Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 6/11

The floating bookshop was closed today due to inclement weather.
Here's the latest review I've posted at amazon. It's for the kindle edition:

			Skyline Review 2011 Literary Anthology Price: $0.99 Availability: Auto-delivered wirelessly		196 used & new from $0.99
Something for everybody, June 9, 2011 This review is from: Skyline Review 2011 Literary Anthology (Kindle Edition) Water Forest Press has issued the third edition of Skyline Review, chock full of poetry, stories and book reviews. In My Most Days..., Jaimie Eubanks illuminates the sense of futility of a writer just starting out on her dream. In Nick of Time, Russell H. Krauss brings readers to a bar, where two males set their sights on twins. Mike Clough's Berkeley and the Half Man is a portrait of a self-taught, intellectual, bitter combat veteran. Gerald Farrell explores the psychology of a rape victim in Ice-cream Thunderbolt. In The Disappearance of PFC Ned Lansing, Sue Ellis focuses on the tragedy of alcoholism. George G. Wilson returns with another amusing tale, The Scarlet Storm. In Sleeping Beauty, Trodayne Northern offers a look at cancer and sibling rivalry. In The Interview, Bill Gibson writes of a nasty competition for a job. Leland Thoburn reveals the secrets of sinners in The Confession. In The Consummation, Laura Drysdale takes readers on a trip down a Portuguese river, circa 1861. Andrew Broxton delves into the mindset of a woman coping with the death of her husband in After the Reading. Geoffrey Smagacz paints a picture of a crotchety old woman in Agnes. Harris Tobias predicts the future in The Last Robin. In Into Metamorphosis, Susan Dale writes of the transformation of a Cherokee. And Sue Sabia tells the story of an odd couple in Ray and the Angel. What diversity! Full disclosure: My story, The Unknowable, appears in the anthology.  Read Vic's stories, free:  http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 5/29

It was a gorgeous day, the temperature ideal thanks to intermittent cloud clover. I was disappointed that I didn't do much business, but at least it wasn't a shutout, and I did gain a lot more books, courtesy of Joanne, who returned from hiatus with two shopping bags full of popular fiction, including one filled entirely with Ed McBains. Uncle Charlie Grizzly Bear has been asking me for weeks if I had any more. Well, I do now, thanks to the benefactor I'd told him had gone missing.
A Chinese man stopped by, curious. He has three books in print too, translations he's done into his native tongue, including one of Hungarian children's stories. He's not selling many, either. Good luck, sir.
About a year and a half ago, a beautiful Asian-American dental assistant, nine months pregnant, bought some books from me. I kidded that she was "Hardcore," working so late into her pregnancy. She laughed, fortunately. I was smitten. She bought books a couple of times more. When I hadn't seen her for months I assumed she and her husband had bought a house and moved. Man, she looks great. No one would ever guess she has two kids. She looks like a 20-year-old college kid. Eat your heart out, Vic. I hope her husband appreciates what he's got. Her son is now on his feet and pulling books from shelves and tossing them about.
I've mentioned my literary angel, Victoria Valentine, several times. She's been on a tear, publishing a book of her own romantic poems, Desert Moon, and expanding her publishing operation at Water Forest Press. She is catching the digital wave and just bought a reader. I will stick with hard copies, although I appreciate that A Hitch in Twilight is available on Kindle. I know it's the future, but I'll leave that up to others. Anyway, in the whirlwind that VV has caught, she has managed to make Adjustments, my second novel, previously available only through me, available at Abe's books. And the price is only ten buck, plus shipping. She rocks. Here's a link to the site: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=vic+fortezza&sts=t&tn=adjustments&x=57&y=18 
Of course, signed copies are still available through me, total cost $15.
Thanks to the kind Russian woman who purchased two romance novels. I should say: Spasiba.

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 5/21

The older one gets, the tougher it is to celebrate a birthday. I turned 61 today. I celebrate the great cards I got from my niece Tanya, who lives in Denver, and my sister, Carmela, who stuffed some cash into it hers. I celebrate the kind Russian woman who purchased a Nora Roberts thriller this afternoon on Bay Parkway, and the young woman who, minutes later, bought a Dr. Atkins cook book and Destination Mars, a beautiful pictorial work. I celebrate a phone call from my mom's former home attendant, Germania, who has not forgotten me, although it has been eight years since my mom's passing. I will be celebrating at 6PM - if the world doesn't end. I celebrate the publication Desert Moon, the Lost Poetry of Victoria Valentine, who through the years has included twelve of my stories in her fabulous publications and published my second novel, Adjustments. The latest story, The Unknowable, a simple slice of life, is included in the fourth edition of Literary House Review, which will be available shortly. It is the 52nd of my stories to see the light of day. It is available online here: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-unknowable.html. It's about a ten-minute-read. As always, my other stories can be read, free, here: http://vicfortezza.homestead.com/

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 5/10

No luck on the street today.
My friend, Victoria Valentine, publisher of Water Forest Press, which published my novel, Adjustments, asked me to edit and review Eric Tessier's short story collection, The Endless Journey. I wasn't crazy about it, but hope I'm as wrong as I've been about so much popular literature, music and film. I had fun writing a review that is at once true and conceals my opinion. Here it is:
Welcome to the bizarre realm of Eric Tessier. Follow the maze that is his mind. Beware of the mirrors, trap doors, dead ends, and shadows and what lurks in them. This collection will force one into corners, make one want to run  and hide. Attention fans of weird tales. Vampires, ghosts, murderers, beasts - these stories are rife with them. From snowy landscapes to voracious swamps, the reader is led on a journey of terror and suspense. Blood - so much blood, enough to slake the gluttonous thirst of Nosferatu. Deaths - so many deaths, enough to delight the cold, cold hear of the Grim Reaper. Down, down into the dark depths of humanity the author will take you. Fight, claw back up to the light. The devil’s in the details. Tessier - Eric Tessier -  a fresh voice in terror that whispers, calls and screams through alleys and the underground. Brought to you by the twisted sisters of Water Forest Press. Straight jacket required. Caution - curl up with these stories at your own risk. They will keep you wide awake. Nighty night, children.  - Vic Fortezza, author of Close to the Edge, Adjustments & A Hitch in Twilight
Read Vic's stories, free: http://vicfortezza.homestead.com/