WOMB

news about the novel

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Today is Tracks Day

Today is the day—Tracks has arrived via Atticus books. Tracks is on the bookshelves of bookstores (brick and mortar as well as online) across the nation.

Want a taste before you order your copy? Tune into Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, on the radio or online tomorrow. That’s 88.1 FM and www.wypr.org. I’m reading from Tracks on NPR’s The Signal at 12 noon and again at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 1. The broadcast will air again on Saturday, June 2.

With the release of Tracks, I’m sighing a breath of relief. It’s a big moment for me as a fiction writer—decades in the making. It may have only been five or six years from first draft to agent to bookstore shelf … but prior to writing the first lines of Tracks, I spent decades writing fiction. From the moment in the third grade when I got hooked by a short story assignment, I dreamed of the day I’d have a literary agent and an independent publisher share my novel with the world. All of the prior novel drafts, comments from publishers, agents, and editors, and hard knocks lead me to what has become my debut novel in stories.

As surely as I’m breathing that sigh of relief, I’m also holding my breath. I’m a debut fiction writer with a small indie press facing an army of goliaths. You may have notice I’ve punched up the publicity for Tracks, in recent weeks, and that’s why. It’s hard for a debut book to be heard in the chorus of established bestsellers.

So please consider sharing Tracks. Whether you tweet it, post about it on Facebook, send an email to your list, mention it in your newsletter, suggest it to your book club, share it with a friend, ask about it at a bookstore that doesn’t have it in stock, or just mention one of the stories that may have hit home with you in a conversation—anything you can do to spread the word about Tracks is very much appreciated. Each advocate is an extra arrow to still my quiver, to continue battle with an army of goliaths analogy.

Today has been a whirlwind with all of the activity on Facebook, online, postcards, phone calls, and all of the congratulations. Thanks to all.

It’s been a long and winding line of track. Now it’s time to enjoy the ride.

Learn more about Tracks at www.TracksNovel.com where you can read excerpts (long and short), listen to past NPR radio readings, find out what others are saying about Tracks, get a timetable of readings and events, and order your copy.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Let the Tracks Contest and Countdown Begin

We’ve turned the page of the calendar to Tracks Month! Tracks, a novel in stories, is being released by Atticus Books on June 30—let the countdown to Tracks Day begin!



Atticus Books, my publisher, wants to send two lucky readers a free copy of Tracks hot off the press! There are five easy ways to enter the contest. You can enter as many times as you’d like during the month of June, and each entry will increase your chances of winning one of the free books.

1. Share Tracks on Facebook. Write a post and share the link to www.TracksNovel.com,
or repost / share one of my Tracks-related posts (like this one). Be creative!

2. Share Tracks on Twitter. Tweet all about Tracks and include a link to www.TracksNovel.com.
Condense your wit to 180 characters!

3. Share Tracks with your contacts. Send an email blast to your list of friends and colleagues about Tracks and be sure to include the www.TracksNovel.com
link.

4. “Like” the Lounge at http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Tracks-the-lounge-car/182330691789512

5. “Friend” Franklin, the Conductor, at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001923080723

Each time you do one of the above, just send an email to TracksNovel@gmail.com notifying us of your post/tweet/like/friend and you’ll be entered into the contest.

Two lucky winners will receive a free copy of Tracks, hot off the press—postage included for winners within the United States. In the case of a winner outside the United States, you can select the eBook version or pay the postage for your free printed book.

What are you waiting for? Remember that you can enter as often as you like during the month of June—so enter early and enter often!

Let the Tracks Contest and Countdown begin!

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Monday, May 23, 2011

Womb Author's Tracks Available for Pre-Order with Free Shipping

Mondays aren’t all bad. Sure, Fridays get all the attention with their ends of the week and beginnings of the weekend. But sometimes starting an entirely new week has its perks.

Here’s a reason to celebrate this Monday: Tracks, a novel in stories, is now available for pre-order at the online bookstore of Atticus Books!

Not only that, but if you pre-order before the official release date of June 30, you can get free shipping anywhere in the United States!

As Atticus describes, “This novel-in-stories follows a diverse group of passengers on a train from Baltimore to Chicago, revealing the secrets of their past, their hopes for the future and just how intertwined their lives really are.”

What kind of person takes the train from Baltimore to Chicago (besides the author)?

“They are the strangers we meet every day: a soldier slowly losing his faith in the war, a businessman learning to balance his job and the family he loves, a computer geek-turned-criminal, a Holocaust survivor finding hope in facing her fears, couples in love, a woman dealing with the death of her parents, a poet hunting for inspiration, and a hit man with a job to finish before the train arrives at its destination. Watch as these and other characters' lives and stories seamlessly link and intersect, quietly shaping and changing one another.”

Read more — and pre-order your first printing copy of Tracks today — by visiting the Atticus Online Bookstore at the link below.

http://atticusbooksonline.com/online-bookstore/trade-paperbacks/tracks-a-novel-in-stories/

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Radio Reunion

One thing advance readers seem to like about Tracks is the balance of mood and character. One character innocent and lovable, another sleazy and loathable. One story light or funny, another heavy or sad.

Pull out your hankies. “Reunion” is one of the more melancholy ones.

An abridged reading of “Reunion” was recently featured on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR. Set to appropriately-themed music, the reading was broadcast on The Signal, a tour through Baltimore’s cultural landscape.

The podcast is available now. You can listen to the program at the following link. “Reunion” is about 40 minutes into the program.



www.wypr.org/sites/default/files/podcast_audio/signal021111.mp3


Or, if you want to go directly to the “Reunion” reading, you can listen to it here.



Grab a few tissues and enjoy a radio reunion today.

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Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Author's New Website Launched



The release date for Tracks, a novel in stories by Womb author Eric D. Goodman, is still months away — June 30 to be precise. But you don’t have to wait to climb aboard. You can visit the new website dedicated to Tracks: www.TracksNovel.com.

TracksNovel.com has a number of stations. You can:

· Listen to stories from Tracks, as featured on NPR;


· Read excerpts from Tracks;


· See the press release and other Tracks-related news;


· Find out what others are saying about Tracks;


· Get the schedule of Tracks readings, signings, and appearances;


· Visit the Lounge Car or Tracks Blog; even


· Watch a Tracks-related video.

What are you waiting for? Hop aboard the Tracks website now!

www.TracksNovel.com

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Friday, February 18, 2011

WOMB Author's TRACKS Cover Revealed

Can we have a drum roll on the train, please?


The cover for Tracks, a novel in stories by Womb author Eric D. Goodman, has been revealed! Take a look at the picture below.


The warm, earth-toned cover was designed by London-based designer Jamie Keenan. In designing the cover for Tracks, Keenan said, “The basic idea was to find an image of tracks that mirrored the ideas in the book — beginnings, endings, uncertainty, transformation, possibilities ...”


The image here is the cover for the advance reading copy, or ARC. There are other designs and variations on this cover, so stay tuned to find out whether this will be the final cover when it comes time for the actual print run.


Keenan knows his book jackets; he’s even filled auditoriums with his “Twenty Immutable Theories of Cover Design.” And he’s certainly put them to work with covers for authors such as: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Stephen King, H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Junot Diaz, David Foster Wallace, Philip K Dick, Anthony Burgess, Tennessee Williams, Jean-Paul Sarte, Rudyard Kipling, Garrison Kellior, Nick Hornby, and A.M. Homes.


Learn more about Jamie Keenan and see some of his favorite cover designs at his website.
www.keenandesign.com


Visit the Atticus Books website for more about Tracks.

http://atticusbooksonline.com/category/2011-book-titles/eric-d-goodman/

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Womb Author Nominated for Baker Artist Award


Womb Author Eric D. Goodman is a nominee in the running for a Baker Artist Award! Check out my profile and nomination entry at the link below:

www.bakerartistawards.org/nomination/view/edgewriter


The Baker Artist Awards support Baltimore's artists, the city's rich and diverse cultural offerings and the participation of its residents in the region's creative life.


Visitors are encouraged to view the artists' galleries and to curate an exhibit by selecting favorite artworks from the site.


Last week, WYPR’s The Signal did a segment about the Baker Awards. You can listen to it—as well as catch a podcast of my own reading from Tracks from yesterday’s episode—at www.wypr.org/stationprogram/signal. My story, “Reunion,” closes out the last 20 minutes of the program.


Learn more about the Baker Artist Awards at their main page.

http://www.bakerartistawards.org/


Check our my profile below, where you can learn more about Tracks (a novel in stories being published by Atticus Books this summer), Womb (a novel-in-progress), and other fiction. You can even listen to some other radio readings there.


Feel free to leave a comment or two!

www.bakerartistawards.org/nomination/view/edgewriter

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Jamie Keenan to Design Cover for Tracks

Exciting news along the Tracks. Atticus Books has hired Jamie Keenan to design the cover for Tracks, a novel in stories by the author of WOMB!

The London-based book jacket designer knows his trade: he’s even packed auditoriums with his “Twenty Immutable Theories of Cover Design” lesson.

If you look at book covers, it’s likely you’ve seen his work. Here are some of the authors he’s designed covers for:

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Stephen King
H.G. Wells
George Orwell
Junot Diaz
David Foster Wallace
Philip K Dick
Anthony Burgess
Tennessee Williams
Jean-Paul Sarte
Rudyard Kipling
Garrison Kellior
Nick Hornby
A.M. Homes


Learn more about Jamie Keenan and see some of his favorite cover designs at his www.keenandesign.com/website

Visit the blog of my fellow Atticus author, JM Tohline, for more of Jamie’s cover examples.
www.jmtohline.com/2010/10/you-meani-dont-get-to-design-my-own.html?showComment=1297183886409#c8921742992168202528

And here are some Jamie Keenan Google Images.
www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=jamie%20keenan&um=1&resnum=9&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

So … maybe you can judge a book by it’s cover?

Monday, January 31, 2011

Womb Author at AWP Conference and BookFair

Tracks will be represented at the AWP Conference and Bookfair next week!

Atticus Books, the independent press publishing Tracks this summer will have a table representing Tracks and its other titles throughout the duration of the AWP conference.

Womb and Tracks author Eric D. Goodman will be there along with other Atticus authors for the AWP BookFair on Saturday, February 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; the event is free and open to the public.

The 2011 AWP Conference and BookFair is being held in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park & Omni Shoreham Hotels. The AWP BookFair will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel.

Since 1967, AWP has supported writers & writing programs around the world. The organization now support more than 34,000 writers at over 500 member colleges and universities
and 100 writers' conferences & centers.

Each year, AWP holds its Annual Conference & Bookfair in a different region of North America in order to celebrate the outstanding authors, teachers, writing programs, literary centers, and small press publishers of that region. The Annual Conference typically features 350 presentations: readings, lectures, panel discussions, and Forums plus hundreds of book signings, receptions, dances, and informal gatherings. The conference attracts more than 8,000 attendees and more than 500 publishers. It’s one of the biggest and liveliest literary gatherings in North America.

Learn more about the AWP Conference:

http://www.awpwriter.org/conference/2011awpconf.php

Learn about the BookFair here:

http://www.awpwriter.org/conference/2011bookfair.php

And learn more about Atticus Books here:

http://atticusbooksonline.com/category/2011-book-titles

And be sure to visit us at the Atticus table (K34) in the AWP Exhibit Hall!