E. Christopher Clark - Author and All-Around Geek
Friday, March 13, 2009
Buy a book and support Social Media for Social Change
Here’s the deal: I have 100 copies of my first book, Those Little Bastads, sitting in a box in my closet. I want to do some good in the world, but don’t have a lot of money to do good with. So, I had an idea. I’m going to donate half of the proceeds from every one of those 100 copies to one of my favorite charities, Social Media for Social Change. That’s $6.50 per book. If we sell all 100, I’ll be able to donate $650 to SM4SC.
Click HERE to buy yourself a copy (or two).
Not only will you be benefiting a great cause, but you’ll also be getting a book of short stories that the Lowell Sun called “a lively collection of 16 tales”. Leslie Poston (@geechee_girl on Twitter) said of the book, “If you’ve ever wondered what the quiet guy in the corner was really thinking, this book might be your answer. The stories are simple, almost like day dreams, if your day dreams tended to go horribly, horribly awry.” And if you’re a fellow Chelmsfordite and looking for a local connection, look no further than what Kevin Zimmerman wrote in the pages of the Independent back in the day. He said, “some of his inspiration stems from his days working at the old Purity Supreme grocery store in Chelmsford Center. A parade of tabloids… proved to be an excellent training ground for Clark’s creativity.”
Still not convinced? Here’s a video of me explaining this idea, and why I want so much to make it happen.
Thanks for your support. I hope to be signing a copy of the book for you very soon!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Twittering “Two Weirdoes”
I am very busy at the day job today, but on my breaks from work I’ll be twittering the entire text of “Two Weirdoes, a Shovel, and Lots of Open Land,” which I discussed on Making the Book the other day.
The Twitter version of “Two Weirdoes” starts here.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Making the Book #003: Two Weirdoes, a Shovel, and Lots of Open Land (Video)
Making the Book is a Web video series where I read and discuss my written work. Each week, I look back at how the stories I’ve published came to be and offer advice based on my experience as an adjunct English instructor and a lifelong writer. This week, I’m reading and discussing “Two Weirdoes, a Shovel, and Lots of Open Land,” a short story first published in The Bradford ReView and later collected in Those Little Bastads.
“Two Weirdoes” was written as a reaction to the pretentious workshop commentary provided by a particular subset of my Introduction to Fiction class at Bradford College (circa 1996). The message of the story was “let’s all stop taking ourselves so seriously,” and, while most of that class found little humor in the jokes being made at their expense, the story went on to find an audience with people who, while they didn’t necessarily understand every in-joke, found great humor in the absurdity of a thirsty suburbanite pow-wowing with two Beckett-quoting weirdoes in the middle of an open field. They may not have known that the inscription on the story’s gun was a nod to Joyce Carol Oates, but it turned out that not knowing that didn’t matter.
If you’ve read Those Little Bastads and would like to suggest which story I discuss next, .
Monday, June 30, 2008
Making the Book - One Week Hiatus
I’m taking a week off from Making the Book to catch up on some other work, and to get back on track with my current writing project. In the meantime, why not check out the first episode of “You’ve Got to Read This”, a video series I did for my old Website, The Intersection.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Making the Book #002: Revelation (Video)
Making the Book is a Web video series where I read and discuss my written work. Each week, I look back at how the stories I’ve published came to be and offer advice based on my experience as an adjunct English instructor and a lifelong writer. This week, I’m reading and discussing “Revelation,” a short story first published as “Christbearer” in The Bradford ReView and later collected under its current title in Those Little Bastads.
“Revelation” is a story about what happens when a Jesus Christ is cloned from a blood sample found on the Shroud of Turin. Originally told from the point of view of an angry young atheist, it has since been revised so that it is now seen through the eyes of a devout Christian woman. In this week’s episode of Making the Book, I talk a little about why our choice of point-of-view characters is so important.
If you’ve read Those Little Bastads and would like to suggest which story I discuss next, .