fiction files redux discussion

Unconfirmed Twitter reports have our fearless leader's long-awaited second novel WEST OF HERE going to the excellent publisher, Algonquin. Similar Tweets mention Chuck Adams, who recently acquired and published a little book called WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, as his editor.

Congratulations JE! Extremely excited for you and WEST OF HERE.

Nice.

Awesome! I can't wait!

This calls for beer and barbeque!

I saw this about it:

http://emergingwriters.typepad.com/em...

fancy that.

. . . you guys are the best, thanks . . . i think all of you know what a long and humiliating journey this has been for me (and promises to be in the future) . . . it's cold out there, and i feel like the luckiest guy alive to have my dreams coming true, and to have pals like you guys to celebrate with!!!!

congratulations skipper! looks like 2009 is your year. :)

. . .thanks mo . . . just in time for the baby!!! . . . i was sweatin' the idea of feeding my boy . . . this ends the longest winter of my life! . . . put it this way: my agent sent me a box of food for christmas!

it is perfect timing then! it's lovely to see a soul as kind and generous as yours get something back. all that good energy you put out is finally coming back to you. :)

p.s. feel free to tell your agent to start sending those boxes of food up here. it's been many a moon since mo made lasagna. :)

Congratulations JE! As I tweeted before, all that hard work and bathtubbing paid off! I can't wait to buy copies for all my friends! Oh and read it myself! Much love and luck to you my friend.

. . .thanks ker-bear . . . i'm really grateful that the pieces are fitting together at last . . . now, let's see if i can keep them in place!

Awesome news. Congrats, JE.

west of here is india... you wrote a book about india je? congrats. that is very good news. you have much to be thankful for this year papa je.

outstanding!

So great for you, JE, and deserved.

Can't wait to get my hands on a copy, I'll even buy hard cover. ;-)

That review is glowing on emerging writers, btw. Kick ass.

I'm late to the party, but damn, JE...outstanding news. It's a little less cold out there now. I'm with Mo--2009 will be a banner year for the Evison family.

We all know the real title of your sophomore effort is "The Beast: the story that nearly killed Jon to write."

To think! There was a time when this beast had YOU cornered. You were even wondering whether it wouldn't be best not to just put the whole unwieldy project on a back burner for a while.

Good times Jonathan. Good times.

mm

. . no doubt, pops, i was almost two years in before i really felt like i had the reigns . . . readings from you and hugh and shel and marge were invaluable . . . they say hard writing makes easy reading, and i hope that's true . . .because WOH was quite a chore . . .

Allow me to toss yet another "congratulations!" onto the fire. Great stuff.

I must admit: When I first started trolling around the old FF, I didn't know what to make of you. You seemed like a hell of a guy, and you sure knew a lot about literature (i.e., you were clearly a good READER). But this dubious novel of yours...could it possibly be any good? Then LULU was published and released and...sh!t yeah, it was good. Really good. This guy is for real, I thought.

I've been looking forward to WEST OF HERE for years now. And now I'm even more excited.

Hope to see your name on the NY Times bestseller list sooner than later, man. Best --

G.

Jonathan wrote: " . . no doubt, pops, i was almost two years in before i really felt like i had the reigns . . . readings from you and hugh and shel and marge were invaluable . . . they say hard writing makes easy..."

I'm trying to think which interview I saw of yours recently where you mentioned the collaboration between writer and reader. Probably the interview where you mention Dickens. Interesting MO; not universal by any means.
mm

. . . yeah, pops, for sure not universal . . . i never forget the reader . . .i've always got an idea of the effect i'm working to create, the emotional discomfort i'm looking to stir up, the funny bone i'm looking to tickle . . . really, when i strip away everything else, the reader is the starting point . . . the reader-- and i suppose this goes without saying, is mostly me, my own aesthetic, the places i want to be touched, the characters i want to inhabit, the things i want to laugh at, the truths i want to grope for . . . and i know how to get there, or i've got a pretty good idea, or i have no idea whatsoever but i'll kill myself trying . . . all for the reader . . .

I know, I'm late getting to it but I'm adding my congrats as well!! JE, that's great news! I've been anxiously awaiting the next JE installment...so glad to hear it is on its way!