Here's some assorted recent news and reviews I haven't gotten around to posting. The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently weighed in with a round-up review that included Cure, using nice words like "stellar" and saying the book "really soars" in its courtroom scenes. (They also included Chelsea Cain's Sweetheart, which came out around the same time as Cure. Better late than never...)
A nice review by criminal defense lawyer and legal commentator Peter Elikann (I have a soft spot for reviews by attorneys, but that is a digression for another post) recently ran in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, but is only available on-line to subscribers. Along similar lines to an earlier posting of mine, it discusses how Cure is not a legal thriller, but rather "a thoughtful courtroom procedural that examines the inner workings of the legal process with its accompanying moral issues." It goes on to say that: "Peacock accurately captures the bleak, almost mournful, gritty realism of the underpaid public defenders as they inhabit this sullied world where they sometimes see the truly innocent found guilty and the first-time drug offender, given a break and allowed to get treatment, haplessly mess up and squander his opportunities."
Lastly, the trade paperback of Cure will be published by Vintage/Black Lizard this fall (apparently on October 6, though I don't know if that's set in stone...). (Here's the formal Vintage listing; here's the more edgy Black Lizard one...)
I also promised thoughts, so here goes: I haven't been posting much to this blog in the last couple of months, primarily because its original purpose -- to serve as a news and reviews clearinghouse for Cure -- has pretty much run its course. I'd been thinking about whether I wanted to continue it, and if so what I wanted it to be. I do want to keep it going, and have resolved to start posting more frequently, but to free the blog from having any Cure-related focus, as the book's initial publication was, amazingly, just over six months ago.
I've genuinely enjoyed having the blog. Moreover, I think that blogs and web sites will only become more important for writers of books, and that this is, on the whole, a good thing. I know that when I come across an author who sounds interesting, I turn to the Internet to find out more. For example, I read Janet Maslin's very enthusiastic review of Olen Steinhauer's The Tourist this morning and promptly googled him. I quickly came across his blog, Contemporary Nomad. The blog is interesting and insightful, and served to confirm my interest in Steinhauer's work. It struck me once again that an author blog is an ideal way for a writer to interact with readers and potential readers. Readings and book signings and panels have their place, of course, but what better way to interact with a writer than through the written word?
So I plan on writing more frequently, and also far more widely. Stay tuned for blog 2.0!
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