Three Friends, Two New Books
And one giant plug for authorkind.
I’ve probably mentioned it a time or two or 10 before, but I’m a member of a writers’ group. Have been now for a full decade.
We used to call ourselves the Boulder Speculative Fiction Writers’ Workshop. Everyone agreed that was more of a mouthful than Chubby Bunny, so after literal years of deliberation, we’re now the Questing Beasts.
Surely that’s because Questing Beast is a Magic card, and not because it’s a nerdy literary allusion. But hey, that’s what we are—literature nerds. As such, we do a lot of writing.
Today, I’d like to direct you to the writing of three of my good friends, because they’ve all got new books out. Here’s why you should read them.
Diddly Duggins and the Great Memory Misplacement
by Daniel Robert Long
I’ve known Danny for about six years now, and I’ve never once met him in person.
This is the funky thing about being in an online writers’ group. We meet every other week on Wednesday nights, starting at 9pm eastern. (That’s my usual bedtime, I’ll have you know, but I make an exception for the Questing Beasts.)
The late start time is because most members—like Danny—live in Colorado. I joined the group when my wife Sara and I lived near Denver circa 2015, and even when we returned to our home state of New York, I never left.
Anyhoo, I’m getting off topic. That distance is why I’ve never seen Danny in person. For all I know, he’s a holographic computer projection.
Seems unlikely. He’s too nice, and too good a writer. Plus, he’s funny, and we all know computers have no sense of humor. I mean, when’s the last time Excel made you chuckle?
That humor is the primary reason I’m recommending Diddly Duggins and the Great Memory Misplacement to you. It’ll make you laugh. A lot. I’ve had the privilege of experiencing this effect firsthand for the past few years, because Danny’s been working on it with our group for all that time.
The inventive use of language in this book is probably my favorite part about it. I mean, there’s a character named Runduncklety Snippet whose job is stumpjumping. If that doesn’t make you smile, maybe you’re a holographic computer projection.
Confessions of a Mango
by Kate Lumsden and Nate Pieplow
I’ve known Danny for a long time now, and I’ve known Katheryn and Nathan for even longer. They both joined the group as individual entities, yet then, through the power of creative magnetism and literary osmosis, they joined forces into one superwriter.
Since then, they’ve been writing all their stuff together. It’s been great fun reading their work for a full decade now, offering praise and constructive criticism every few months. (We’ve got eight group members, and everyone submits their work on a rotating basis.)
I’m extra excited for Confessions of a Mango because, like you, I don’t know how it ends. We submit up to 10,000 words at a time, so if you miss meetings here and there like I do (I blame my cats), then you can miss big chunks of stories you love. I don’t know where I was when Confessions ended, but it wasn’t at group.
I can’t wait to read both these books alongside you. And for Danny, Nathan, and Katheryn, congratulations on finishing these fantastic stories.
Kyle A. Massa is a comedy author of some sort living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife, their daughter, and three wild animals. His published works include 10 books, along with several short stories, essays, and poems. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading, running, and drinking cheap coffee.
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