A few years ago, Shepard Fairy, a well-known street artist, was arrested in Boston by an overzealous, graffiti-art-hating cop, for postering a portrait of Obama named “Hope” on a public wall. That strikes me as arresting someone for self-publishing their writing. Now, Google has raised street art and its cousin [or are they the same?] to new heights in its growing art portfolio. There is some wonderful art being created by artists who can’t or won’t be seen in a formal art gallery. Visit here to see more wonderful art.
What a nice surprise!
Bravery in a Windows 8 World
I don’t much care for television commercials. I mean, come on, “ask your doctor” if you need to take a placebo pill for your placebo-fantasy condition whose side effects will make you sick? But I don’t want to get started. Except my wife and I were watching “Big Bang Theory” and this Microsoft commercial comes on. Innocuous enough, but then at the end there’s some woman screeching something I cannot understand. It sounds like she’s having a bad-tattoo experience. Or maybe her phone just fell out of her back pocket and was run over by a truck. Or maybe it was a cry of frustration with trying to work a Windows 8 computer. I was curious enough to Google around to find out why she was in such pain. Turns out she’s singing something about being…
Interview With Alex Hughes, Author of “Sharp” and “Clean”
I had a chance to meet Alex at last year’s Willamette Writers Conference — of which both I and Fictional Cafe founder Jack are on the presenters’ staff for this year — and she was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions both about her work and the work. 1. Let’s start with the numbers. How many books did you write before writing “Clean?” How many queries did you send for “Clean?” How long had you considered yourself a writer before making the sale? Clean was my third completed novel. Clean was also my learning novel, on which I learned revision, scene structure, story structure, description, pacing, and a whole mess of other lovely and difficult things. By the time the final revision was done for the publisher, I’d taken it through eight drafts. Only a…
Nespresso: The Creme de la Creme
Are you a Nespresso fan? I just became one. The Nespresso Aeroccino3 is now standing tall on my home coffee bar, all beautiful red and chrome, just waiting to whip up a frothy cream to top my coffee. It couldn’t be easier: Pour whole milk, half and half or Coffeemate liquid up to the measuring line, hit the button, and in less than 60 seconds you have hot, frothed creme de la creme. At $99 it’s a little pricey, but I love it and use it practically every morning for my first cuppa. It’s one of those gadgets that you wonder how you ever got along without. Nespresso is a Swiss company, part of Nestle, and a purveyor of all kinds of glamorous and expensive coffee devices you members of the Fictional Café will be eager…
Fresh Java! 4 Poems by Glen Armstrong - is.gd/asrhMG
4 Poems by Glen Armstrong - The Fictional Café
www.fictionalcafe.com
Glen Armstrong has a unique voice and style that leads to some magical lines in his poetry. Check out his four poems down below.
Fresh Java! Excerpts from "Ocean of Tears" by Ololade Akinlabi - is.gd/cjPRgx
Excerpts from "Ocean of Tears" by Ololade Akinlabi - The Fictional Café
www.fictionalcafe.com
Ololade Akinlabi is an author who isn't afraid to discuss gender and societal issues in his work. Included below are two excerpts from his upcoming no...
Fresh Java! 6 Poems by Marissa LaPorte - is.gd/p2ynMx
6 Poems by Marissa LaPorte - The Fictional Café
www.fictionalcafe.com
We have a nice collection of poems this week by Marissa LaPorte. Marissa evokes a lot of emotion in her writing which we were immediately drawn to.