Book Love & Giveaway: A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma

A Room Away from the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma

Feeling betrayed after her mother kicks her out of the house after another supposed indiscretion, Bina takes immediate action — choosing to leave of her own accord. She grabs what money she can and travels not to the family friends her mother selected, but to Catherine House in New York City, the woman’s residence her mother once lived. Bina has heard many stories of Catherine House, stories to fascinate her, stories to make her believe she can regain some connection to her mom by going there herself. But when she arrives at Catherine House, she is confronted with dark secrets she doesn’t understand and which may leave her trapped within its walls.

Nova Ren Suma is one of my favorite authors. I love the way she builds unsettling atmosphere into her stories and how she complicates female relationships, which are never simple in her tales. A Room Away From the Wolves does both of these things — both Bina’s relationship with her mother and her strange friendship with her downstairs neighbor Monet are complex, loving, and problematic. Much of her story is trying to find herself outside the context of her mother, while also confronting her own fears.

As Bina learns about herself, she works to understand the mysteries surrounding Catherine and the house. One of the things I love and am frustrated by in this book is how the story is comfortable allowing some secrets to remain secret. Not every mystery is explained. Not every dark corner is revealed. And the reader is left wondering. It makes me want to pick up the book and start rereading to see if there were some clues I missed the first time around, knowing that I would get to enjoy the beauty of Suma’s prose and storytelling all over again.

Footnote: This is the second book by Suma that I immediately saw being perfect for movie adaptation (the first being Imaginary Girls). This could be made into a beautiful kind of haunted house movie, one with complicated female characters at its center.

Giveaway

So, it turns out I have an extra copy of  A Room Away From the Wolves. How? Well, I’m a goof.

It went like this: as soon as I found out it was available for preorder, I clicked the order button. Then, time went by — and I saw another mention of the book. How have I not preordered this yet? I demanded of myself. It’s absurd! So, I ordered it again.  Hence: extra copy.

And what am I do with this extra copy? Why spread the love, of course.

If you would like to get your hands on my extra copy of A Room Away From the Wolves, all you have to do is leave a comment with your name and email by October 25th.

Want an extra chance of winning? Then, also subscribe to my newsletter, where I talk about books, poetry, and the writing life.

That’s it. I’ll use a random number generator to select the winner.

Big Poetry Giveaway 2018: We Have Winners!

Big Poetry Giveaway 2018

The Big Poetry Giveaway has come to an end. This year, I offered up No God in This Room by Athena Dixon and Your Molten Heart / A Seed to Hatch by me. Winners for the giveaway were determined using a random number generator, and here they are:

Renee Emerson has won a copy of No God in This Room

Crystal Vega-Huerta has won a copy of Your Molten Heart / A Seed to Hatch

Congrats! I hope you both enjoy reading your new books!

Big Poetry Giveaway 2018

Big Poetry Giveaway 2018

Welcome to the Big Poetry Giveaway! To participate in the giveaway and to find other blogs that are doing giveaways, check out this post.

To participate in my 2018 giveaway, just post a comment with your name and email address included. Please also let me know your first choice, if you win.

Book One: No God in This Room by Athena Dixon


In discussing her chapbook, No God in This Room, Athena Dixon says, “The pieces in the collection are all very image driven. In my poetry and my prose, I tend to concentrate on a central image or thread and then spin the work out from that axis. Some of the poems take something as small as a bee on a window sill and weave a story. Others tackle images directly related to police brutality and shootings. Each of them gives a bit of sweetness and sourness.”

Book Two: Your Molten Heart / A Seed to Hatch by Andrea Blythe

Your Molten Heart / A Seed to Hatch
My limited-edition chapbook of erasure poetry, sourced from past issues the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, explores the relationship between the self and a collective consciousness that has the power to “unleash enviable culture”.


The giveaway ends on April 30th at midnight, at which point I will use a random number generator to select the winners.

You can find others who are giving away poetry listed here.

Good luck! And Happy National Poetry Month!

Big Poetry Giveaway 2018: Guidelines

Big Poetry Giveaway 2018

National Poetry Month is just around the corner and that means it’s time for the Big Poetry Giveaway! I’m honored to be taking over the reigns from Kelli Russel Agodon.

How do you participate? It’s simple:
— Anyone with a blog can give away two books of poetry.
— Anyone can enter any or all of the giveaways.

How to Participate

The Big Poetry Giveaway has officially started and will run through April 30, 2018. If you would like to participate in giving away some poetry, then you need to do the following by Thursday, April 5th (deadline extended to April 15th):

1. Create a blog post that uses the header image above (so that we know who is participating), in which you announce which two books you will be giving away. You may choose to include a little note about yourself.

Include a link back to this post so that others can easily find these guidelines and have the option to participate.

Make sure that your comments are open, so that people can enter to win.

(You can see an example at my giveaway post.)

2. Once your blog post is live, comment here with:

A) The name of your blog
B) Your name
C) A direct link to your blog post

I will keep a running list of participants, updated every couple of days until I close entries on April 5th.

3. During the week of May 1st, select two winners at random. You can put the names in a hat or use this handy random number generator.

Please note that by participating in Big Poetry Giveaway, you agree to send two books to anywhere in the world. You pay for postage. The winner does not.

FAQ

1. Can I give away my own poetry?  Yes. But please make sure that one of the books is by another poet. The idea is to share books by poets we love.

2 . What if I don’t have a book of my own? Can I still participate? Yes! Just give away two collections by poets you love.

3. Can I give away more than two books? Certainly!

4. Do chapbooks count as books? Yes!

5. Do the books I give away have to be new? Nope. Gentle used books in good condition are fine.

6. I don’t want to pay for postage if someone wins. Can I still participate? No. By hosting a giveaway as part of the Big Poetry Giveaway, you are agreeing to pay for the postage required to ship the book to anywhere in the world. If you are unable to do so, then please don’t participate.

7. Can I enter the drawing if I don’t participate in the giveaway? Yes. The drawings are open to anyone.

8. Can I enter the drawings if I am a blogger giving away two books? Yes. As noted, the drawings are open to anyone.

9. How will I know if I’ve won? The blogger running the giveaway you signed up for will be responsible for contacting you if you win.

10. What are the exact dates of the giveaway? The giveaway begins immediately and ends April 30th, 2015 at midnight (PST or Hawaii-time, not sooner).

The winners will be chosen the week of May 1st, depending on the blogger’s schedule.

Any questions, email me at andreablythe [at] hotmail [dot] com.


Participants:

  1. Andrea Blythe
  2. This Quiet Hour – Renee Emerson
  3. Poe-Query – Joannie Stangeland
  4. The Storied Imaginarium – Carina Bissett
  5. Melissa Hassard