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Be Brief and Tell Them Everything by Brad Listi is a novel of autofiction. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “A darkly funny meditation on creativity and family, Be Brief and Tell Them Everything tracks the life of a middle-aged author who is struggling to write his next novel while trying to come to grips with his son's disabilities, set against a backdrop of ecological catastrophe and escalating human insanity in contemporary Los Angeles. A beautiful, powerful, concise work of autofiction that is reminiscent of My Struggle and Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Be Brief documents the stops and starts of adulthood and marriage, and the joys and challenges of parenting, while defining what it means to be a good man, and a good writer.”

The fictional Brad in this novel is very similar to real-life Brad Listi. They both are married with children and live in Los Angeles and host a podcast about a writer talking to other writers. It’s difficult to tell from listening to Brad on his podcast and reading Brad’s thoughts in his novel where—or if—the two “Brads” diverge. Certainly, they’re the same person, right? That’s the conundrum, but what a fun one to read and explore.

Autofiction is a flavor of fictionalized autobiography, heightening the question of what is real and what is embellished. In television, think of Seinfeld. In movies, think Almost Famous. In other recent literature, think of The Red-Headed Pilgrim by Kevin Maloney. In most cases, there’s a modification of real-life events or the invention of subplots or tangents that help in the search for the self—the examination of the author’s “character.” The embellishing in this book procures comedic gold. Be Brief is observationally funny as Brad picks apart the positive and negative aspects of the city of Los Angeles, the lunacy of the endless failures and iterations of writing books, the foibles of parenting by people who have barely figured out their own lives, along with the untimely deaths of his loved ones and the guilt from being raised Catholic.

Audiobook deal announcement! 📢

I'm so happy to be working with MMB Media and their imprint Vibrance Press to release the audiobook for THE CODGER AND THE SPARROW! I love audiobooks and can't wait to hear my characters come to life. Thank you to my literary agent Mark Falkin at Falkin Literary.

Read more about the audiobook for THE CODGER AND THE SPARROW here: https://scottsemegran.com/audiobooks/the-codger-and-the-sparrow.html

Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby is a novel categorized as a crime thriller. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “Beauregard "Bug" Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there's no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast. He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear. Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.”

This is the second novel I’ve read by S. A. Cosby, the first being Razorblade Tears which I absolutely loved. Although for me not as emotionally charged as Razorblade Tears, there’s still so much to enjoy about this thrilling, fast-paced, crime novel.

Beauregard "Bug" Montage is trying to be a good man, father, husband, and son, but life keeps throwing him combinations that he has a hard time outmaneuvering. His mother is in a nursing home and needs over $30,000 to keep her bed. His bills are piling up at home and at his floundering auto repair shop. It just seems like he can’t keep up. When Ronnie Sessions, a small-time hood, approaches Beauregard about joining a heist, we learn that Beauregard is known around that part of the country as the best getaway driver there ever was, even better than his crooked father was. When Ronnie temps Beauregard with a close to six-figure payout, Beauregard takes the bite even though he knows that Ronnie isn’t trustworthy. What ensues is a nail-biting crime thriller that takes many twists and turns, most of which are surprising and gripping.

Check out a fun Author to Author Interview featuring me and excellent fiction author Kerri Schlottman in WELL READ MAGAZINE! Kerri and I talk about all kinds of writerly things like book publicity, character development, and so much more. Plus, the latest from Mandy Haynes, Robert Gwaltney, and too many authors to count. Read it here:

https://issuu.com/wellreadmagazine/docs/february_2024_magazine_aff2/140