New Spanish Edition of Duckworth!
23 Jun 2020 Leave a Comment
in Books, Duckworth, Writing Tags: Atticus el Chico Dificil, Children's Literature, Dark Humor, Duckworth, Duckworth the Difficult Child, Editorial Impedimenta, Funny Picture Books, Julia Sarda, kidlit blog, Picture Book, Spanish, Spanish Literature
A Madrid-based publisher, Editorial Impedimenta, has released the Spanish edition of my recent 
picture book—Duckworth, the Difficult Child—illustrated by the illustrious Júlia Sardà of Barcelona. It arrives with a new title—Atticus, el Chico Difícil—but remains the darkly humorous story of a resourceful boy coping with neglectful parents who fail to listen or respond to his needs. I’m honored to be published by Editorial Impedimenta, an independent publisher that aspires to promote “modern classics.”
Duckworth Has Arrived!
18 Jun 2019 Leave a Comment
in Books, Duckworth, General, Writing Tags: book bloggers, Book Launch, Children's Literature, Duckworth, Duckworth the Difficult Child, Funny Picture Books, kidlit blog, Picture Book
At long last, my new picture book—Duckworth, the Difficult Child—hits the shelves today. With spectacular illustrations created by Júlia Sardà, I think both kids and parents will love this story.
Special thanks to Emma Ledbetter, my extraordinary editor, and to Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, my excellent agent. I’d also like to thank Harold Underdown and Karl Monger, who were invaluable as early editors of the manuscript.
From the Booklist review:
“What first appears to be a Goreyesque cautionary tale for troublesome children comically turns the tables to target inept parents instead. … Sardà plays up the story’s situational humor in her detailed, vintage-toned watercolors, ensuring that kids get the joke that the parents are the difficult ones, not Duckworth. A lightly macabre, utterly amusing read.” i
DUCKWORTH COVER REVEAL!
13 Oct 2018 Leave a Comment
in Books, Duckworth Tags: Book Cover, Children's Literature, Cover Reveal, Duckworth, Duckworth the Difficult Child, Funny Picture Books, Julia Sarda, Michael Sussman, Picture Book
Cover Reveal!
Here’s the brilliant cover for my new picture book–DUCKWORTH, THE DIFFICULT CHILD–to be published in June by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. My illustrator, Júlia Sardà Portabella, is based in Barcelona and has done an astounding job on the artwork. Thanks also to art director extraordinaire, Sonia Chaghatzbanian, and my fantabulous editor, Emma Ledbetter!
Duckworth’s parents think he is a difficult child, so when a snake slides right up and swallows him whole, his parents don’t believe him! What’s poor Duckworth to do?
DUCKWORTH, THE DIFFICULT CHILD is available for pre-order at Amazon.
INCOGNOLIO Wins 2nd Prize in SPR Book Awards 2017
29 Mar 2018 Leave a Comment
in Books, Incognolio, Writing Tags: Book Award, INCOGNOLIO, Mystery, Novel, Psychological Thriller, Self-Publishing Review
My psychological thriller, INCOGNOLIO, was just awarded Second Prize in the SPR Book Awards 2017, sponsored by Self-Publishing Review. Among other benefits, Second Prize includes a virtual book tour, ten+ Amazon reviews, and an author interview shared with nearly a quarter million readers. Pretty cool!
Incognolio Has Launched!
15 Aug 2017 Leave a Comment
in Books, Incognolio, Writing Tags: Book Launch, Janx Press, Michael Sussman, Mystery, Novel, Psychological Thriller
I’m beyond thrilled to announce that my novel, Incognolio, has launched and is now available as a paperback and eBook. For four years I poured my heart, soul, wit, and considerable bile into this book and I can assure you that it is unlike any novel you’ve ever read. For the launch, the eBook is priced at 99 cents and is free to those enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
So far, Incognolio has received exclusively 5-star reviews at Amazon & Goodreads! I’m also giving away five copies of the paperback in a Goodreads giveaway running through August 18th.
I call Incognolio a psychological thriller. But it’s also a comic novel with elements of mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. Most importantly, it’s a real page-turner! And as Professor Solomon Von Pizzle of the Ludicrous Review observed: “Incognolio exudes so much pathos, it’s pathological!”
Special thanks to Karl Monger, Rebecca Faith, and Sione Aeschliman for their invaluable assistance in editing my manuscript and bringing the story to fruition. Sione understood the novel way better than I did myself—having written most of it in something of a trance—and enabled me to do a final rewrite and to, at long last, craft a satisfying ending.
I also want to thank my son Ollie who served as my creative consultant, contributing some inspired ideas, rejecting my duds, and helping me to generate a long list of unusual character names, including: Yiddle, Mr. & Mrs. Yankerhausen, Floreska, Greazly, J.R. Cosmipolitano, Quodon, and the inimitable Dr. Schmendrick.
INCOGNOLIO Pre-Orders Go Live!
05 Aug 2017 Leave a Comment
in Books, Incognolio, Writing Tags: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Release, Book Review, Discount book, eBook, Experimental Novel, INCOGNOLIO, Janx Press, Kobo, Michael Sussman, Mystery, Novel, Per-Order, Psychological Thriller
Incognolio will be released by Janx Press as a paperback and eBook on August 9th. You can pre-order the eBook now for a special price of 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play.
Here is an excellent 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite:
Entering the pages of Michael Sussman’s inexplicable – category-wise – brilliantly-executed experimental novel, Incognolio is less like walking through a dream than it is like mentally traversing the ingenious daydreaming path of a highly imaginative, psychologically aware writer who is creating an inner epic from the images produced by streams of self-conscious meditation. Yes, it is that immediate. The book itself is crazy; crazy cool. Need an example? ‘“Because I possess the Faloosh,” she replies, employing what is in all likelihood another of my made-up words. “It enables me to intuit the entire backstory of any novel in which I appear as a character.”’ Any attempt to describe the plot line of this book would be arbitrary at best. Still, it is a miracle of inspired effort that Sussman creates such a marvelous coherency to his story – as fractured, unstable, and tenuous as it is. And there is humor. Lots of funny stuff delivered with the offhand manner of a master comic’s best throw-away lines.
Incognolio is intelligent and wry, and securely at home in the surreal insecurity of the self-reflective mind. Dreams do not make good books. Insanity, however, does. Especially the insanity of a writer like Michael Sussman, who seemingly retains a most convivial relationship with the madness of the normal mind. Because that is what Mr. Sussman makes the reader feel: that all those sudden reality shifts, those changes of incidental characters, those displacements of locale and occupation – all are nothing more than the powerful experiences of one who pays attention to this little thing called life. But it is the author’s genuine creative skills that make his through-the-looking-glass words so entangled and enticing, and makes of his wonderful experiment such a grand success.
—Joel R. Dennstedt, Readers’ Favorite
Launching 30-Day Kindle Scout Campaign!
31 Mar 2017 Leave a Comment
in Books, Incognolio, Uncategorized, Writing Tags: Amazon, Contest, Free Book, INCOGNOLIO, Kindle Scout, Novel, Publishing Contract
Unravel the mystery of Incognolio or go mad!
My novel, INCOGNOLIO, was accepted for the Kindle Scout contest and I’m launching a 30-day campaign as of today. Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books.
Here’s how it works:
Readers browse book campaigns by authors and nominate books that they would like to see published by Kindle Press. Amazon takes note of which books readers want and awards contracts accordingly.
What I need from you:
Join Kindle Scout through your Amazon account and nominate INCOGNOLIO. It will take just a couple of minutes!
What I will get:
A boost toward winning a publishing contract and Amazon promotion!
What you will get:
You will receive a free copy of any book that you nominate that receives a contract, including mine if I’m successful. You can also read the first several chapters of my novel right now!
Here’s my blurb:
Adrift in the dreamlike narrative of his own novel, Muldoon traverses identities, planes of reality, and the dark recesses of his psyche in an effort to grasp the enigmatic Incognolio. Is he writing a story in which his stillborn twin sister has come to life, or is he the one who died at birth and it’s his sister who’s writing the novel? Guided only by the whims and dictates of his subconscious mind, Muldoon must finally face his demons and write his way to freedom or succumb to madness.
Cover Reveal for INCOGNOLIO
29 Mar 2017 Leave a Comment
in Books, Incognolio, Writing Tags: 99Designs, Book Cover, Cover Reveal, Graphic Design, INCOGNOLIO, Kindle Scout, Menchu, Novel
I could not be more pleased with this newly minted cover for my novel, INCOGNOLO. It was created by Menchu, a fabulous graphic designer from Venezuela. She was the winning finalist of a book cover contest I ran last week at 99Designs, and she captured the air of mystery and intrigue that I was looking for. The novel has just been accepted by Kindle Scout for inclusion in their reader-powered contest to win a publishing contract. The launch date for my campaign is March 31st, the day after tomorrow!
Atheneum to Publish My New Picture Book: Duckworth, the Difficult Child
28 Feb 2017 2 Comments
in Books, General, Uncategorized, Writing Tags: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Book Deal, Children's Literature, Duckworth, Edward Gorey, Emma Ledbetter, Florence Heide Parry, Funny Picture Books, Harold Underdown, Julia Sarda, Karl Monger, Michael Sussman, Otto Grows Down, Picture Book, Scott Magoon, Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, the Difficult Child, The Shrinking of Treehorn, The Treehorn Trilogy
I haven’t posted for quite some time, as I’ve been hard at work on a novel. But I’m back with three exciting announcements:
- I am now represented by Stephanie Fretwell-Hill of Red Fox Literary.
- Stephanie has sold my new picture book manuscript—Duckworth, The Difficult Child—to Emma Ledbetter, Editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
- The book will be illustrated by Júlia Sardà , a fabulous illustrator based in Barcelona.
La Gran Cadena by Júlia Sardà
The story, my homage to Florence Parry Heide’s The Shrinking of Treehorn, is about a boy with misguided parents who remain untroubled when he gets eaten by a snake.
This is my first picture book to be published since my debut—Otto Grows Down—was released by Sterling with illustrations by Scott Magoon.
Special thanks to Harold Underdown and Karl Monger—as well as Emma Ledbetter at Atheneum—for their expertise in editing the manuscript.
Crashing Eden Script in Semi-Finals!
17 Nov 2014 Leave a Comment
in Crashing Eden Tags: Charles Disney, Crashing Eden, Pilot Launch TV Script Contest, TV Script Contest
Charles Disney’s TV pilot based on my novel, Crashing Eden, has made it to the semi-finals of the Pilot Launch TV Script Contest. Charles initially wrote a movie script based on the novel, but decided he had too much material. So he switched gears and wrote a TV pilot, and then submitted it to the Pilot Launch TV Script Contest. The winner of the contest receives $1,000 cash, professional consultation with the ScreenCraft team, and personal introductions by phone to top Hollywood managers, agents, and producers.
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