Official blog of G. A. Lodise

The Last Days – June 29th Update

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:36:37 +0000

I took May off. The ideas had stopped coming. And I was busy with other things. That time off let my mind wander around over the story and come up with new ideas. It’s an amazing process, like your brain keeps working on the project at a sub level while you go about your business on the main level. I hit 24,000 words yesterday. In the middle of chapter 10. Still trying to figure out how long this thing will be. One minute I think it will only be about double where ever I’m at and then another minute I remember all the other parts that need to come into play and I realize it will be much longer.

The Last Days – March 31 2010 update

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:20:07 +0000

Writing has begun. Chapters 1-5 in the can with chapter 5 being a particularly fun one. Word count so far: 14500. I expect the book to be between 60-90k words when all is said and done.

On a side note: the Kindle editions of Inside the Circle and The Farthest Reaches continue to sell very well.

Also, recently finished Hesse’s Narcissus & Goldmund. Interesting story. Surprised though that this was Hesse’s breakthrough novel. I do admire that Hesse manages to say what he needs to say in such a quick story. Unlike the Fountainhead which requires a commitment of 752 pages. There’s something to be said for making a point succinctly. IMHO.

Hawai’i Public Library – Thank you!

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:07:10 +0000

It’s fun: check the status of either of my books: G.A. Lodise

Gifts for the holidays…

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:28:45 +0000

Amazon has just informed me via my weekly sales report that The Farthest Reaches will be in someone’s stocking this xmas. Enjoy!

Kindle Edition of Inside the Circle

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:04:12 +0000

Since April of this year we’ve sold 38 Kindle editions of Inside the Circle. That’s without advertising, without promotion. I guess people just can’t resist the great price – $0.99.

Many thanks to all you Kindle users!

The Farthest Reaches – now at the public library

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:24:22 +0000

The Farthest Reaches is now in circulation in the Hawai’i Public Library system. Soon to follow: Inside the Circle.

Roberto Bolano’s 2666 – The Final Pages

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:29:53 +0000

I’ve finished it. It took checking it out from the library three times beginning in March. Since there is a long wait list, I’ve had sometimes a month in between readings. From what I can tell, though, Bolano was an extraordinarily well-read author. He manages to work in much of what he must have gleaned from his life into his work. It shows in the layered and wildly imaginative writing of 2666. I so thoroughly enjoyed it that I went back to the first chapter after finishing the last and started in again. Interestingly I didn’t really feel a personal connection to the stories until the final one. I found the stories fascinating, disturbing, humorous, but not emotionally connecting. The final story, though, was different. It had all of the characteristics of the other stories plus a more open, and more revealed character whose life is so unlike ours but resonates with us in ways that I am still contemplating. This isn’t to say that the other four are in anyway lacking. They are are all more intriguing than I thought they would be, but the fifth has a way of creeping out of its story like a subterranean creature and then basking in a sunlight that was built over the course of the previous four parts. Not only a deeply introverted story, but also an amazing window into history. 2666 has easily made its way onto my top 10 books list.

Report #3 – Robert Bolano’s 2666

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:13:20 +0000

I’m into the second half of the book. I am reading about the murders. And I now really understand the genius of what I am reading. The reports, and that’s really what this section is about: a series of reports, just go on and on and on in very succinct detail about the rapes, mutilations, and murders of hundreds of young women and girls. Because they read as reports, you don’t get very emotionally impacted by them. But after the hundredth one and there’s no end in sight and the police are helpless and the people of the city are helpless, it starts to really wear on you and the effect is that you begin to feel helpless and disturbed and anxious while reading. One might say that just one brutal murder should elicit such a response but in the manner in which the story is told, that is difficult to do with just one account. And I think that’s the point. We are by default jaded and numb to violent, brutal murders/rapes and this method of presenting them acknowledges this and brings us back to the point where each one begins to weigh on us and the totality of them is just more than we can handle. The delivery turns us on our heads which is really a substantial feat in this day and age of dime-a-dozen movies and stories that revolve around graphic depictions of violence.

Nainoa Thompson at Moloka’i Sustainability Conference 2009

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:15:23 +0000

Excerpts from Nainoa Thompson’s fantastic presentation. To finally get to see the man in person was such a thrill and his presentation was very, very moving.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Moloka’i gets its own koa canoe

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:36:30 +0000