Lowboy: A Novel (Hardcover)

Review Amazon.com about Lowboy

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I'm not the first and certainly won't be the last reader to herald Lowboy for the subtle homage it pays to one of the best-known heroes in 20th century fiction, or to envy and delight in its masterful vision of New York City as seen from its darkest, most primal places. What's most seductive for me about John Wray's third novel--and arguably the one that puts him squarely on the map alongside contemporary luminaries like Joseph O'Neill, Jonathan Lethem, and Junot Diaz--is how skillfully it explores the mind's mysterious terrain. This isn't exactly uncharted land: John Wray's Will Heller--a.k.a. Lowboy--is a paranoid schizophrenic off his meds and on the lam, certain of both his own dysfunction and of the world's imminent collapse by way of global warming, but Wray handles that subtext delicately and is careful to make Will's mission to "cool down" and save the world feel single-minded without being moralistic. Wray invokes all the classic elements of a mystery in the telling, and that's what makes this novel such a searing read. As Will rides the subway in pursuit of a final solution to the crisis at hand, we meet (among others) Will's mother Violet, an Austrian by birth with an inscrutable intensity that gives the story a decidedly noir feel; Ali Lateef, the unflappable detective investigating Will's disappearance whose touch of brilliance always seems in danger of being snuffed out; and Emily Wallace, the young woman at the heart of Will's tragic odyssey. The novel moves seamlessly between Will's fits and starts below ground and Violet and Ali's equally staccato investigation of each other above. This kind of pacing is the stuff we crave (and we think you will, too)--the kind that draws you in so unawares that before you know it, it's past midnight and you're down to the last page. –-Anne Bartholomew

John Wray on Lowboy

Three years ago, not long after I'd begun Lowboy, I made a decision that--in retrospect--even I find slightly odd: to write as much of the novel as possible on the New York City subway. The reasons for this admittedly drastic step ranged from the practical (subway cars have no internet access, no cell phone reception, and next to no procrastination options) to the wildly romantic, if not outright ridiculous. Like some over-eager method actor, a part of me was convinced that I'd write about the subway more vividly and honestly if I immersed myself in it absolutely. Fully half of Lowboy's narrative takes place underground, much of it in the subway tunnels, so getting the look, smell, and feel of subterranean New York right was crucial to the book's success. It also happened to be cheaper than renting an office.

The challenges of my new workplace weren't the ones that I'd expected. I was amazed at how effectively I was able to tune out the commotion around me, simply by putting on headphones: a good playlist on my laptop was essential, but beyond that, as long as I avoided rush hour, staying focused presented no great problem. The seats in the older cars made my back hurt after a few hours, certain stretches of track in the outer boroughs were so rough that it was hard to type properly, and restrooms were few and far between, but I adjusted to those things in time. The more comfortable I got, however, the more my frustration grew, for the simple reason that the subway was starting to feel like my living room. I was becoming resistant to its strangeness: I was seeing it with the eyes of a commuter. Nothing could have been farther from the point of view of my protagonist, a sixteen-year-old schizophrenic boy, newly escaped from the hospital, to whom even the most familiar things feel alien. The harder I looked, the less I seemed to see.

I'm not sure what triggered the change that came a few weeks later, but I know that it came suddenly. I was riding the Coney Island-bound F in the early morning, staring blankly out the window at the tunnel racing past; I remember feeling bored and vaguely hungry. When I turned around, though, I seemed to be in a different car completely. For the first time, every feature of the interior had a clear purpose to me: the seats stopped short of the floor for ease of cleaning, the orange and brown tones were meant to encourage well-being, and the polka-dot pattern on the walls, which I'd never looked at closely, was in fact made up of the official seal of the state of New York, repeated countless times in brown and grey. The discovery made me a little paranoid--on the lookout, suddenly, for more signs of Big Brother's presence--which was just the state of mind I'd been pursuing. From then on, the novel all but wrote itself.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Wray's captivating third novel drifts between psychological realities while exploring the narrative poetics of schizophrenia. The story centers on Will Heller, a 16-year-old New Yorker who has stopped taking his antipsychotic medication and wandered away from the mental hospital into the subway tunnels believing that the world will end within a few hours and that only he can save it. It's a novel that defies easy categorization, although in one sense it's a mystery, as a detective, Lateef, is on the case, assisted by Will's troubled mother, Violet. As Lateef tracks Will and gains some startling insight into Violet, Wray deploys brilliant hallucinatory visuals, including chilling descriptions of the subway system and an imaginary river flowing beneath Manhattan. In his previous works, Wray has shown that he's not a stranger to dark themes, and with this tightly wound novel, he reaches new heights. (Mar.)
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Dusting Off A Dream: Writing Success At Any Age

by: Scott Lindsay

“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk.” - J.C. Penney

Country recording artist Tim McGraw confided in an interview that there was a guy at a 7-11 that could sing him under a table. So, why is that guy serving up Slurpees while Tim is performing to packed stadiums?

The reason is the same for writers as it is for singers. There are many incredibly gifted writers who will never have a book published. The reasons are many, but it often comes down to their willingness to follow a dream or to shelve the dream for other reasons – some noble and some steeped in fear.

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible -- and achieve it, generation after generation.” - Pearl S. Buck

There is something about the idea of writing without fear. The dreams we may have once had do not need to remain a simple reference point for ‘what if’s’ and ‘might’a beens’.

The good news about writing is that the more real-life experiences you have the more you may be able to relate. It is never too late to pick up a pen and began to compose something extraordinary.

Sometimes the only thing that will set you apart from a better writer is simply your willingness to write – then share it with others.

"Self-trust is the first secret of success." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The noble art of writing allows a wordsmith to venture into the hearts of humanity and welcome others to the exploration. Unlike certain other entertainment fields, becoming an author is something that can and is done at any age.

Success
Bessie Anderson Stanley

He has achieved success
who has lived well,
laughed often, and loved much;
who has enjoyed the trust of pure women,
the respect of intelligent men
and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it
whether by an improved poppy,
a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty
or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others
and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration;
whose memory a benediction.

Perhaps its time to dust off a dream.

About The Author
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of FaithWriters (http://www.faithwriters.com) and many other web projects. FaithWriters has grown to become one of the largest online destinations for Christian writers. Please visit the website at: http://www.faithwriters.com.

How to Write Articles Quickly

by: Valerie Dansereau

One of the best ways to promote your website or blog is through article marketing. Learning to write articles quickly is a skill you have to master to accomplish this.

Many website owners make article writing a lot more complicated than it has to be. When writing for websites, remember first of all that people online are scanning web pages, not reading every word, so there is no need to spend hours making every word perfect.

Your content isn’t going to be totally unique, no matter what you write about. Every topic you can think about has already been written about by someone else. Think about it – every newsworthy event is covered by CNN, NBC, ABC, etc. Every network and every newspaper are all covering the exact same event or topic, just in different words.

The fact is, there are no new topics. Your job is to take what’s already been written and improve on it by injecting your own comments and personality.

One way to do research quickly is by inputting the topic you want to write about into a search engine. Choose three or four matches and read these articles thoroughly, taking notes.

Or, other places for quick research include article directories, forums and yahoo answers. By reading what people are asking in yahoo answers, you will learn what information people are looking for.

Amazon.com provides some great tools for quick research. By choosing a few top-selling books on a given topic, you can research quickly by browsing a book’s table of contents, the back cover of the book and even an excerpt.

Once you have taken sufficient notes, it’s time to put your article together. Write an outline of the important points you want to make in your article. Then write the article without looking back at the other articles. This is nothing more than the same work you did in high school writing book reports. Most of us have written quite a few book reports in our lifetime, and in those days many of us put ourselves through the unnecessary stress of cutting it too close to deadlines. That means we already know how to write and research quickly!

Basically, we need to decide what we’re going to accomplish and when. If we intend to write an article a day, then we have to stay glued to our computer until we complete that task. If we want to get it done in half an hour or less, this is another goal to work toward. Practice will definitely lead to improvement.

Article marketing is one of the best forms of free advertising there is. Learning to write articles quickly is an easily learned skill that will help us get the most out of article marketing.


About The Author
Valerie Dansereau is a banker turned entrepreneur and is the owner of http://www.work-at-home-parenting.com.