York Daily Record Sunday News Features Tracks

Last Sunday, the Portsmouth Daily Times wasn’t the only daily newspaper to run a feature about Tracks in the Sunday edition.



The York Daily Record / Sunday News ran the feature story “Train passengers’ stories become a novel.”



“When Goodman watches a movie or reads a book, he always wants to know more about the side characters. Writing a novel in intertwined stories seemed like the ideal way to learn more about different characters,” wrote Susan Jennings.



“Gathering an eclectic group of passengers -- which includes a salesman, a soldier, a former mobster and a Holocaust survivor -- also meant Goodman could have darker and lighter stories mixed together in one book.”



Susan not only interviewed me for the feature. She also interviewed my publisher, Dan Cafaro of Atticus Books, and Pennsylvania novelist Bathsheba Monk.



“It fills that space between commercial and literary fiction,” Cafaro said.



“The thing about "Tracks" is that, after I was finished, I found myself looking around at my fellow passengers on a plane and wondering at our interconnectedness," Monk said in an email. "So while the story itself was compelling, what it said lingered on in me. That's the sign of a good book.”



Missed the print edition? Read the feature online at the York Daily Record / Sunday News book blog.



http://www.yorkblog.com/books/2011/08/train-passengers-stories-becom.html

Bathsheba Monk: Tight, Colorful, Breathtaking Tapestry

Bathsheba Monk has been making a splash in New York City lately with street productions enacting scenes from her novel, Nude Walker. She is also the author of a collection of linked stories called Now You See It … Stories from Cokesville, PA.

Tim O’Brien said “Bathsheba Monk is a writer I'll be talking about when I talk about brilliant new writers.”

Here’s what the brilliant Bathsheba Monk had so say about Tracks.


“From the first story in Eric D. Goodman’s novel in stories, Tracks, I knew I was in for an enjoyable ride. Goodman is a keen, compassionate and refreshingly un-ironic observer of the human condition. In Tracks, Goodman skillfully weaves stories of chance encounters, lost opportunities and new beginnings into a tight, colorful, breathtaking tapestry which he says is a train ride, but seems an awful lot like life.”

~Bathsheba Monk,
Author of Nude Walker and
Now You See It ... Stories from Cokesville, PA

Learn more about Bathsheba and her books at her website.
www.bathshebamonk.com

Nude Reading

It’s the weekend—time to get a little wild. How about some Nude reading?

I’m not talking about reading in the nude, although that’s not a bad idea. I’m suggesting you read the latest book by author Bathsheba Monk: Nude Walker (FSG).

Nude Walker, published earlier this year, is a novel all about change (and I’m not talking about changing clothes). Nude is actually Bathsheba’s debut novel; her first book was a collection of linked stories: Now You See It: Stories from Cokesville, PA.

There’s a great review of Nude Walker in Potomac Review. (Of course I may be a little bit biased. I wrote the review.)

Read “Stripping Down Change” in Potomac Review at the following link. Then, get Nude!

http://potomacreview.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/stripping-down-change/

TRACKS Featured at Celebration of Lit, Art, Music

Lovers of literature, art, music, and wine won’t want to miss Lit & Art at the Watermark on Sunday, October 24. The celebration begins at 2 p.m., and features artists, and authors from around the world.

Novelist Bathsheba Monk will read from her fiction. She has been described by Tim O’Brien as “a writer I'll be talking about when I talk about brilliant new writers.” Bathsheba is best known for her collection of stories, Now You See It … Stories from Cokesville, PA. Her novel, Nude Walker, is being published by FSG in Spring 2011.

Persian artist and musician Bahman Panahi will give a performance and talk about his work. Originally from Iran, Bahman has performed many concerts, exhibitions, courses and workshops in Iran, UK, Syria, India, Netherlands, Maldives, Tunisia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Morocco and France. He recently performed a tar and setar concert at the Freer Gallery in DC and he will be performing at Harvard University in November. www.bahmanpanahi.com

Joining Bathsheba Monk and Bahman Panahi will be artist Manzar (of the Watermark Gallery), and authors Charles Jensen (most recent Director of The Writers’ Center), Katherine Cottle (author of My Father’s Speech), and Eric D. Goodman (author of Tracks, a novel in stories).

Music will be provided by the Lit & Art house band, Red Tractor Factory. Wine and refreshments will be served during intermissions. The event is free and open to the public.

The event takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 24 at The Watermark Gallery, located in the Bank of America Center Skywalk Level, right across from the Inner Harbor, at 100 S. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland. The phone number is (410) 547-0452.

Started in October 2007, the Lit and Art series provides a unique opportunity to sample a wide variety of artistic sensibilities in one sitting. The events are free and open to the public. An open mic section allows audience members to share their own work.

Come experience what has been called “the best excuse to get lit in Baltimore on a Sunday afternoon.” Visit the Watermark Gallery online at www.wmgallery.info .