Benjamin Parzybok — June 6th, 2008 — couch
I snagged a few ARCs (Advance Reader Copy - or in this case, AUP - advance uncorrected proof) at BEA.
In the left corner, a manuscript with Laura’s marks on it. In the right corner, the same manuscript (more or less), dressed in its pre-show garb. Word has it this is not the final cover.
Pretty exciting.
Benjamin Parzybok — June 3rd, 2008 — black magic insurance agency, couch
I was about as green as they get going into BEA and so it was a sensory-overload experience for me - the good kind, the 4-year-old-at-the-chocolate-factory kind, with a little bit of rabbit hole thrown in. Pretty much the first thing I did, after meeting my publisher in person (Gavin Grant! Kelly Link! Jedediah Berry!) for the first time was go sign books. It turns out, that in the cattle-to-the-slaughter lineup thing they do for authors (30 authors signing at once with their queues going out like tentacles, in 30 minute increments) I was stationed in the immediate vicinity of Judy Blume, Neil Gaimon and Brooke Shields. Holeee crap. Who’s this Parzybok character? The good thing about that is that my much shorter queue tentacle got spillage from these more popular attractions.
It also helped that Publisher’s Weekly did an article on the game/scavenger hunt that the Black Magic Insurance Agency (BMIA Staff: um, just me this time) put together among the small presses for the event which had a cover shot of my book. And so I had a healthy signing and it was a blast meeting people and giving them a copy of the galley.
The scavenger hunt? It was super fun to plan - with a text-messaging, satellite component. Watch this space for more on that in the future. However, it was pretty sparsely attended. I didn’t really take into account that people were already working pretty hard at the event - their feet were tired, their brains were overtaxed. I wracked up the largest walking day since I’ve owned a pedometer. A lot of people pulled a clue, said what a great idea it was, and then slogged on with their 900 pounds of books in tow. Next year I’m going to hire myself out as a book caddy as an act of compassion. At any rate, I’m looking forward to getting back to BMIA’s roots -ie: doing a walking game in Portland somewhere.
Among the many highlights of the show, one of them was getting books signed by other authors. I can vouch for John Scalzi’s claim that he stood in his own line (here’s a blurry cell-phone pic). I ran into Kelly Link in the lines and she introduced me to John and also to Sean Stewart. I am now the proud owner of one of the (relatively) few copies of Zoe’s Tale and Cathy’s Key out there… Awesome. I’m amazed at the publishing work that went into Cathy’s Key - with a pouch full of clues on the inside. So cool.
At any rate - BEA was awesome fun.
Benjamin Parzybok — May 1st, 2008 — couch, reading
My friend Seth wrote to congratulate on getting the book up somewhere where people see it and added:
”P.S. - Is there any chance you can give me, you know, like a synopsis or something? Reading is so time-consuming….”
Excellent question, Seth. Reading time is indeed a valuable commodity. Fortunately, there is an answer. Using the autosummarize feature of MS Word I can condense a 100,000 word novel down to just 98 words, which I have pasted here for your reading pleasure. I think it very accurately sums up the book:
Couch
by Benjamin Parzybok
“Thom!” said Erik. Thom sighed, “Erik?”
“Tree! Thom! “Erik,” Thom growled.
Thom nodded. Thom nodded.
Thom nodded. “Erik!” “Thom?” Thom smiled. “Thom, Tree and Erik. Thom
nodded. Thom smiled. “Thom. Thom nodded.
“Thom and Tree.”
“Erik,” Erik said.
“Tree,” said Thom.
“Tree! “Erik! “Thom!” said Erik.
“Tree?” “Tree! “Erik!”
“Tree! Thom,
Thom smiled. Thom,
“Thom.” “Erik? “Erik! Thom,
-Thom
# (<–I assume this is to signify part two - ed.)
“Erik!” “Thom! “Erik!” “Erik, Erik. “Tree! “Tree! “Erik!” “Tree? Thom?”
Thom nodded.
Thom
“Tree!” Thom nodded.
“Thom!” Thom nodded. “Tree? “Tree! “Tree?” “Thom – Thom! “Thom? “Erik.
“Thom!” “Tree!”
“Tree. Thom. “Erik!” “Erik!” “Erik,” Thom said.
Thom nodded. Thom!
I hope I haven’t given away too much plot.
Benjamin Parzybok — April 1st, 2008 — couch
Today I joined my cousin Tye Parzybok on Amazon. Tye’s book is Weather Extremes of the West and it’s awesome. (Update: Couch seems to be going in and out of search results. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes not. Here’s a direct link)
“A rare and deadly twister rips through parts of Oregon and Washington. Haboobs strip paint off cars in Arizona. A dramatic two-hour temperature gyration from 4 degrees Fahrenheit to 54 degrees Fahrenheit and then back to 4 deg breaks plate-glass windows in Spearfish, South Dakota. Most of the wildness of the western frontier may have gone the way of the buffalo, but weather, as meteorologist Tye Parzybok illustrates in Weather Extremes of the West, is still a wild beast.”
It’s really strange seeing Couch up there, or at least the placeholder for it. I do very much like the jacket art:
I think it says a lot. The drawing of the white motorcycle in the snow storm in the lower left corner was a brilliant touch. It’s fun to look at all the formalities that go along with having your book there. For example, I was surprised to see the genre classifications:
And I have an ISBN! Wait, I have two:
Benjamin Parzybok — March 19th, 2008 — couch
Benjamin Parzybok — March 8th, 2008 — couch
Click to see fullsize. Very helpful, but even more so is all these extra hours she carved out of the schedule for editing here are ones that she’ll be doing extra kid duty. Thanks Laura!
Benjamin Parzybok — February 8th, 2008 — Small Beer Press, couch, fiction, writing
One: I’ve started a blog. That much should be obvious at this point. Actually, Levin and I have started a blog together. We’ve decided to call it ‘Secret’ - in part because we both love secrets, and also because we’re both secretive. It’s an admission that running a blog, an inherently open medium, is going to take a little learning.
Two: I have a short story, The Coder, which appeared in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wrislet #21.
Three: Small Beer Press has purchased my novel, Couch - a book about three guys who carry a somewhat opinionated couch to South America.
Hooray! What a fantastic way to start 2008. I wrote Couch while Laura and I were living in South America in 2002. It was a magical time, and I am very excited to be working with the fantastic people at Small Beer Press.
