The Irate Savant Excerpt
(PDF: 279K; 28 pages)
From 2004 to 2005, I wrote a blog called Irate Savant. It was a fiction, but it made no claim to be, and it was the most fun I ever had writing. With a few links from Will Collier and Steve Green at Vodkapundit (and others), and a raucous, hilarious band of readers such as Brown Trout, PDS, Pursuit, Rob, Cap'n Nigel P. Fritters III and others, IS had some measure of success during its brief existence.
By the end of 2005, IS had played itself out. Truth is, I had started the blog on a lark and was flying by the seat of my pants the entire time--and it often showed. I briefly considered bringing the blog back, this time with more of a plan, but life interfered, and I outed myself. But I still liked the concept and the material, so over the next few years I set about converting the story to a novel. Despite earning an MFA at LSU, I had never applied myself to a work of that length, and it was a real bitch--a lonely one, too, entirely different from blogging.
Landing an agent and/or publisher through queries is hard enough when the publishing world as we've known it isn't imploding, but such is my lot. As I go through this process, I wanted to share a brief excerpt from the book, for the old crew as well as for any new readers who might be interested.
If you like it, let me know, and please pass it along. If nothing else pans out, I may go the POD route and sell the entire thing here.
Many thanks to my good friend, old classmate and talented writer and designer Rob Peneguy, who took one of my cover designs and made it ten times better. I don't think IS could have a better cover if a big press bought it. Thanks, Rob. Thanks to Paweł Kryj for the photograph.
And thanks for reading.
The Irate Savant Excerpt
(PDF: 279K; 28 pages)
February 15, 2009
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7 Comments:
Hey, Lein, I enjoyed the excerpt; a bit like Ignatius Reilly narrating a Lovecraft story.
WOW. THIS IS SOME OF THE COOLEST STUFF I'VE READ. I HAVE READ A BUNCH OF DEAN KOONTZ AND JAMES PATTERSON AND LOVE THEIR WORK. THIS IS REALLY COOL TOO. YOU MAY BE MY #3 FAVORITE NOW. I LIKE THE MAN'S VOICE. HE SOUNDS LIKE MR DARCY FROM P&P WOULD SOUND IF HE HAD TO WORK FOR A LIVING. HA. CAN YOU PLEASE POST HERE WHEN THE NOVEL IS PUBLISHED? I AM IN CHICAGO. WILL YOU GIVE A READING?
This guy is completely bonkers. I love him. Kind of see what the Confed of Dunces meets Lovecraft commenter meant. Really funny stuff. just one question ---- SO WHAT HAPPENS? WHEN CAN WE FIND OUT? ok, maybe that's two questions.
Brilliant.
I love the voice; it's a rich and delightfully unreliable narrator. I feel like I'm reading Edgar Allen Poe with a sense of humor.
THE IRATE SAVANT is like nothing I've read in contemporary fiction, and certainly a breakthrough novel from an extremely talented novelist. Shory captures the voice of a pretentious anti-social loser who, like most, desires love but can't quite get a handle on how to obtain it. Meanwhile, the Savant is unwittingly intertwined in a mysterious antiquities scheme while battling obnoxious neighbors and his own bulging desires.
Great stuff - the Savant is an excellent sympathetic unsympathetic narrator. A super character; one who I want to see succeed, but whom I would also get a kick out of watching fail. No matter what happens as the story unfolds, it's a win-win read!
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