Blog by DAR

Time out to talk about a larger issue here. An issue that’s way bigger than Larry, way bigger than Larry’s Kidney, but that lies at the heart of this discussion:

The need for people to donate organs.

Wait!- Don’t go away. This is urgent. Do you realize that FEWER people are donating organs this year than in previous years? Apparently this is the first time this has happened since they started tracking donor statistics two decades ago.

At the same time, MORE people are in dire need of organs. The number of people languishing on the waiting list is growing by leaps and bounds – some 50,000 more people will join the list in 2009.

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Let’s talk about the use of dialect in the book. May I quote from the Author’s Note?

Be my guest. You’re me, after all.

Here goes:

Although it has traditionally been considered condescending to write in dialect, the climate seems to be changing — and for good reason. In his recent book about India, The Elephanta Suite, Paul Theroux uses such locutions as “wicious” for vicious, “moddom” for madam, and “wee-icle” for vehicle in an effort to transmit more shades of emotional truth than a sanitized transcript can. Nor is the practice limited to native English writers. By writing, “My bawss was sacked, so we got laid all together” in his recent novel, A Free Life, the Chinese-American author Ha Jin suggests how cross-cultural communication is a creative process for both native and visitor, with results that are sometimes as revealing as Freudian slips. Tracking both how foreigners use the English language, and how an American visitor scrambles to make sense of foreign sounds, is here meant to transmit the spirit of modern travel — equal parts charming and alarming.

I stand by those words.

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Wow, a blog. I’ve never done a blog before.

Well, we’re here to help you through it.

Who the heck are you?

We’re your self-interviewer. Together, we’re gonna get you through the whole week. So tell me, what’s your first reaction to having such a wonderful podium — at Powell’s yet, one of the nation’s preeminent book stores, with the most discerning reading public you could ask for?

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Let’s hope so. So tell me, how does the blog feel so far?

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I’ve got a couple of new appearances scheduled for June. On Thursday, June 11, I’ll be at the New Canaan Library (151 Main St., New Canaan, CT, 06840), and on Saturday, June 20, I’ll be at Burgundy Books (4 Norwich Road, East Haddam, CT, 06423).

We’ve also set up a RSS feed to track the Larry’s Kidney book tour, for your passive-update-needs. It’s listed in the Events section of the Larry’s Kidney page, and right here as well.

See you all on the road!

wow, the reviews are really starting to cascade in. i am so gratified that most everyone GETS it!

In addition to all the new work on this site, I also invite to you to follow my Twitter feed here: http://twitter.com/danielasarose. You’ve already missed the contest for a free copy of Larry’s Kidney, but news from the book tour should still be worth reading!

The next stop on the book tour is a trip to my alma mater (or their bookstore at least): Brown University Book Store (244 Thayer St., Providence, RI 02912), on Wednesday, May 20th, at 6:30 pm. Their website mentions entering by 164 Angell St. for the event.

Starting the tour for the new book, Larry’s Kidney. I’ll be at Brookline Booksmith on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, which is located at 279 Harvard St Brookline, MA 02446. More dates will follow, but you can sign up for notifications with HarperCollins’ AuthorTracker here.

The site has been redone, complete with a new front page for Larry’s Kidney. Let me know what you think!