The Fracking Book

I’ve always admired The Piedmont Virginian — a quarterly magazine with surprising heft and high quality design. It always showed me Walter Nicklin’s wide-ranging interests. Now in Dennis Brack’s capable hands, it really helps set the tone for our region, from Loudoun to the north all the way to Nelson County in the south. So I was pleased when the Winter 2014 issue arrived here in South Florida. It features a...

We were reading the paper in the garden after waking up late on New Year’s Eve (as this evening’s hosts, we’re on duty). I reminded Anne we only had a few more hours left in the old year, and the conversation turned to the year’s highlights. No. 1 on my list: Becoming a published author with a novel I’m really proud of — Mother Fracker. I spent yesterday updating the file with some eagle-eyed edits...

We’re relaxing in Morningside as an interesting fall comes to a close and as promising winter approaches. The launch and the first tour are behind us here at Morningside Press. We kept the post office busy getting copies of Mother Fracker to Christmas gifters across the country. Just got word of a nice shout-out from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:...

The Great Couches of America tour continues with one final stop in the Queen City. I’ll be signing copies of Mother Fracker from 7-8:30 p.m. tonight at Park Road Books, one of Charlotte’s last standing independent book stores. The folks there have been nice, and a few old and good friends promise to show their faces. I’ve reached out to Charlotte’s environmental and anti-fracking community. Calendared an item...

From where I sit in front of the huge picture window on Long Mountain Road, the snow and ice from Sunday morning’s storm is falling in huge clumps from the oak branches high above. Fog shrouds the hills and hollows between me and Shenandoah National Park. Wish I could see those peaks and their blanket of snow. It was treacherously slick last night and this morning. More snow predicted this afternoon and tonight. Thus: No trip in...

The countdown has begun. After a good Writer’s Row experience at the 30th annual Miami Book Fair, I’m getting my game face on for an honest-to-gosh book tour. Not just ANY book tour: We’re talking a one-man, nine-state, 12-day, 3,600-mile hopscotch up into the Rust Belt and back again to meet with old friends and new, stay on some comfy couches and talk up Mother Fracker. I’m bringing the hard cider. (What? Am...