The Novel Approach: dual book review for Every Time I Think of You and Message of Love

The book review blog The Novel Approach posted a thoughtful dual review of my recent books Every Time I Think of You and its sequel Message of Love.

This is particularly heartwarming to me, in that reviewer Lisa not only offers praise, but some accurate critiques on the pacing of the sequel.

On Every Time I Think of You:

"Provenzano captures the voice, the emotions, and every pang of urgency that goes along with falling in love for the first time in Every Time I Think of You, the story of Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester, two seventeen year old boys who embark upon a journey of desire and an unexpected test of their love in the late 1970s."

She also gets what I've done with the narration to not reveal too much, and add a bit of mystery:

"The intimacy the author injects into this novel, choosing to limit the point of view, allows us to see Everett only through Reid’s eyes, giving the reader the sense that there are things about him, Everett, we don’t know, and perhaps never will, as his and Reid’s relationship continues to mature and evolve."

And evolve it does, into the sequel, where Reid and Everett attend college, together, then separately, in Philadelphia, in the early 1980s. Here's a review excerpt:

"The day-to-day domesticity in this literary piece made for a slow and at times prosaic 374 pages, peppered only occasionally with light conflict that was easily resolved but supported the idyllic nature of the story’s theme. Where Every Time I Think of You moved along briskly through the boys’ trials and tragedies, Message of Love requires the reader to persevere through a somewhat cumbersome narration of details that don’t always serve to evolve the plot or the characters. While that doesn’t mean Message of Love is at all poorly written, it does serve as a contrast to the strength of Every Time I Think of You."

American Horror Story's Mat Fraser is not your 'inspiration porn'

Mat Fraser, one of the many disabled actors in American Horror Story: Freak Show, does not want to "inspire" you. 

I first saw Mat perform as a guest drummer for Coldplay at the London Paralympics closing ceremonies (I watched the YouTube simulcast; video embed's at the bottom of this post). 

It wasn't a great concert because he performed, or that it was the Paralympics, but that it was a great show, even better than the London Olympics ceremonies. Sure, it had a smaller budget and fewer pyrotechnical displays. But they featured Sir Ian McKellen and a dazzling array of performers in a much more deftly produced spectacle. 

Tomas Young, 1979-2014

Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran-turned-activist who became one of the first veterans to publicly oppose the war, has died.Young, who was paralyzed after being shot five days into his tour in Iraq, died Monday morning at a home in Seattle.

Young was paralyzed in 2004 shortly after arriving in Iraq. He went on to become one of the nation’s most prominent antiwar U.S. veterans speaking out against the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Los Angeles Times obituary
Democracy Now obituary
Common Dreams obituary
LA Times feature on Young

View the film Body of War.