Ready for a Reset?

For many, putting the election to bed last night is a big relief, regardless of which way you lean. A time to reset.

For Gene Silverman, resetting his life is something he sometimes needs to do out of necessity — whether to avoid the mob or dodge a hit man.

Get a taste of Gene Silverman, one of the characters from Tracks: A Novel in Stories, by listening to the podcast from Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR.

As WYPR puts it: “Novelist Eric D Goodman brings us the story of a computer-geek-turned-criminal who finds himself on the run from the mafia.”

Go ahead and hit the reset button. “Reset” is one of 12 podcasts available at www.tracksnovel.com/radio.html.

Good Day for Idle Chatter

Today seems like a good day for some idle chatter. If you’re in the mood for some small talk, how about spending a few minutes listening to my reading of “Idle Chatter,” a story from Tracks: A Novel in Stories, as broadcast on Baltimore’s NPR station earlier this year?

In the story, Franklin, the conductor of the train, keeps everyone on board comfortable as he contemplates his own addiction to small talk and how it has caused him both pain and pleasure.

Produced by Aaron Henkin at WYPR, the broadcast is about 18 minutes and accented by music for just the right tone. Let the conductor chat you up at the link below.

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/130094/Idle_Chatter?rn=8lnowic1glmo

You can find additional Tracks readings from NPR at the Tracks website.

http://www.tracksnovel.com/radio.html

Love is On the Air

It’s Valentine’s Day; Love is in the air. But Love, actually, is on the air as well.

Tune in to Baltimore’s NPR station for a love story set on a train. Enjoy “The Silences,” a story about a young couple in love on the heart-red Cardinal line from Baltimore to Chicago. “The Silences” is a story from Tracks: A Novel in Stories.

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76673/The_Silences


You’re also welcome to read “The Silences” online. An early version of the story was published by Slow Trains Literary Journal and can be found here.

http://www.slowtrains.com/vol7issue3/goodmanvol7issue3.html


To celebrate the publication of Tracks, Atticus Books shared “The Silences” on their website too.

http://atticusbooksonline.com/books/tracks/excerpt


Here’s to the romance of trains and couples in love.

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76673/The_Silences

Ready to Reset?

For many, the new year is a time for renewal. But for Gene Silverman, resetting his life is something he sometimes needs to do out of necessity — whether to avoid the mob or dodge a hit man.

Get a taste of Gene Silverman, one of the characters from Tracks: A Novel in Stories, by tuning into The Signal tonight at 7 or Saturday at 1 p.m.

The program airs on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR on 88.1 FM. For those further afield or with conflicting schedules, it’s also available online at www.wypr.org/stationprogram/signal.

I’m closing out this week’s program with a reading of an abridged version of “Reset” from Tracks.

As WYPR puts it: “Novelist Eric D Goodman brings us the story of a computer-geek-turned-criminal who finds himself on the run from the mafia.”

Check it out at www.wypr.org/stationprogram/signal.

Get Your First Fiction Fix on NPR

In the mood for a little audio fiction? Tune into Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR on 88.1 FM or online at www.wypr.org to listen to my first fiction reading of 2012.

I’ll be reading an abridged version of “Reset,” a story from Tracks, on The Signal.

The Signal is a weekly radio magazine that explores Maryland’s thriving artistic and cultural scene. It airs on Friday at 7 p.m. and again Saturday at 1 p.m. It’s also available online at www.wypr.org, where you can listen live or to a podcast.

Check it out at www.wypr.org.

Radio Reading Between Christmas Tunes?

Whether you’re planning your road trip to Grandmother’s house or you’re spending hours next to the tree wrapping gifts, chances are you’re spending a little time listening to the radio sound system.

Are the holiday songs beginning to drive you nuts? But you don’t have time to sink into an audio book during your family drive or gift-wrapping session?

Here’s a solution for you! How about a short, refreshing burst of fiction from NPR? I have seven lucky Tracks readings that aired on WYPR’s The Signal. Each one is between 10 and 15 minutes or so, set to music and sometimes even sound effects. You can listen to any or all of them at www.tracksnovel.com/radio.html.

In a nutshell, here’s the audio assortment. And note that you don’t have to download them—just click the link and hit the “play” button.

Mountain of Sand
A poet tries to find his muse on the train in a story NPR describes as "a tale about the limits of luck and the curse of easy fame."
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/98472/Mountain_of_Sand


Prewitt's Plans
Despite his diligent planning, Prewitt finds that his best-laid plan may be to put aside his daily planner.
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76670/Prewitts_Plans_from_TRACKS

A Good Beer Needs a Good Stein
A couple relearns a valuable lesson as they focus on a collectible beer stein and all it represents.
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76668/The_Silences_from_TRACKS

The Silences
A love story, of sorts, about a young couple and the silences slithering between them.
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76673/The_Silences


Reunion
Returning to Baltimore to take care of the death of her parents, Joan doesn't want to become the head of the family. She wants to lose herself in love.
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/84379/Reunion


One Last Hit
An aging mobster contemplates his initiation into a life of crime as he works his way out of it.
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/76676/One_Last_Hit

Futures
Christi must make a decision on the train: leave her boyfriend and Baltimore or turn down a future career in Chicago.
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/89787/Futures%20from%20Tracks


More fulfilling than an eighth rendition of “Jingle Bells.” Less time commitment than the audio version of War and Peace. Escape that fifth play of “Christmas Shoes” before you turn to a Scrooge! Tune into www.tracksnovel.com/radio.html

Friday Night Fiction Podcast

It’s Friday—how about some Friday night fiction? No reading necessary—just sit back and listen to an abridged story from Tracks this podcast from Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR. It’s called “Mountain of Sand,” and it’s about 15 minutes, set to music.

“Mountain of Sand” was originally broadcast on WYPR’s The Signal the day after Tracks was released by Atticus books. The podcast is available now at the following link.

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/98472/Mountain_of_Sand

Get your fix of Friday night fiction! Should you listen in the front seat, listen in the back seat, listen on your living room couch—which seat should you take?

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/98472/Mountain_of_Sand

Making Tracks on NPR

Earlier this month, Tom Hall interviewed me about writing, literature, and Tracks: A Novel in Stories. Our 10 minute discussion aired on Maryland Morning, the popular radio program from Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR.

Here’s how Maryland Morning described the segment:

Eric Goodman is a Baltimore writer who recently published his first novel. It’s called Tracks, and it examines the personal stories of passengers on a train traveling from Baltimore to Chicago. Tom talks with Goodman about the book and how it came to be.


If you missed the broadcast on 88.1 FM or at www.wypr.org, here’s your chance to listen to it on your schedule. The podcast is below.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/81620113/

Fulfill Your Voyeuristic Fantasies

Advance praise for Tracks, a novel in stories, has been steadily rolling in.

Tracks, a novel in stories, comes out on June 30 – only about 20 more days! For the rest of Tracks Month, I’ll begin sharing a post every day, including endorsements from well-known authors and reviewers, news, videos, event announcements, and more.

Our first “blurb of the day” comes from Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, 88.1 FM. Aaron Henkin is producer of The Signal, a weekly radio broadcast showcasing Baltimore’s cultural landscape. WYPR’s The Signal has perhaps the longest-lasting relationship with Tracks besides myself. They featured the first reading from Tracks on the air back in April of 2007, and have had me back to read from my fiction seven times since. (Another reading is scheduled for later this month.) Aaron from The Signal knows Tracks as well as anyone. It’s fitting that the first endorsement come from him:

“Who among us hasn’t sat on a train and played at reading the minds of strangers? In this way, Tracks is a voyeuristic fantasy fulfilled. But here’s the real surprise: Once you have mental telepathy, it’s hard to call anyone a stranger anymore.”

~Aaron Henkin,
Baltimore's NPR station, WYPR, 88.1 FM

Don’t be a stranger; fulfill your voyeuristic fantasy at www.TracksNovel.com.

Radio Reunion

One thing advance readers seem to like about Tracks is the balance of mood and character. One character innocent and lovable, another sleazy and loathable. One story light or funny, another heavy or sad.

Pull out your hankies. “Reunion” is one of the more melancholy ones.

An abridged reading of “Reunion” was recently featured on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR. Set to appropriately-themed music, the reading was broadcast on The Signal, a tour through Baltimore’s cultural landscape.

The podcast is available now. You can listen to the program at the following link. “Reunion” is about 40 minutes into the program.

www.wypr.org/sites/default/files/podcast_audio/signal021111.mp3

Or, if you want to go directly to the “Reunion” reading, you can listen to it here.



Grab a few tissues and enjoy a radio reunion today.

NPR Reunites with Tracks

This Friday, the story “Reunion” from Tracks will be featured on The Signal. This will be the first Tracks reading on NPR of the new year.

The Signal airs on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, every Friday at noon and again at 7 p.m. Tune into 88.1 FM for a tour of Baltimore’s cultural landscape.

“Reunion” is a story about love and grief. It’s an abridged story from Tracks, which is being published by Atticus Books this summer.

Tune in to The Signal this Friday at noon or 7 p.m. at 88.1 FM. Or listen to the podcast of the program at www.signalradio.org or www.wypr.org.

"Hit" the Tracks with NPR Podcast

Last Friday author Eric D. Goodman read an abridgement of his story, “One Last Hit,” on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR. The serialized excerpt from TRACKS aired on The Signal, on the air and online at noon and 7. TRACKS is a novel in stories that takes place on a train traveling from Baltimore to Chicago.

As WYPR said, The Signal has serialized several stories from TRACKS on the program over the years. With about 30,000 weekly listeners, Goodman's TRACKS readings have become a local favorite in the Baltimore-DC area.

Miss the broadcast? Listen to the podcast at the link below!

Be sure to hit this lit! The reading is about 22 minutes into the podcast at the link below.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wypr/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&id=1672430&pid=347&sid=14

TRACKS Returns to NPR

Today Eric D. Goodman returns to the Baltimore NPR station (WYPR) to read from his fiction on The Signal. Each week The Signal explores the cultural landscape of Baltimore.

Tune in on the radio or online. The broadcast is at 12 noon and repeats at 7 p.m. today: Friday, July 9. Adjust your radio to 88.1 FM or log on to www.wypr.org.

“One Last Hit” is an abridged story from TRACKS, a novel in stories that takes place on a train traveling from Baltimore to Chicago.

The story was originally published in the Freshly Squeezed anthology published by Loyola’s Apprentice House. It follows a hit man as he prepares to carry out his last job and contemplates how he got into the unscrupulous business to begin with.

The novel is represented by the Doris S. Michaels Literary Agency Inc. in New York.

Enjoy this hit of fiction today at 88.1 FM or www.wypr.org. Tune in at noon or 7.

Listening to TRACKS on NPR is a Good Plan

If you missed the broadcast, author Eric D. Goodman's NPR reading of “Prewitt’s Plans” on The Signal is available as an online podcast.

The Signal airs on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, every Friday at noon and again at 7 p.m. Tune into 88.1 FM for a tour of Baltimore’s cultural landscape. You can also catch it online at www.wypr.org or www.signalradio.org.

In “Prewitt’s Plans,” the main character watches the scenery pass by from his train window as he contemplates how life has passed by too quickly, considers his future plans, and gets to the heart of whether he is the master of his planner or the other way around. “Prewitt’s Plans was published in the most recent issue of Scribble Magazine.

“Prewitt’s Plans” is a story from TRACKS, a novel in stories.

Listen to “Prewitt’s Plans” on The Signal at the link below. The entire program is well worth listening to. If you’d like to rush ahead to my reading, it’s about 32 minutes into the broadcast.

Enjoy the program. It may even encourage you to cast aside all other plans!

www.publicbroadcasting.net/wypr/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&id=1608334&pid=347&sid=14

TRACKS Back on NPR

This Friday will see the first radio reading from TRACKS of 2010. Author Eric D. Goodman will read his story “Prewitt’s Plans” on NPR’s The Signal.

The Signal airs on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, every Friday at noon and again at 7 p.m. Tune into 88.1 FM for a tour of Baltimore’s cultural landscape.

In “Prewitt’s Plans,” the main character watches the scenery pass by from his train window as he contemplates how life has passed by too quickly, considers his future plans, and gets to the heart of whether he is the master of his planner or the other way around.

“Prewitt’s Plans was published in the most recent issue of Scribble Magazine.

Tune in to The Signal this Friday at noon or 7 p.m. at 88.1 FM. Or listen to the podcast of the program at http://www.wypr.org/.

Listen to TRACKS on National Public Radio

Last month, author Eric D. Goodman read an excerpt from TRACKS, his novel in stories, on National Public Radio.

“The Stein” is an abridged version of “A Good Beer Needs a Good Stein” a popular story from the novel that also won a fiction prize.

WYPR, the Baltimore NPR station, describes the story as "a tale about marriage, growing old, and some lessons to be learned on the subject of give-and-take."

NPR describes author Eric D. Goodman as "a regular on the Baltimore literary scene."

Listen to the 10-minute reading here.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-587318.mp3

Eric is available for future readings from TRACKS, and he's looking for an agent or publisher for the novel in stories. You can contact Eric at edgewriter@gmail.com.