just send an email to TracksNovel@gmail.com notifying us of your post/tweet/like/friend and you’ll be entered into the contest.

Two lucky winners will receive a free copy of Tracks, hot off the press—postage included for winners within the United States. In the case of a winner outside the United States, you can select the eBook version or pay the postage for your free printed book.

What are you waiting for? Remember that you can enter as often as you like during the month of June—so enter early and enter often!

Let the Tracks Contest and Countdown begin!

Goose Author's Novel Available to Pre-Order with Free Shipping

Mondays aren’t all bad. Sure, Fridays get all the attention with their ends of the week and beginnings of the weekend. But sometimes starting an entirely new week has its perks.

Here’s a reason to celebrate this Monday: Tracks, a novel in stories, is now available for pre-order at the online bookstore of Atticus Books!

Not only that, but if you pre-order before the official release date of June 30, you can get free shipping anywhere in the United States!

As Atticus describes, “This novel-in-stories follows a diverse group of passengers on a train from Baltimore to Chicago, revealing the secrets of their past, their hopes for the future and just how intertwined their lives really are.”

What kind of person takes the train from Baltimore to Chicago (besides the author)?

“They are the strangers we meet every day: a soldier slowly losing his faith in the war, a businessman learning to balance his job and the family he loves, a computer geek-turned-criminal, a Holocaust survivor finding hope in facing her fears, couples in love, a woman dealing with the death of her parents, a poet hunting for inspiration, and a hit man with a job to finish before the train arrives at its destination. Watch as these and other characters' lives and stories seamlessly link and intersect, quietly shaping and changing one another.”

Read more — and pre-order your first printing copy of Tracks today — by visiting the Atticus Online Bookstore at the link below.

http://atticusbooksonline.com/online-bookstore/trade-paperbacks/tracks-a-novel-in-stories/

Mommy Knows Best in Writers Weekly

Mother’s Day was a recent reminder that “Mommy Knows Best.” That’s also the title of an article Flightless Goose author Eric D. Goodman had published in Writers Weekly earlier this year.

Writers Weekly is the world’s most popular writing eZine; it has more subscribers than any other freelance-writing eZine.

Eric's feature story, “Mommy Knows Best,” relays a recent strategy used to help generate some “good ink” for Flightless Goose. As the story explains, after about a year of pitching the goose to traditional reviewers, review copies were offered to trusted mommy bloggers — and they helped this flightless goose soar.

Read all about it by visiting Writers Weekly at the link below.
http://www.writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/006523_01262011.html

Flightless Goose Author is Poet of the Day

Laura Shovan is not only Maryland’s “poet in the schools,” but also the editor of the poetry anthology Life in Me like Grass On Fire and Little Patuxent Review. She also keeps a blog about writing, teaching and parenting called Author Amok.

For National Poetry Month, She has been featuring a Poet of the Month each day. And today’s poet is … yours truly!

Laura featured my poem, “Submission to a Student Journal (from a writer who’s burning out).” She writes about her thoughts on the poem and what it means, offers a writing exercise based on the poem, and writes a little about me and my writing.

It seems appropriate that this poem—an older writer speaking to a younger one—be published during the week of my 40^th birthday. And believe it or not, this is the second item I’ve had published since turning 40 on Monday! The decade is off to a good start.

Pay a visit to Author Amok.

http://authoramok.blogspot.com/

Go directly to her feature on my work here.

http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-poetry-month-issue-27.html

Author's New Website Launched

The release date for Tracks, a novel in stories, is still months away — June 30 to be precise. But you don’t have to wait to climb aboard. You can visit the new website dedicated to Tracks: http://www.tracksnovel.com/.

TracksNovel.com has a number of stations. You can:

· Listen to stories from Tracks, as featured on NPR;

· Read excerpts from Tracks;

· See the press release and other Tracks-related news;

· Find out what others are saying about Tracks;

· Get the schedule of Tracks readings, signings, and appearances;

· Visit the Lounge Car or Tracks Blog; even

· Watch a Tracks-related video.

What are you waiting for? Hop aboard the Tracks website now!

http://www.tracksnovel.com/

Goose Author's New Novel Cover Revealed

Can we have a drum roll on the train, please?


The cover for Tracks, a novel in stories by Flightless Goose author Eric D. Goodman, has been revealed! Take a look at the picture below.


The warm, earth-toned cover was designed by London-based designer Jamie Keenan. In designing the cover for Tracks, Keenan said, “The basic idea was to find an image of tracks that mirrored the ideas in the book — beginnings, endings, uncertainty, transformation, possibilities ...”


The image here is the cover for the advance reading copy, or ARC. There are other designs and variations on this cover, so stay tuned to find out whether this will be the final cover when it comes time for the actual print run.


Keenan knows his book jackets; he’s even filled auditoriums with his “Twenty Immutable Theories of Cover Design.” And he’s certainly put them to work with covers for authors such as: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Stephen King, H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Junot Diaz, David Foster Wallace, Philip K Dick, Anthony Burgess, Tennessee Williams, Jean-Paul Sarte, Rudyard Kipling, Garrison Kellior, Nick Hornby, and A.M. Homes.

Learn more about Jamie Keenan and see some of his favorite cover designs at his website.

www.keenandesign.com

Visit the Atticus Books website for more about Tracks.

http://atticusbooksonline.com/category/2011-book-titles/eric-d-goodman/

Goose Author Nominated for Baker Artist Award

Flightless Goose author Eric D. Goodman is a nominee in the running for a Baker Artist Award! Check out my profile and nomination entry at the link below:

www.bakerartistawards.org/nomination/view/edgewriter

The Baker Artist Awards support Baltimore's artists, the city's rich and diverse cultural offerings and the participation of its residents in the region's creative life.

Visitors are encouraged to view the artists' galleries and to curate an exhibit by selecting favorite artworks from the site.

Last week, WYPR’s The Signal did a segment about the Baker Awards. You can listen to it—as well as catch a podcast of my own reading from Tracks from yesterday’s episode—at www.wypr.org/stationprogram/signal. My story, “Reunion,” closes out the last 20 minutes of the program.

Learn more about the Baker Artist Awards at their main page.

http://www.bakerartistawards.org/

Check our my profile below, where you can learn more about Tracks (a novel in stories being published by Atticus Books this summer), Womb (a novel-in-progress), and other fiction. You can even listen to some other radio readings there.

Feel free to leave a comment or two!

www.bakerartistawards.org/nomination/view/edgewriter