Author Archives: Michael J. Tucker

Paint It Black

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Paint It Black, The Song, and The Novel

A Review of Paint It Black, a novel by Janet Fitch

220px-PaintitblackHappy Friday the 13th. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones release of their iconic song “Paint It Black.” I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this anniversary than with a brief discussion of the song, and since Late Last Night Books is a literary blog, include a review of Janet Fitch’s 2006 best selling novel by the same name.

Astute readers will notice the album cover has a coma between “It” and “Black.” Grammarians among us will interrupt this to mean a man by the name of Black is being instructed to paint “It”…whatever “It” is.

A Book Review of Girls, a Novel by Frederick Busch

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A Book Review of

Girls, a Novel by Frederick Busch

 

It has been said that Frederick Busch is a writer’s writer. BuschHe was an award-winning author whose books were loved by critics but ignored by the mass audience required for climbing bestseller lists. And that’s too bad for readers, for they are missing out on beautifully woven, poetically told, compelling stories of the intimate lives and tragedies of ordinary people.

Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cough

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Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cough

The stereotype that writers are considered to be a bit odd or reclusive is Shakspeare's Tremorperhaps because they are odd and reclusive. John J. Ross, a physician at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and guest editor for the prestigious quarterly Infectious Diseases Clinics of North America, has written a highly readable and entertaining book that delves into the lives and illnesses of some of our most famous and beloved authors. His book is an easy to read combination biography, review of classic literature, and medical journal.

 

Book Review: the reasons I won’t be coming by Elliot Perlman

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the reasons I won't be...The cliché advice to writers is, “write what you know,” and if Elliot Perlman’s collection of short stories is based on what he knows and has personally experienced, then I feel very, very sorry for him.

The characters in these nine stories deal mainly with rejection in one form or another, and the reader watches as they spiral down a path of depression. This is not a book filled with cheerful stories and happy outcomes, but nevertheless, it is still a worthy read.

 

 

 

Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, a Killer Nashville Anthology

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Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, a Killer Nashville Anthology

killer-nashville-finalKiller Nashville is an international thriller, mystery, crime literature writers’ conference held annually in downtown Nashville, TN. The conference draws some of the genre’s best writers to mix and mingle with aspiring authors and fans.

This year, for the first time, conference founder, Clay Stafford, produced a collection of twenty short stories for the anthology Cold-Blooded. He’s pulled together such well-known thriller writers as, Jeffery Deaver, Anne Perry, Robert Dugoni, Heywood Gould, Maggie Toussaint, Mary Burton, Donald Bain, and Jefferson Bass. But the collection also includes many equally talented but lesser known writers, and it is works of seven of those people that I would like to introduce you to.

Preview of December Guest Blogger David Marshall Hunt

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11/30/15 Preview of December Guest Blogger David Marshall Hunt

David Marshall Hunt began a new career at the mellowing age of 70-plus years. While that can be Casual David Marshall Huntdaunting and challenging, for David it has been mostly fun. For 35 years he taught and researched at universities around the world. His home is in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and near the C’est La Vie Coffee House where he hangs out on a regular basis to imbibe delicious cappuccinos and croissants and keeps up on local politics, football (a religion in Mississippi), art, and gossip.

His essay tomorrow is about how his experiences shaped Flower Girl: A Burton Family Mystery, and how his history bled into his eBooks.

On Memoirs and Writing

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11/13/15 On Memoirs and Writing

I’ve never been one for reading memoirs. Oh sure, biographies, or a now and again autobiography, but memoirs just seemed too sticky for me. I never wanted to know that one of my favorite movie stars hated wire hangers, and beat her daughter, or really anything of the dirty laundry that takes place in the confines of a family. But this year I stumbled into the rabbit hole of the memoir.

Review of The Women of Rogers Street

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10/13/15 – Review of Louise Colln’s The Women of Rogers Street

Don’t judge a book by its cover or its title. A blue-eyed woman’s image superimposed on colorfulWomen of Rogers metropolis suggests a story of sunshine and roses, but that is not the story of The Women of Rogers Street. Ms. Colln has crafted an exciting and compelling, multi-themed, character-driven novel, that encompasses human trafficking, class differences, deceit, deception, adultery, and ultimately a journey to self-knowledge, redemption, and finding true love.

A Dialogue on Historical Fiction

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9/13/2015 A Dialogue on Historical Fiction

Three authors join me this month to discuss their thoughts on the genre of historical fiction. They are: Louise Colln, author of Woman of the Land: Mary, Mother of the Christ, and The Women of Rogers Street; George Spain, author of Lost Cove, Our People: Stories of the South, and The Last Giant, and Come Sit with Me…and Listen…; and John Neely Davis, author of The Sixth William, and Bear Shadow.

A Review of the Works of Tana French

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8/13/15 A Review of the Works of Tana French

It’s one thing when a writer wins a book award for a novel, especially if it is their first novel. But when the same writerTana French wins awards for her subsequent novels, particularly if the novels are part of a series, you know something special is happening.

In 2008 Tana French’s debut novel, In the Woods, walked away with just about every major award for the “Best First Novel,” the Edgar, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Barry Award. The novel was also a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 2012, her third novel, Faithful Place, won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Broken Harbor, her fourth novel, won the Irish Book Award for Irish Crime Fiction, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for the Mystery/Thriller category.

Interview with Ginger Manley

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Interview with Ginger Manley, author of Disarmed

Ginger Manley did not discover she wanted to be a writer until she was in her fifties. Before that she was a registered nurse and advance practice nurse, a certified sex therapist, a wife, mother, and almost completely normal person. Once she was takenGinger Manley under the spell of writing she has not been able to stop telling stories, inspired by a collection of vintage aprons she inherited, the antics of her grandchildren and other family members, the questions asked about sexuality by her students and readers, and now the lifelong story of her relationship with her husband, John, and his artificial arm.

When she is not writing, she works part-time at Vanderbilt University Medical School, teaching whoever will listen about sexuality, health care, and ethical practices for today’s doctors and nurses.

Disarmed An Exceptional Journey

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6/13/2015—Book Review: Disarmed An Exceptional Journey, by Ginger Manley.

The subtitle “An Exceptional Journey” for Ginger Manley’s, Disarmed, is indeed an accurate descriptionDisarmed of this remarkable memoir. It is a story of a fifty-year relationship with her husband, John Manley, a relationship with a doubtful beginning. It is an inspiring account of the couple’s fortitude in overcoming horrendous physical trauma, homelessness, and the overwhelming odds of keeping their marriage intact. The divorce rate in couples with a disability is ninety percent. This is the story of how the Manley’s beat those odds.

A SECOND LOOK AT FLANNER O’CONNOR’S WISE BLOOD

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5/13/2015 A Second Look at Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood

I saw the movie and read the book and thought wow, whaWise Bloodt a crazy story filled with weird characters doing strange things. Recently I’ve been reading about symbolism in literature. A discussion of symbolism in any book can sometimes be off-putting for some readers, especially if they missed the meaning. They rebut that sometimes a story is just a story. And that’s true too. But I’m talking about Flannery O’Connor now, a deeply religious person, a practicing Catholic living in the South.

So, what’s it all about?

Gillian Flynn Times Three

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4/13/15 GILLIAN FLYNN TIMES THREE

Sharp Objects

Gone Girl was all the rage in 2013 and into 2014, especially with the announcement of taking the book to film. Everyone I knew that had read the novel seemed to grumble about the ending. None of them seemed to like it. In fact they were outraged, as though they’d been cheated. I’m sure they would have asked for their money back if they could. Begrudgingly (probably due to my jealousy of Flynn’s flaming success) I decided that I would just have to read the darn thing myself, but first, my journey to Gone Girl would have to begin with Sharp Objects.

Come Sit with Me Book Review

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3/13/15  Book Review, Come Sit with Me, by George Spain

 

As the title, along with its subtitle, Come Sit with Me…and listen to the stories I want you to hear… suggests, this is a book for casual reading. Author George Spain’s voice echoes through the words as if a favorite uncle is telling tales of what once was and can never be again, stories you know to be true, some you know to be exaggerations, and some that you know came from the far reaches of his mind.

2/28/15 — OUR MARCH 1, 2015, GUEST BLOGGER IS TOM WOOD

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2/28/15 — OUR MARCH 1, 2015, GUEST BLOGGER IS TOM WOOD

 

I’m sure there is a belief out there that the stereotypical writer is a shy introvert, who lives onTom Wood Journalist caffeine, speaks only to his cat, closets himself in a dark room hunched over a keyboard, and puts words to paper 24/7. Well, our guest blogger, Tom Wood, author of the inventive ‘fictional-true crime’ novel Vendetta Stone, will dispel that idea and give you a sense of how difficult it is to write a second book. When he’s not writing novels and Western short stories he is a freelance sports writer, and actor in the ABC series Nashville and films, such as, The Identical.

 

Interview with John Neely Davis, Author Bear Shadow

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2/13/15—Interview with John Neely Davis, author, Bear Shadow 

Last month I reviewed Bear Shadow, winner of the Janice Keck Literary Award for Fiction. Today we get to interview the author, John Neely Davis.

MJT: John, Bear Shadow is introduced as a prequel to your debut novel, The Sixth William. Other than geography, what is the connection between the two stories?John Neely Davis - Photo

 

CAN THERE BE A MARYLAND NOIR?

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12/13/14  CAN THERE BE A MARYLAND NOIR?  The first time I went on the Late Last Night Books website I thought the site may have been devoted to noir because of the nighttime cityscape that, at the time, was used with the logo. But that turned out not to be the case. The nighttime motif is “because so much reading, writing, and living happens after-hours,” although there are hints of the noir genre beginning to appear on LLNB. Pallas Snider Ziporyn, our guest blogger in November, is the author of A Cappella Drug Lord, a story involving a Yale a cappella group becoming cocaine mules in a mash-up of Breaking Bad and Glee. Sounds like noir to me.