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