Husband to one, dad to two, writing books for you, doing jiu jitsu, just for me, and practicing radio silence for goodness sake. I was a soldier once, and dumb.
Joined June 2022
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The Wall Street Journal called SPOILS "the finest Iraq War novel yet written by an American." Did you read it? No? That's cool, we can still be friends, but my chances of ever getting another book deal thank you in advance for your continued support:
amzn.to/4h3oTZq
If you're struggling to make progress, give yourself permission to be sloppy with the first draft.
Don't eat your own tail. Stop editing yesterday's work.
Move forward and build momentum until you reach the story’s end. Then backtrack, rewrite and revise. #WritingTips
Brian Van Reet retweeted
Here at last is my new book, out next June, but available to order now. Please, please do. It's the story of an uncanny journey across a sublime but troubled country, chance meeting by chance meeting, refecting on what we've lost and what we've kept and where I feel, in my deepest self, we're going. It's the strangest, most soul-searching story I've ever written, purely devoted to life and truth and spirit.
Your preorders will mean everything to its success.
Homesick: A Drive Across a Dazed America a.co/d/01A1L0l1
The easiest way to tell a story is to know where it ends before you begin. There'll be surprises en route but it's finite, like following a map.
The harder way is to wander the wilderness, searching for a lost city of gold. Maybe you're lucky and find it. Maybe. #WritingTips
If your argument against psychic stuff is, "But science!" ENTANGLED MINDS by @DeanRadin is excellent on how quantum physics makes the seemingly impossible, possible.
link.amazon/B03bNV73x
Conflict, handled badly, makes a banal story.
But a dilemma with high stakes is inherently interesting.
Conflict is commonly resolved by a character making a hard choice, often one the reader can tell is apparently correct.
With dilemma, there is no good choice. #WritingTips
Nico Walker (author of CHERRY) has a new novel coming out next year. DEATH OF A CLOWN. Not a war novel. "Professional clown Eugene Lovecraft is once again down on his luck." I'll read it.
harpercollins.com/products/d…
If you missed my review of CHERRY, it's here:
brianvanreet.com/2018/08/22/…
Brian Van Reet retweeted
Toni Morrison was a unique voice, a poet in prose. equating Toni Morrison with a generic person of color is well-intentioned but like equating James Joyce with a generic Irishman or William Faulkner with a generic Mississippian man of his time---no, no, & no. great writers are masters of language & their visions transcend their identities.
however, it is not wrong to suggest that the writer becomes a unique expression, of sorts, of their "people"--Joyce empowered by his Irishness, Faulkner by giving up "large" subjects & focusing on a single mythic county in Mississippi. loving a writer is always good no matter the reason or reasons.
Brian Van Reet retweeted
Very proud to share that my memoir, Out of the Shadows, has debuted at #2 on the NY Times Best Sellers List. Thank you to everyone who has read the book and recommended it to friends and family. And thank you to everyone who helped make this book possible!
Brian Van Reet retweeted
If Salman Rushdie’s fatwa happened today, how many of these signatories would sign a letter supporting him? Most would be too afraid, many would think he deserved it. I doubt Rooney herself would support him.
The comparison is fatuous and disgraceful.
If you ever sought out the novels of Sally Rooney in bookshops – when that was still possible – you’d know they sit in the fiction stacks adjacent to the novels of another SR whose books have been withdrawn in dastardly political circumstances. Until last week, “Rooney” and “Rushdie” had little in common beyond being shelfmates; now they have more than just a physical proximity.
@tanjil_rashid_: This is censorship by other means newstatesman.com/comment/202…
Brian Van Reet retweeted
Jay Stratton tells Chris Cuomo the UAP Legacy Program is comprised of the CIA, U.S. Air Force, Department of Energy, and “defense contractor community”
President Trump is not aware of the program’s effort to recover and reverse-engineer “craft of non-human origin” per Stratton.
Brian Van Reet retweeted
In 1994, 62 children reported seeing a craft at Ariel School in Zimbabwe. Paul Trim was among the oldest witnesses, offering a more mature perspective on what happened. 🛸
Speaking publicly for the first time in over 30 years, Paul joins Georges St-Pierre to share his experience, the aftermath, and why he waited to tell his story.
Full episode on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
Dedicated to his late sister, Emily Trim (1984–2024). 🪽
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq2AjA…
Upton Sinclair is best known for THE JUNGLE, his novel on the horrors of industrialization.
Less well known is MENTAL RADIO, which Sinclair wrote after becoming convinced, telepathy was real. Einstein was a friend and wrote the German preface.
amzn.to/4yuf3Fe
A senior sergeant once told me, "Getting an award is a good sign you deserved it, and not getting one is not a sign you didn't deserve it."
Brian Van Reet retweeted
Devastating news for the community.
Airman Mario Woods unfortunately passed away on October 16 at 00:34 local time due to illness. Rest in Peace, Mario. I’m grateful for the kind gestures you had toward me. See you on the flip side. Condolences to his family and loved ones. 😢😔
