His latest book is a memoir titled MISFITS
AND SUPERMEN: TWO BROTHERS’ JOURNEY ALONG THE SPECTRUM.
Website: www.misfitsandsupermen.com.
BOOK BLURB:
The bond of
brotherhood is hard to break, but a lifetime of dealing with familial
expectation, bitterness, and psychological disorders can bend and warp it into
something nearly unrecognizable. This story tells the tale of two brothers:
Melvyn, the elder, whose amalgamation of disorders leave him completely unable
to function within society; and Stephen, the
younger, whose own emotional and
psychological issues are overshadowed to the point where he becomes little more
than a pale and twisted reflection of his brother.
On different ends of the same spectrum, Melvyn is blissfully
unaware of their troubling connection (or so his brother can only assume), but
for Stephen, it is undeniable. He lives with it every day, sensing his own
otherness in every twitch, outburst, and inability of his brother to overcome
his inner demons. Left largely on his own to deal with his peculiarities-while
carrying the burden of being "the normal one," of whom much is
expected- Stephen begins a complicated and unpredictable journey, one which
will take him as far from his brother as he can manage to get, even as it
brings them inexorably closer.
A portion of proceeds from this book will go toward the Camp Cuheca Scholarship - Melvyn D. Starger fund at Waterford Country School, Quaker Hill, CT., to help fund a two-week summer residency at the camp. For more information about Waterford Country School, please email development@waterforddcs.org.
A portion of proceeds from this book will go toward the Camp Cuheca Scholarship - Melvyn D. Starger fund at Waterford Country School, Quaker Hill, CT., to help fund a two-week summer residency at the camp. For more information about Waterford Country School, please email development@waterforddcs.org.
“A finely crafted, affecting memoir of
two brothers.”
-- Kirkus
Reviews
“If you want
an honest book about life with mental illness in the family, this is it. Great
writing. Brutally honest. Hard to put it down. Great stories about CT, NY and
CA from the 1940s to 2000.”
--Amazon Reviewer
ORDER YOUR COPY:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Thank you for your time in answering our questions about getting published. Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you decided to become an author and pen this book?
I’ve always had ambitions
to write, all the way back to early childhood.
Is this your first book?
No. In 2006, I
published Wally’s World: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Wally Wood, the
World’s Second-Best Comic-Book Artist. The book was short-listed for the Will
Eisner Industry Award for Best Comics-Related Book of 2006.
My first book was
published by a third-party press, but I self-published Misfits and Supermen
with Friesen Press because I felt a kind of urgency to get the story of my
brother out into the world. Finding a third-party publisher can be a long,
agonizing process.
Can you tell us a little
about your publishing journey? The pros
and cons?
I received my first
professional byline when I was 19, a theater review for my local newspaper when
I was in college. I spent about 30 years as a professional journalist, and I
also have written plays and fiction. My “journey” has been at times more like a
rollercoaster ride, which I think is typical of the writing life. I wouldn’t
change one second of it.
What lessons do you feel you
learned about your particular publishing journey and about the publishing
industry as a whole?
Publishing is an
extremely difficult goal to achieve. One has to be dedicated or crazy to do it.
Developing a very thick skin is a requirement, as is faith in one’s work.
Self-publishing, these
days, can be very rewarding and legitimate. The days of the “vanity press” are
gone, thankfully. Many self-publishing houses produce beautiful books and give
the kind of editorial help that third-party publishers are known to give. In
terms of post-publishing support, self-published books are positioned well
these days to receive the same kind of promotional support that a small
third-party press might give.
What’s the best advice you
can give to aspiring authors?
If you feel you have
what it takes to be a published writer, don’t give up! Be your own toughest
critic and move ahead, if your work demands it.
No comments:
Post a Comment