Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 10/6 - Knocks

I just finished an excellent book. Here's a review of it I posted at Amazon:

The best literature is that which gets life right. This is the case with Jen Knox’s story collection, To Begin Again. She is a young author with keen insight into the human condition. She is plumbing her psyche for meaning, one that unites all humanity. She seems to be hunting, searching for the literary holy grail -- the elusive great American novel that resides deep within everyone. Are the stories fiction, non-fiction? It doesn’t matter. They ring with universal truths. Three pieces in particular demonstrate the author’s prowess. Each deals with the aged. In Absurd Hunger, a man in a mental facility is encouraged by a doctor to write letters to his dead wife, which he at first believes is idiotic. In Solitary Value, two words shouted by a taciturn old woman create intrigue among the residents of an old age home. The final story, Disengaged, poignantly captures the fragmenting mind of a 92-year-old woman, especially in her remembrance of a wounded hand. It is heart-breaking and chilling. I would have rated the book higher if not for the occasional error: pedals rather than petals, mediation rather than meditation; failure to eliminate the original word after a change, i.e., recommended/ran. Readers should not be deterred by this. Even best sellers have them.
I had the privilege of hearing Miss Knox read at the KGB Bar in Manhattan. I will cherish the signed copy I purchased. She is a rising star and All Things That Matter Press is to be commended for putting her work into print. Her first book, Musical Chairs, a memoir, is also available.

Although I sold several books today, it was one of the more disappointing days at the floating book shop in a while. A gentleman dressed casually in black visited. I guess that should have served as a signal. He too is of Sicilian descent, a year younger than me. He noticed the cover of Killing. He assumed it was about the mob and was surprised it wasn't. He too thinks that theme is played out. He picked up A Hitch in Twilight and thumbed through it. He ran down the list of stories and asked what each of the first half of them were about. Perhaps he was testing, skeptical that I was actually the author. Although he described himself as a "book guy," he passed, apologizing for putting me through the ringer. It was a hard knock, but I smiled and said: "That's why I'm out here."

My thanks to Jack, Bad News Billy, and the old woman whose name I've yet to learn, who all bought books, and the Russian gentleman who donated two, including The DaVinci Code.
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3