Bloggasm

Robin Slick is the author of Three Days in New York City, Another Bite of the Apple, and Buenos Noches, Justine, light-hearted erotic comedies published by Mundania/Phaze Press. Robin’s short stories have appeared in print and on the web-everywhere from heady places like In Posse Review and Slow Trains Literary Journal to give-heady places like Clean Sheets. She lives vicariously through her rock star offspring Julie and Eric Slick, who were featured in the Picturehouse Films documentary, Rock School, and are now members of the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Visit her online at her website and In Her Own Write, where she tries to blog daily about writing, rock music, and how much she abhors the Bush Administration.

Simon Owens: Does the rock music you adore influence your fiction writing at all? Does listening to music get you motivated to write?

Robin Slick: Hell, yes. Rock music influences everything I do. I’m one of those people who need music 24/7; it moves my soul and makes me think…and not to use an old cliche, but it really does get my creative juices flowing. I write early in the morning with my iPod headphones on, listening to everything from John Lennon to Ella Fitzgerald to Adrian Belew to the Flaming Lips to my newest “love,” Citizen Cope.

Simon Owens: As someone who works in both short and long form when it comes to writing, which do you prefer? Novels or short stories?

Robin Slick: Both. I’m a short story addict, though. I can be deep in writing a novel and if I get an idea for a short story or someone solicits me, I drop everything. I think it’s far more difficult to write a good short story than a novel because you have so few words to say so much and alas I am one of those old school writers who needs a beginning, middle and end in my work no matter how short the piece is – even my flashes accomplish this (I hope). But oh, how I love writing novels. Right now I’m doing final edits on the book I’ve waited my entire life to write – a novel about the rock scene in New York City in the seventies which is written 50% in flashback when the narrator is seventeen years old and a bit of a groupie and the other 50% in the present where she is an aging baby boomer struggling to keep her hip image in a very different world musically and politically.

Simon Owens: How successful have you been at using your blog to help promote your writing? Do you think that bloggers have an edge when it comes to promoting their work?

Robin Slick: Yes! I think blogging is probably the best promotion a writer like me, whose books are handled by a small, independent publisher, can have. I reach people all over the world and can promote myself sometimes several times a day via my blog, whether it be to post reviews I receive or bragging rights about sales figures or where my books can be found. For example, I mentioned in my blog that my latest book, Another Bite of the Apple, is now available at Fictionwise and it suddenly skyrocketed to a number one rating in erotica there today. I’ve met all kinds of cool people through my blog as well – a few months ago I required CPR after author Neil Gaiman stopped by and left me a remark in my blog’s comments section and then actually recognized me and gave me a warm hello at a reading of his I attended in Philadelphia.

Simon Owens: How closely do you follow the careers of your two children? Do you go to all of their shows?

Robin Slick: Ha ha – I try desperately not to fall into the role of stage mother because I am so, so not that way. What I am is a music fanatic who is lucky enough to have two extremely gifted kids with unusually good taste in music – their tastes span all kinds of genres as well – and who just happen to be in a band now with one of my all time favorite guitar players, Adrian Belew. But yeah, I admit it, for example when they recently toured Europe with him, I would have killed to have been their groupie in every country they visited but good sense got the best of me and I knew it would be best for their careers (and their own independence as young adults) if I stayed home. But just try and keep me from any shows near Philadelphia! That will never happen.

Simon Owens: How did they both get involved with music?

Robin Slick: Well, with my son, Eric, I knew from the time he was two years old that he was going to be a drummer. I would play Cream or Zep CDs for him with complicated Ginger Baker or Jon Bonham riffs and he’d stand up in his crib and duplicate them by banging on the rails. This was before he could even talk! So we bought him a pair of bongos which were bigger than he was and caused him to topple over but he kept on playing even while flat on his back. By the time he was age four, he sat behind a real set of drums and over the next fifteen years, Eric, who honed his skills at the Paul Green School of Rock as their very first All-Star drummer, performed with Ween, Chris Harford, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ike Willis, Jon Anderson of Yes, Eddie Vedder, Ann Wilson of Heart, John Wetton, Carlos Alomar, Doctor Dark, Project Object, and now his current gig with Adrian Belew.

Julie started playing bass at around age eleven. My husband is a guitarist who is also a collector so our house is filled with guitars and basses and every kid who ever visited our house usually picked one up and fooled around on an instrument or two. At first she tried guitar but ultimately decided on bass after playing her dad’s vintage fretless Gibson ripper. Not to mention Cream again, but my husband taught her how to play the Jack Bruce part on “Politician” and she was hooked but you know, it’s like driving, a parent should never be your teacher. She was the one who first started taking lessons with Paul Green at age twelve and it was Julie and Eric who were with Paul at the beginning…before there was a Paul Green School of Rock Music. They both appear in the documentary about Paul called Rock School which was released by Picturehouse Films last year to rave reviews.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Robin Slick: Well, I love every one on Myfanwy Collins’ list (see your interview on August 29, 2006) so I don’t want to be redundant. Here are some of my other favorites:

Neil Gaiman
Poppy Z. Brite
One Whipped Mother
Pete Townshend
Dgm Live

Patricia Storms is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist residing in Toronto, Canada. She specializes in humorous illustration for both adults and children. Her illustrated blog, BookLust, is a light-hearted labour of love which focuses on her many passions: books, cartoons, art and stuff.

Simon Owens: As someone who enjoys both books and cartoons, do you think it harder to provide in-depth criticism on cartoons? What criteria do you use if you’re going to analyze a particular cartoon (for instance, a political cartoon published in a newspaper)?

Patricia Storms: I don’t personally think it’s hard to provide in-depth criticism of cartoons – they are basically just another form of art, like painting, music or sculpture. In fact, I find it even more enjoyable critiquing cartoons, because I am assessing two forms of art (writing and drawing) which bond together as one creative element. The difficulty in critiquing cartoons lies in the limitations of those who see cartoons as hack work, or the lowest art form available. I hear that from time to time, but thankfully less often these days, thanks to, in part, the rise in popularity of graphic novels. The respect of graphic novelists is slowly seeping into other forms of cartooning, like comic strips and one-panel magazine gags and humour illustration in general, I think.

The criteria I would use to critique a cartoon, would be first, is it funny? (That is, of course, if the cartoon in question is supposed to be funny. Political cartoons, for example, are not necessarily always supposed to be funny, but if effective, are insightful, and elicit a strong feeling from the reader, be it agreement or anger). If the cartoon is funny, I’ll also be wondering if it was the most effective way to communicate the humour. Is the humour too obvious? Could the writing (if there is any; remember some cartoons are completely wordless, but of course still communicate ideas) have been pared down some more? I find that the more terse the writing, the better the cartoon. Is the idea new, fresh, original? A funny cartoon is of little use if it’s something that’s been done before, especially if it’s been done better. The art for a cartoon is important, too, though the writing, in the end is most important. There’s an old saying in the cartoonist world, “Good writing can carry bad art, but good art can’t carry bad writing.” I think most people would agree with this, and popular comic strips such as Dilbert and Pearls Before Swine certainly can attest to this adage. What’s important in the drawing of a cartoon (or comic strip, or graphic novel, etc.) is that the drawing style should match with the writing. Heavy, detailed illustrations don’t always work well with certain gags, especially if they are short and snappy. In fact, as I get older, I am less and less drawn to detailed cartoon work. There is a lot to be said for the quick, energetic brush strokes which can really capture an expression or mood.

Simon Owens: How does a freelance cartoonist compare to being a freelance writer? How do you go about getting into the freelance cartoonist business?

Patricia Storms: It’s hard for me to compare, since I’m not a freelance writer, but I’ll try. In a lot of ways, I think they may be similar. Freelance writers have to pitch ideas to magazines and newspapers before they get the job, and in a sense, this is sort of spec work, I think, since you are presenting an idea (mind you, I assume it’s in a rough format at this point) to an editor before you have even been paid. In some situations, cartooning is very similar. I occasionally do magazine gag cartoons (though sadly not as often, since I find it isn’t as lucrative as freelance illustration work), and when I do, I send off a batch of already finished cartoons to an editor, with the hope that they will pick up at least one of them. In my mind, that’s a form of spec work, since I am not guaranteed payment even though I’ve done the work. Freelance writers, if they are lucky, can be syndicated, just like cartoonists, and just like cartoonists, if they are lucky, a freelance writer can land a regular gig in a publication. And both jobs, I think, can be very stressful, demeaning, frustrating, heart-crushing….but when you get that amazing job, there are no words on earth to describe the feeling of utter elation. Of course, that feeling never lasts. And then you have to face the blank page once more, as the bill collector is beating down your door.

There is no magic method to ‘get started’ in this business. Just start. Build up a portfolio, and start pounding the pavement (or these days, the internet). You gotta have a bit of a tough skin, because trust me, there will be plenty of rejection. And the rejection will probably never entirely go away. It takes time to develop a style, as well as to build relationships with art directors, editors and publishers. My career in freelance cartooning and illustration has taken a long time to develop. I started out doing it on the side while I had other full-time jobs when I was in my 20’s, and I didn’t graduate to full-time illustration until my late 30’s. I’m 43 now, and things are now just starting to gain momentum (though paranoid person that I am, I firmly believe that it can all disappear in an instant).

Simon Owens: Do you think that blogs and the internet are great ways for unknown artists and cartoonists to get their work seen? Do you have any examples of this happening?

Patricia Storms: I have stressed this over and over again to anyone who will listen to me. You wanna get exposure with your work? Start a blog. Art directors aren’t just looking at portfolio sites these days, they are looking at blogs, too. I’ve had quite a few illustration (and writing) jobs from my blog. It’s really a must, in my opinion.

Simon Owens: What are some of the key differences between drawing for children books and drawing for other forms of media–like greeting cards and newspapers?

Patricia Storms: Well, your work will be different because you are catering to a different audience. With greeting cards, there is that opportunity to delve into gritty adult humour, which obviously you are not going to be able to do if you’re working on a children’s book. Same goes for newspaper illustration, which is obviously geared towards adults. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same in the sense that you are working with an art director, and hopefully coming towards an agreement on the illustrations that need to be created. If you are lucky enough to illustrate a trade children’s book (ie, commercial – it will sell in bookstores) then you will be paid royalties, as opposed to educational children’s books, which are work-for-hire (flat payment), since the books will only sell in schools, and thus will have a shorter print run. The same is true for greeting cards. Some companies pay royalties (though there are less and less who do this), but the bigger companies (Hallmark and American Greetings) just pay a flat fee.

Simon Owens: What are some books that are coming out soon that you look foward to the most?

Patricia Storms: I’m really looking forward to reading Jonathan Franzen’s memoir, The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History. Although I tease this author mercilessly in some of my cartoons, I love his writing. He is thoughtful, insightful and so very self-absorbed. I’m very intrigued as to why he would choose now to write a personal memoir; people usually do that after they’ve lived a bit longer than 40-oddish years. Part of me wonders if it’s a way for him to ‘set the record straight’ about all the misunderstandings concerning his numerous personal gaffs over the years. Whatever he writes, though, I know it will be fascinating.

I’m also looking forward to some new short stories by Alice Munro The View from Castle Rock because this lady is the master of short stories, and I hear that this collection is supposed to be her best, and may sadly be her last, as she has intimated that she’s done with writing. I hope that’s not true. I’m also looking forward to Margaret Atwood’s latest collection of short stories Moral Disorder: and Other Stories, because this is another very talented author who is mostly known for her novels, but she can write a damn good short story. This short story collection is her first in 15 years.

And, well, um… I’m looking forward to my own collection of cartoons which will come out February 2008 by Red Rock Press. It will be a Valentine’s day gift book; just a bit of light-hearted fun, but it’s the first book which I have written and illustrated, so I’m kind of excited about that.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Patricia Storms: Oh dear, I hate questions like that, because I always feel bad about leaving certain bloggers out. But here’s a list of some of my fave blogs:

Book Puddle: Vivacious and energetic book-luster like myself. And a Canuck, just like me!

Daily Blague: Extremely erudite blogger with a passion for books, movies and music, from a Manhattan perspective.

Drawn: Excellent illustration and cartooning blog, created by talented cartoonist and designer John Martz, another great Canuck.

Kate’s Book Blog: Very intelligent book blog by talented Toronto writer named Kate.

Magnificent Octopus: A well-read and witty lady named Isabella, hailing from Montreal. Yes, I’m really showing my Canuck bias.

Written Inc: A very thoughtful and engaging blog by journalist Carmi Levy, who is based in London, Ontario. Yet another Canuck. Heh.

SCREENWRITER by CHARLES D’AMBROSIO:

How was I supposed to know that any mention of suicide to the phalanx of doctors making Friday rounds would warrant the loss of not only weekend-pass privileges but also the liberty to take a leak in private? My first suicidal ideations occurred to me when I was ten, eleven, twelve, something like that, and by now I was habituated to them and dreams of hurting myself (in the parlance of those places) formed a kind of lullaby I often used to rock myself to bed at night. I got into trouble when I told my p-doc I couldn’t fall asleep until I’d made myself comfortable by drawing the blankets over my head and imagining I was closing the lid of my coffin. In confessing to him, I was only trying to be honest and accurate, a good patient, deserving. But no dice: the head p-doc put me on Maximum Observation and immediately I was being trailed around by a sober ex-athlete who, introducing himself, put a fatherly hand on my shoulder and squeezed and told me not to worry, he was a screenwriter, too—not as successful or rich as me, sure, but a screenwriter nonetheless. He said that his name was Bob and he let it be known that he’d only taken this position on the mental ward to gather material for his next script. Half the reason I was in the ward was to get away from the movies, but my whole time with Bob I kept wondering, Is this, or that, or this or that, or this, or this, or this going to be in a movie? Everywhere I went, he went, creeping along a few sedate paces back in soft-soled shoes, a shadow that gave off a disturbing susurrus like the maddening sibilance settling dust must make to the ears of ants.

Related posts: Interview with A.R.Yngve, Interview with Benjamin Rosenbaum

Myfanwy Collins lives in New England. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, Cream City Review, AGNI, Swivel, Lilies and Cannonballs Review, In Posse Review, Exquisite Corpse, Pindeldyboz, Smokelong Quarterly, FRiGG, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, and others.

She began her blog, Read by Myfanwy, as a searchable collection of the books, stories, and poems she reads, but soon began to catalog the most intimate and mundane details of her life there as well.

Simon Owens: As someone who has had both short fiction and nonfiction published, is there one you prefer over the other? Which do you write more of?

Myfanwy Collins: I suppose I’m more comfortable writing fiction as it is not quite as personal as nonfiction. I write about 75% fiction and 25% nonfiction. With that said, I find an unexpected freedom in writing nonfiction, using it as a way to break down walls, reveal secrets, speak honestly. Luckily, I have managed to not piss off my family yet, which is a good thing.

Simon Owens: How has your experience been with writing for The Boston Globe? Are they flexible in what they allow you to write about?

Myfanwy Collins: Well, this is a boring response, but I don’t actually write for them exclusively—I have only written for them from time to time as a freelancer. I don’t know whether they are flexible or not as I’ve only been given assignments by an editor, who gives me a topic I’m to research and write about.

Simon Owens: Do you feel that book reviews in blogs differ from book reviews in mainstream publications? I’ve seen some bloggers say that readers trust them a lot more with book recommendations, do you find this to be true?

Myfanwy Collins: I’m interested in hearing what your average reader finds compelling in what they read—my impression is that there’s less of an axe to grind. As for the reviews I write, I hope I’m clear in stating that I am not a critic (and do not intend to be one), rather I only write about books I like because I only read books I like. The greatest joy for me is when writers whose books I’ve written about send me notes thanking me or telling me how pleased they are that I understood a certain aspect of the book that had not been clear to others.

I’m not sure if the folks who read my blog trust my reviews more than mainstream reviews or not, but I believe that they know my taste at this point and are sometimes willing to take a gamble in reading something I have talked about. Whatever the outcome, I’m not in the business of selling books. I simply love to read and love to talk about what I’ve read.

Simon Owens: I noticed that you have a lot of excerpts from Ursula K. Le Guin’s Steering the Craft, is there a particular book on writing that you like best?

Myfanwy Collins: My workshop leader at the Tin House writers workshop this past July was Dorothy Allison (a brilliant writer and generous teacher) and she recommended the Le Guirn book to us. I don’t read many books on writing, but I must say “Steering the Craft” is at the top of any list. Le Guin has a great deal of passion for her subject and is never telling the reader to do or not do a certain thing, rather she provides options.

Other writing books I have read and learned from are: Anne Lammott’s “Bird by Bird,” “The Writing Life” by Annie Dillard, and Stephen Koch’s “The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop.”

Simon Owens: What upcoming book publications are you looking forward to the most?

Myfanwy Collins: There are so many I am looking forward to. In particular,

Ellen Meister, whose excellent debut novel Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA was published by Avon-Morrow in August, has another book called The Smart One coming out, I believe, next summer.

Jim Tomlinson’s 2006 Iowa Short Fiction Award winning, Things Kept, Things Left Behind (which is apparently already released but hasn’t shipped from all booksellers yet). I can’t wait to read this book.

Pia Ehrhardt has a book coming out next summer and then another book the summer after that (both with MacAdam/Cage)—very much looking forward to these two books.

Ron Currie’s novel-in-stories God is Dead which will be published by Viking next year—have read some bits of this and it will knock your socks off

Patry Francis has The Liar’s Diary coming out in winter of 2007 with Dutton–looking forward to that one!

Kirsten Menger-Anderson has a short story collection coming out with Algonquin sometime next year, I believe. She writes astounding stuff.

Last but not least, I believe Laila Lalami’s next novel comes out next year, again with Algonquin. If you have not already read her first book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits—I would suggest you do read it.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Myfanwy Collins: Only five! I read dozens of blogs a day. Here are just a few of the blogs I try to never miss:

Katrina Denza

Robin Slick

Stephanie Anagnoson

Jordan Rosenfeld

Susan DiPlacido

Don Capone

Mark Pritchard

Susan Henderson (her brand new blog is launching soon—be on the look out for it)

Bud Parr has been a blogger since 2003. Since then he has started Chekhov’s Mistress, a literary blog, 400 Windmills a blog devoted to a reading of Don Quixote and MetaxuCafe, a network of literary blogs with about 350 member sites. He is a Web developer by trade, a writer by temperament (so he thinks) and father and husband by heart. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, he now lives – via Virginia, Nevada and California – in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife Lynn and his son Auden.

Simon Owens: What are some of the hardships of running a network like Metaxucafe? How does one become a member?

Bud Parr: I don’t think of it as a hardship. It’s difficult to find the time for it, but I don’t mind the work involved. I wish I could get everyone in the world to have a well-working, valid RSS feed (more difficult than you might think until you start dealing with them in the hundreds). I also don’t like the occasions that I have to turn down a site for membership, although really anyone with a blog who writes about books, or writes original fiction or poetry can join. All they have to do is fill out a brief form on the site and that’s it.

What I do enjoy about it is seeing all the great writing and lively conversations going on in the litblogosphere that MetaxuCafe, at least in part, facilitates.

Simon Owens: Do you think that networks like that become less needed as rss feeds become more popular?

Bud Parr: I don’t think so, because there are so many sites – we have nearly 350 blogs in MetaxuCafe and from what I can tell have only a cross-section of what’s out there – that many book lovers will want to be able to go to a central location, find what interests them and capture and perhaps even participate in the exchanges that are happening every day. I have long thought that with the growing number of blogs, people will look to group together so as not be muffled by the crowd and my aim with MetaxuCafe is to create a place to start that sort of thing.

Simon Owens: You describe yourself as a “pretentious snob.” What genres and types of books does your pretentiousness keep you from reading?

Bud Parr: Actually I said people “think” I’m a pretentious snob when they see the piles of books lying about my house, but I don’t really think I am.

I’m a compulsive reader and will peruse the fine print of a cereal box if that’s what’s around. Still, life is short and I expect a lot from the books I read and I have no interest in mass market stuff; I put a book down as soon as I see any sort of bad writing or failure in the writer’s logic. Aside from that there are no particular genres I avoid on any sort of snobbish basis; we all have our interests and I doubt mine would extend to romance or westerns, but I don’t think that can be called pretentious.

Simon Owens: What made you leave the Lit blog co-op? Do you think they were successful in their goals?

Bud Parr: I left for no other reason than the reading requirement of 20 books per year (five books per quarter) was too much for me because that’s about half of what I read in any given year and I didn’t want that much of my reading (which tends to be very random) dictated by others.

Their success is not just past tense, they are generating interest in good books and are demonstrating through their avid commentary that contemporary fiction is alive and well!

Simon Owens: What upcoming book publications are you looking forward to the most?

Bud Parr: Because my reading is not concentrated on new books, I don’t follow that sort of thing too closely, although I am excited about Zbignew Herbert’s “The Collected Poems: 1956-1998″ coming out this fall. I’m also looking forward to Mark Strand’s next book because my brother-in-law commissioned some of the poems.

A new initiate in the Pynchon world, I’m also looking forward to his next book, Against the Day. Dalkey Archive has some interesting titles, including Vain Art of the Fugue by Dumitru Tsepeneag, which sounds something like Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style. Not sure what else, off the top of my head.

This may not count because I’ve already read it, but Laird Hunt’s The Exquisite is coming out in September and I hope it does well because it’s a great book.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Bud Parr: That’s a tough question because I’m really attached to so many blogs, but I can give you five (six) sites that I think are exemplary: Ed Champion (Return of the Reluctant, Bat Segundo) never ceases to amaze me; it’s clear that Jenny Davidson (Light Reading) is truly a great lover of books; Ella’s Box of Books represents in many ways exactly what a litblog should be; Michelle Lin’s site New York Brain Terrain is intelligent and vibrant; and finally (not really finally), Waggish and MadInkBeard are the two sites that I want to be when I grow up and have read every book known to man and can talk about them with uncommon intelligence.

Wendi Kaufman is responsible for the care and feeding of the Happy Booker, a literary blog with a focus on DC writers and contemporary fiction. Wendi’s fiction has appeared in literary journals and magazines including The New Yorker, Fiction, New York Stories and Other Voices. Her stories have also been anthologized in Scribner’s Best of the Fiction Workshops, Elements of Literature,Faultlines: Stories of Divorce, and most recently Gravity: more writing by Washington area women. She is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and the busy mother of two very energetic young boys. She swears Life Above Sea Level, her first story collection, is moments from completion.

Simon Owens: How did getting your MFA affect your writing skills? Do you think that you would have been as successful without it?

Wendi Kaufman: I don’t know about “successful,” but I will say that one of the best things the MFA gave me was time to write. Three years. That time was also spent in the company of people who spoke books and authors and writing as a second language—who could ask for more? My writing group grew out of the MFA program and for the past eight years the group has been a supportive and integral part of my writing life. Does every writer need an MFA? Absolutely not. But for me, taking the time to grow and develop as a writer and gaining a group of talented peers to share work with were both pretty big benefits of attending a program and certainly contributed to whatever “success” I have had.

Simon Owens: How did you begin writing for The Washington Post?

Wendi Kaufman: I was at home with a newly minted MFA, a brand new baby and no clue about what I was going to do with my writing life. I pitched an idea to the editor of Weekend— the Post’s Friday magazine-style section that covers arts and entertainment—about moms who power walk with strollers. That was 8 years ago. I have been a regular contributor ever since. I usually write cover stories or features once or twice a month. I have also reviewed for BookWorld, and written for Health and Sunday Source sections.

Simon Owens: What books have you nominated to the Lit Blog Co-op? Do you think it has been effective in its mission?

Wendi Kaufman: I nominated Mutual Life & Casualty by Elizabeth Poliner. The book was released by a small press (Permanent press) and although it had created some buzz in the DC area, garnering praise from heavy-hitting literary locals Edward Jones and Alice McDermott, it was still relatively unknown in wider circles. For an entire week the LBC discussed the book, gave it attention and offered insightful comments and postings. The author was invited to guest blog, to respond to posts and questions and to “meet” some of her readers.

This is what the LBC does best. Four times a year we bring books you may not have heard about to the front page of a collective literary blog. In addition to the postings and discussion, each blogger also mentions the book selections on their own individual blogs. The LBC raises awareness of a title, introduces new books to readers, and conducts some of the best in-depth book coverage and author interviews (and podcasts) on the net. So yes, I would say it’s very effective.

Simon Owens: Do you feel that book blogs have become big enough to influence publishing at all?

Wendi Kaufman: Yes, I really do. I think it may be hard to quantify and say how much influence, but I do know that people who come to my blog are looking for author information, some literary news and book recommendations. As Bellow said, ” we are always looking for the book it is necessary to read next.” For readers, blogs provide a valuable resource, a way to find out about that next book, and I think the publishing industry recognizes this.

Simon Owens: What upcoming book publications are you looking forward to the most?

Wendi Kaufman: My own! (A gal can dream, right?) Dallas Hudgens and Scott Berg from my writing group both have books coming out in the spring that you’ll be hearing about. I have seen some intriguing titles from Unbridled Press for fall—they released some great titles last year—and someone just told me about a U. of Wisconsin’s re-release of They’ll Have to Catch Me First An Artist’s Coming of Age in the Third Reich by Irene Awret.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Wendi Kaufman: Only 5? I am partial to all the blogs in the LBC— you can’t go wrong with any of those blogs. If you’re not strictly looking for a literary blog, but one with literary leanings that also draws from music, art, movies, and pop culture, here are my top 5:

Lux Lotus—Run by the fabulous Lauren Cerand, the “Window Licker” section alone is the stuff of dreams.

Large Hearted Boy—David is waaay cool, with great music downloads, compelling links and a literary “Booknotes” feature.

Home Schooled by a Cackling Jackal—personal blog of poet Reb Livingston. Poets are a feisty lot and there’s always something going on at Reb’s place.

Romancing the tome— Read the book, hated the movie. This blog is all about literary adaptation with Hollywood tidbits, book notes and movie scoops. More enjoyable than People magazine with no unpleasant aftertaste.

EWN—Emerging Writer’s Network. Okay, technically this is a litblog and also an LBC member, but it’s run by Dan Wickett who has unflagging energy and commitment to everything he does. He is a wonderful champion of literary fiction, lit journals and new writers. He’s my hero.

Traver Kauffman–proprietor of Rake’s Progress–is a husband, father, dog-tender, and an occasional book reviewer based in Denver, Colorado. His main problem is that he drinks too much and writes too little.

Simon Owens: Do you think that your MFA in fiction has affected your lit blogging at all?

Traver Kauffman: To be reductive, I’d say that the insecurity I developed from taking an MFA and then accomplishing absolutely nothing in the subsequent half-decade fueled the need for me to show off online, no matter how modest the audience or accolades.

Simon Owens: Do you approach literary works differently because of it?

Traver Kauffman: Taking that MFA, I’ve found, served to both mythologize and demythologize writers. At best, I developed a deeper appreciation for the accomplishment of individual authors; at worst, I learned it’s probably best not to try to meet your literary heroes.

Simon Owens: What are some of the blogs that originally inspired The Rake’s Progress when it first started back in 2004?

Traver Kauffman: The Minor Fall, The Major Lift (TMFTML) was my first exposure to the blog form. From there, I found Maud Newton and Mark Sarvas and Ed Champion, and I set out to earn an approving nod from them.

Simon Owens: Can popular lit bloggers make any real money from Amazon (and other book seller) affiliate programs? Most reports I’ve seen seem to indicate that they don’t produce much more than extra spare change, but lit bloggers have a more tightly niche book-reading audience.

Traver Kauffman: Not as far as I know (which ain’t that far). I understand that the bloggers in question earn a minor fraction of the sales they generate…and that the sales aren’t enough to keep a literate wag full of even the cheapest booze. But who knows? There could be someone out there making a killing.

I decided some time ago that the day I tried to chisel a couple meager bucks out of running RP—i.e., making silly quasi-literary jokes—would be the day that the lark turned very sad. So I don’t go in search of revenue, and I turn down offers of advertising (of which there have been a few, but not many).

Simon Owens: Do you think more and more book publicists will begin to contact book bloggers, after they see the promotion power they hold?

Traver Kauffman: Oh, god yes. They already do. (I get more stuff than I can read, so I can only imagine the awesome piles that people with large audiences have to deal with.) Pub people really have nothing to lose by tossing litbloggers a few review copies—insanely strident cheerleading for their title is the upshot, and there’s virtually no downside.

Simon Owens: What upcoming book publications are you most looking forward to?

Traver Kauffman: Pynchon, Pynchon, Pynchon. The next thing Jack Butler releases (which is rumored to be forthcoming). The next Steve Erickson novel, whatever it is. The next Stephen Dixon book. The new Cormac McCarthy, already out but as yet unread by your pal here. The latest dispatch from either Dalkey Archive or Coffee House Press, whatever it might be.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Traver Kauffman: I’m going to assume that everyone knows the quality lit blogs, since they have audiences several orders of magnitude beyond mine. (Hint: A few of them are listed above!) So I’ll direct your attention to some kindred spirits (who have never heard of me, so don’t ask them). First, there’s Sadly, No!, which is what RP would be if I were a political blogger and weren’t lazy. Then, there’s Fire Joe Morgan, fighting the good fight against asinine sports writing. I like Deadspin, that well-funded goof. And though he doesn’t need it, I have to plug Last Plane to Jakarta, the sporadically updated blog of John Darnielle (aka The Mountain Goats), who aside from being god’s guitar-strummin’ messenger is the most open-hearted music critic I can think of.

As for literary sites, of late I’ve been enjoying poet Bill Knott’s blog. Now there’s a blog with a tone of pure, sublime bitterness that really appeals.