I’m honored to have a couple of poems I wrote (17 years apart) for my wife included in Then & Now: Conversations with Old Friends, a beautiful anthology of poetry and art that comes out on November 20th, 2015, from Sadie Girl Press.
Then & Now: Conversations with Old Friends is a unique collection of poetry and art pairs inspired by the theme of “Then and Now”. 120 pages, perfect bound collection, 50 pairs of work from 45 poets and artists, with cover art by Alyssandra Nighswonger. Edited by Sarah Thursday, assisted by Terry Ann Wright.
Learn more at SadieGirlPress.com
Includes work by Alexis Rhone Fancher, Amélie Frank, Avra Kouffman, Betsy Mars, Beverly M. Collins, Boris Salvador Ingles, Brandon Dumais , Brandon Williams, Brian Christopher Jaime, Brittni Suzanne Plavala, Carla Carlson, Clifton Snider, Daniel McGinn, Erica Brenes, Esmeralda Villalobos, Fernando Gallegos, Frank Kearns, Frank Mundo, G. Murray Thomas, Gerald Locklin, John Guzlowski, Joy Shannon, Judy Barrat, Julie Standig, K. Andrew Turner, Kelsey Bryan-Zwick, Ken Oddist Jones, Kevin Patrick Sullivan, Laryssa Wirstiuk, Lynne Thompson, Marco A. Vasquez, Marcus Clayton, Martin Willitts Jr., Natalie Morales, Robin Dawn Hudechek, Robin Steere Axworthy, Sally Deskins, Sarah Lim, Sarah Thursday, Sharon Elliott, Steven Marr, Suzanne Allen, Teresa Mei Chuc, Terry Ann Wright, and Tobi Alfier.
Available November 20th through the Sadie Girl Press Bookstore and Half Off Books in Whittier.
Other books by Frank Mundo are available at Amazon
Filed under Events, Pause for Poetry, Uncategorized
I had the honor of being interviewed by Ognian Georgiev, a writer from Bulgaria Today about my books, writing, reviewing and more.
Filed under Author Interviews
Different by Frank Mundo
I’m pleased to announce that my book, Different, is up for the 2014 Readers’ Choice Award for Fantasy books at BigAl’s Books and Pals.
Published on December 9th, 2013, Different tells the story of 12-year-old Gregory Gourde, a bright yet awkward kid who experiences certain physical changes one morning that even puberty can’t explain: his head has become a watermelon.
What follows is an audacious exploration of what it really means to be different in this dark yet humorous nod to Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” and Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”. Different also includes a dozen original woodcut-inspired black-and-white illustrations by Keith Draws.
Different was reviewed by BigAl’s Books and Pals on December 31, 2013, which you can read here.
If you’ve read and liked Different, please take a minute to vote for it in the Fantasy Category at BigAl’s using the Rafflecopter application/form. Just for voting you are entered to win prizes and free books. Check it out. And thank you for your support.
Different is now available in ebook and paperback versions on Amazon. Visit my Amazon author page for more info on all of my books.
Filed under Reviews
The Read – Poetry Event with Frank Mundo
Wed, 26 Feb 2014 17:30 PST
The Read @ Moorpark College: Open Mic Poetry and Fiction
Students, faculty, and members of the community are welcome to share their poems and stories. Each event features a published author as our special guest. This month we welcome the return of poet Frank Mundo!
February 26th: Frank Mundo, author of The Brubury Tales.
Time: “The Read” begins at 5:30 pm.
Location: 3rd Floor of the Moorpark College Library.
Please help spread the word!
Location: 3rd Floor of the Moorpark College Library
Filed under Events
The term “writer’s writer,” or, in this case, “poet’s poet,” is very unusual in that it seems to have no clear definition, yet every writer knows what it means. For me, a poet’s poet is a workhorse, someone who, focusing on craft, consistently creates the kind of high-level work of art other poets truly admire. Unfortunately, however, despite this effort and discipline, despite this consistent outpouring of strong work, the poet’s poet is typically a label for the unappreciated and relatively obscure writer who deserves far more attention from readers.
That’s why I wanted to review The Wolf Yearling by poet’s poets, Jeffrey Alfier, a local Los Angeles poet, photographer and literary journal editor. I believe, in a better world, this artist, with his accomplished work and vast potential, would be a darling of the literary world – or would at least own a much much bigger corner of it.
Jeffrey Alfier
Poetry Collection
The Wolf Yearling
Silver Birch Press, May 2013
82 pages/$12.00
Talk about a workhorse. Already a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Jeffrey Alfier’s poetry and photographs consistently appear on the pages and covers of literary magazines and journals all across the country. The Wolf Yearling is his first collection of 65 of these published poems. With his photographer’s keen eye and a strong artistic sensibility, Alfier mixes grand images of nature’s bounty with sober depictions of the lonely and forgotten locations and inhabitants of the American Southwest. What’s most interesting to me about this collection is how, like a photographer’s lens, the poet seems only to capture images as they are in nature, without judgment or criticism. Somehow, even when the poet does reveal the “vulgar charm of exhausted huntsmen,” how the “ocotillo blossoms when it pleases” or how in the Puerto Blanco Mountains “rock cairns are the oldest profession in the book,” this is not commentary or gossip. It’s the truth. And, more importantly, it’s evidence of beauty.
If you could only read one poem in this work, one work that would best represent the collection as a whole, I’d urge you to read “The Desert Rancher on Sunday.” In only five couplets – one sublime snapshot – the poet manages to hit on both of his favorite subjects at once: 1) Some forgotten desert ranch somewhere in the Southwest whose “parched tractor ruts…angle off into wind-runneled fields”; and 2) The local inhabitants, lively flora and fauna, “loitering hawks,” “Chihuahuan sage blossoming in clusters,” and a single warbler whose flight is impelled by the footsteps of a nameless, faceless (and, perhaps, timeless) rancher. Touched off by the wind, the poem’s action is but a reaction to man, reinforced by “distant church bells” that “summon their own echoes” as the rancher kneels down, shoves his hands into the earth and we learn that this
Thin soil keeps him for another season,
The ground made of nothing his hands won’t hold.
If you like this poem, you’re really going to enjoy the rest of this journey through the Southwest…
Read this review at LA Books Examiner.
Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories. His latest book is an illustrated novella for adults called Different. Don’t forget to subscribe to his emails and follow him on Twitter @Frankemundo or @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates.
Filed under Reviews
Five Favorite Books is a special feature at LA Books Examiner in which our favorite authors share their five favorite books within a category. In this edition, Los Angeles author Candi Sary discusses her five favorite Coming-of-Age Books. Candi is the author of Black Crow White Lie, an excellent coming-of-age novel set in Hollywood that releases on October 1 from Casperian Books. To learn more about Candi and her books, visit candisary.com.
Five Favorite Coming-of-Age Books by Candi Sary
#5: The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
While reading The Highest Tide, Miles O’Mally felt more like a kid who lived somewhere in my life than just the narrator of this exceptional novel. The story looks at life through the eyes of the bright thirteen-year-old who spends most of his time on the mud flats of Skookumchuck Bay in Washington, collecting sea creatures for money, and paying close attention to life in the water. He’s a young scientist trying to understand the natural world, while also trying to make sense of friendships, his first crush, his parents’ separation, and his own unique identity. Miles comes up with profound ideas while observing sea life — just little bits of wisdom that stuck in my mind for days after reading the passages. The novel plays with the opposing perspectives of science and magic, at times giving the feeling that science is magic. This is a novel about the challenges of growing up, and yet the author does a wonderful job of pointing out the magic and the beauty along that difficult journey. There is something so special about this book that even after the story ended, its ideas continue to make me wonder.
#4: White Oleander by Janet Fitch
White Oleander made me fall in love with fiction all over again. It came along when I hadn’t read anything in a while that blew me away. Then I met Astrid and Ingrid. Ingrid, the poet/murderess, is the intriguing bohemian who kills her boyfriend and leaves her daughter to a life of foster care. Astrid is the daughter on a journey of self-discovery. She tries to make sense of the world through the variety of foster families she has to live with, as well as through her mother who still influences her from jail. The Los Angeles setting comes alive with the Santa Ana winds and the intense heat, and it gives a haunting quality to the story. This is a powerful novel with some of the most stunning sentences I’ve ever come across. The detail put into this book makes it so complete and thorough and a one-of-a-kind literary experience.
Read the rest of Candi Sary’s Five Favorite books at LA Books Examiner.
Purchase Black Crow White Lie by Candi Sary at Amazon.com or Casperian Books. Read the LA Books Examiner’s review of Black Crow White Lie.
Read more Five Favorite Books
For the latest updates to Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner, be sure to subscribe and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer.
Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories.
Filed under Five Favorite Books, Reviews
Friends in San Diego: I’m one of the featured writers at the HISPANIC LITERACY DAY event at the South Chula Vista Public Library this Saturday, September 15 in Chula Vista. Perfect for the whole family, the free event features 25+ authors, illustrators, speakers, panelists, cultural performances and readings from Noon to 5pm. I’ll be reading from my books in the “Readings YA Room” at 1 pm and, from 2 to 3 pm, I’ll on a poetry panel (moderated by Thelma Reyna) with Sonia Gutiérrez, Yago Cura, and Caroline Gerardo in “Conference Room 2”. Throughout the day I’ll be at Table #15 in the Exhibition Hall, so stop by and say hi.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. This month celebrates the history, cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans.
It also recognizes the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Celebrate Hispanic Literacy Day
Saturday, September 15, 12:00 – 5:00
South Chula Vista Branch Library,
389 Orange Avenue,
Chula Vista, CA 91911
619-585-5755
The Brubury Tales –> (eBook, paperback and MP3) http://www.amazon.com/The-Brubury-Tales-ebook/dp/B007P73RT2/ref=tmm_kin_title_0
Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories –> http://www.amazon.com/Four-Eyed-Fairy-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B005D7KFHI/ref=la_B004KUAB1Y_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347579493&sr=1-2
Filed under Events
Love it or hate it, the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by former TV executive turned mega bestselling author E.L. James is a true publishing phenomenon. In fact, according to CBS News, these books are “among the fastest-selling series of all time” with more than 10 million copies sold and counting. Film versions of the books are almost certainly on the way, and so is the onslaught of copycats and parodies.
And that’s why we’re here. Before you’re inundated with Fifty Shades of Everything books, meet Court Burback, an LA writer and author of a new Fifty Shades parody A Coupla Shades of Taupe that’s been getting some buzz around town and some great reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Court Burback has agreed to share the first chapter of A Coupla Shades of Taupe below, a wild and funny parody she describes as, “a romantic, tender tale of blossoming emotions and hardcore schtupping” for which “a Pulitzer is inevitable.” Enjoy!
About the author
Court Burback was a finalist for the Glass Woman Fiction Prize, and her nonfiction has appeared in publications that include Playgirl, Laguna Beach Magazine, and Hustler. A Coupla Shades of Taupe is available at Amazon, and you can learn more about Burback at her website onedumbbunny.com.
About the book:
Pagan Taupe is the wealthiest man in all of Arkansas. He’s got a home with a working refrigerator, a private rickshaw driver, and a respected empire of taxidermy/fro-yo chain stores. The only thing that’s missing is a whiny young codependent named Alexandra Aluminum. From the moment he sees her tripping over an angry raccoon, it’s clear that Alexandra dills his pickle. Pagan becomes obsessed with Alexandra at a level normally portrayed by Rob Lowe in Lifetime movies. But unlike Rob Lowe, Pagan doesn’t want to beat her with a tire iron and bury her beneath the town bridge—he wants to make her his live-in sex slave.
But if eager young Alexandra wants to feel the caress of Pagan’s ear hair against her cheek, she’s going to have to play by his rules. When Pagan reveals the special room he’s built to live out his sexual proclivities, Alexandra’s natural reaction is to cold cock him and call the police. But the clown chained to the wall assures Alexandra that Pagan is a stand-up guy, and if she gives him a chance he can introduce her to a world of unimaginable pleasure. Alexandra takes the leap and agrees to be Pagan’s unquestioning “submissive,” and the two embark on a sexual journey that would make Gloria Steinem put a loaded gun to her temple.
Read Chapter On at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner.
“Read Chapter One” is a special feature at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner where authors, from emerging to bestsellers, share an excerpt of their newest books:
North of Hollywood by actor/playwright and local author Rick Lenz
The Sausage Maker’s Daughters by Los Angeles author A.G.S. Johnson
33 Days by LA author and former 80′s indie rocker Bill See
Girl in Translation, the bestselling debut novel by Jean Kwok
The Heights, the bestselling book by novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Peter Hedges
The Omega Theory by international bestselling author Mark Alpert
Fatal Error by bestselling author J.A. Jance
The Dark Side of Innocence by LA writer and bestselling author Terri Cheney
Golden State, the fresh and entertaining debut novel by local author David Prybil, Barnes and Noble Rising Star Award Winner
A Discovery of Witches by professor of history at the University of Southern California and bestselling author Deborah Harkness
The Meaning of Matthew by Judy Shepard, an activist and co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation
The Ark, the bestselling Internet sensation by Boyd Morrison
The Insider by Reece Hirsch
Changes by Jim Butcher, bestselling author of The Dresden Files
Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne, former lead singer of The Talking Heads
Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner, is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See) and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories (now available for Kindle and Nook). Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates.
Filed under Read Chapter One
Foreword by Bestselling Author Carolyn See
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