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Anne-Marie Taplin, acclaimed author of the book Being Mummy, has put together a review of You-Dubya in the July edition of her online mag, Parenting Express:

‘…this novella is a very funny read for pregnant women or their partners…the book is sure to appeal, especially to men grappling with the concept of fatherhood for the first time.’ 

Have a geek at the full review and a linked excerpt here.

The Delta Optimist newspaper in Vancouver gave UW a very hefty plug with their recent feature article.

Cast an eye over their kind words and rather goofy pic.

Thanks go again to the Umbilical Word Publicity Deities (UWPD) for their sterling efforts. 

If you can’t be bothered getting up off your backside and trundling down to the local bookstore, then fear not my perambulation-challenged peeps…

The Umbilical Word can come to you!

Visit the darrengroth.com Shop, make a click or two, and before you know it, you’ll be reading fine fiction without interrupting your descent into Deep Vein Thrombosis… 

Check out the nice profile piece linked below and recently done in the South Delta Leader.

Thanks to the UWPD (Umbilical Word Publicity Deities) for bringing this coverage about…

Special Delivery!

All you Aussies…

Particularly those in Bris-Vegas…

You can now get hold of pre-launch copies of ‘The Umbilical Word’ through the publisher IP. Follow the link below:

http://www.ipoz.biz/titles/uw.htm

You can be the coolest kid in the neighbourhood… 

Far be it from me to defend publishers.

Yes, they are notorious for being near-sighted, conservative, luddite and lacking business acumen.  A prominent New York publisher I heard speak in 07 actually admitted that publishers “know nothing”.  I was impressed she knew that much.

But more than the follies of the book’s clueless gatekeepers, I have trouble stomaching the “all the publisher’s fault” fallacy invariably espoused by the spurned first-time writer.

HEY WANNABES - STOP WHINGEING!

Your 250 000 word fantasy trilogy was not rejected because they can’t identify true genius.  Your ’rite of passage’ novel cum thinly-veiled memoir of childhood was not turned down because you have no industry strings to pull.  Your epic romance spanning seven generations and seven continents was not nixed because they failed to read the whole thing, thus cruelling the incredible climactic twist.  And, no, your bold and bloody crime detective series set in your own backyard was not given the kibosh because they wanted to steal the idea for themselves.

Take some ownership, people!

Nobody asked you to write.  Nobody forced you.  Nobody put your detective’s gun to your head.  You took it upon yourself to create.  And despite your complete absence of any qualification or accountability, you are permitted to submit your scribblings to folks who MUST consider it; though, truth be told, they would prefer to gouge out their own eyeballs with the staples they specifically asked you not to use than lay eyes on your pap.

Wannabes, stop the blame game.  Write a better story.  An original story.  An irresistible story.  And, for God’s sake, write it bloody well!  Devise a plot that intrigues.  Have characters live and breathe.  Inspire emotion in the reader that is the seamless product of your imagination synergising with your craft.

And when you do all that, then you can scream at the top of your lungs that publishers, indeed, know nothing.

If you can’t wait for an upcoming book launch or author signing in a hemisphere near you, then maybe you want to purchase your brand spankin’ copy of The Umbilical Word at Amazon. 

Yes, a pre-release UW is now up and running and ready to fleece your credit card.  Of course, the shipping is a biatch, but hey…you can’t put a price on quality fiction, can you?  And a struggling little company like Amazon really needs your support…

I am very pleased to announce that a percentage of author royalties from the sales of The Umbilical Word will be donated to the Bonnie Babes Foundation.  

The Bonnie Babes Foundation is a non-government funded, non-profit, volunteer based charity which provides, among many services, 24 hour / 7 day per week counselling for families that have experienced the loss of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or prematurity. 

For more info about Bonnie Babes and their fine work, visit http://www.bbf.org.au/

I was dismayed recently to hear rumours of a ‘Big Lebowski’ sequel.  The Coen Brothers - amongst America’s funniest and innovative writers in any medium or genre - wrote, produced, directed, distributed and catered this cult classic in 1998 and, until now, had refused any suggestion of a follow-up.

Ethan, Joel, you’re entering a world of pain!  To re-visit classic, one-off writing for the sake of a buck is fraught at best, damaging at worst.  

Same goes for deconstructing / explaining / contextualising / wankerising creative work to the point where no motive, no inspiration, no interpretation is sacred.  Do we really have to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING!  Do we have to implore Ian McEwen to rip apart every nuance of the devastating ‘balloon accident’ opening chapter of Enduring Love?  Must we bray for Mark Haddon to reveal the nitty-gritty of his autism experience at the heart of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?  Understand this - if you use a magnifying glass on a piece of work, it will get burnt by the concentrated light.

Personally, as an author, I quite liked Peter Carey’s approach to this issue.  At a reading of Jack Maggs some years ago, a fan nay stalker asked him a question concerning the motivation of Harry Joy, the lead character in his first published novel Bliss.  With baited breath, she hung on an answer that would quench a twenty year thirst to know and, in all likelihood, allow her to sleep once more at night.

Carey’s response?

‘Sorry, I’ve got no idea…I wrote that so long ago.’

I’m positive I saw her catch a taxi to the nearest cliff during intermission.

Magic doesn’t need a manual, folks.  Savour it.  Revel in it.  Supplement it with a sliver of insider knowledge. 

Then leave it alone. 

‘MVP - Most Valuable Potential’ has achieved another gong!

This one - an official selection in the ‘Books From Our Backyard: 100 Must-Read Books From Queensland’ list (http://www.queenslandbooks.com/schools).  Other authors honoured in the list included Nick Earls, James Moloney and Michael Gerard Bauer. 

Check out what they said about Sean, STU and the rest of the crew…