A few good things this spring
Hi there,
Sorry to gum up your inbox with another semi bi-seasonal note of somewhat glad tidings. But I hope you are doing well. Hanging in there anyway. Because pick an expletive to scream, and you’d be correct. Seems there’s a whole lot of rabies in the drinking water these days.
Here in Connecticut, winter was a bad dog. But people are buzzing about the basketball game last night, and spring is here almost (sort of), so I wanted to share a few things that have brought a smile to my busted grill, with the hope that they bring you some joy, too.
Before I get to that, please forgive the promo—I’ve got a new book coming out in November. I'll have some updates on my website bflah.com soon. The book is called MIDDLEMAN, and it’s not political exactly, but it is against desecration and nihilism. I tried to capture the tenor of last year, where I am anyway, which was: generally and increasingly terrified and stunned. The story is a comedy. It’s about an ancient Millennial. A soul-seeking remote worker tries to get his family a home by becoming the middleman in a mausoleum heist.
My pal, Tom Ryan, the bestselling author of THE TREASURE HUNTERS CLUB, which has a sequel coming out this fall, wrote of it:
“Tense, dark and very funny, Middleman is a small-town crime story driven by one questionable decision after another. A propulsive, nail-biting read.”
Thank ye kindly, Tom. If you haven't read Tom's work, please do. It will make you happy.
I’m almost finished writing the first draft of what’ll be my third book used to help train the tech boys’ AI for free as it devours us. That one is about a hairstylist who teams up with a dentist to find a missing dermatologist. It’s called THE SKIN DOCTOR.
Okay, now for the more interesting stuff. The delights:
1. MUSIC: The new Johnny Blueskies (nee Sturgill Simpson) album is exciting. Really interesting release, too, given it’s not available to stream on Spotify, etc. I like this return to the old tangible way, selling on tape, CD, and vinyl. Here is the video for the song “Situation.” In terms of my book, I took the epigraph from the John Prine song “Souvenirs,” and here’s a video of that.
2. BOOKS: I loved Claire Keegan’s SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE. A short and masterful stunner set in 1985 Ireland. Not a wasted word and just a beauty that you can read quickly. It’s about a guy who has to choose between doing what’s right and doing what’s smart for his family. Another favorite of recent times was also short one (thank you, adult-diagnosis ADHD)—THE MAID’S VERSION by Daniel Woodrell, which brings to life some of the author’s family lore and is centered on a 1929 explosion, the unresolved damage and mystery of which lingers for lifetimes. There’s one passage in particular I return to re: how he handles time and memory and makes it come alive. Daniel passed away in the fall. He is most known for WINTER’S BONE, the movie that launched Jennifer Lawrence, but I feel he is lesser known than he should be for how good and funny and innovative he is. I first learned about him from Anthony Bourdain’s show, same as another favorite of mine—Jim Harrison. Rest in peace, all.
3. FUDZ: I was in New Orleans in September for a writing conference. I am not built for such things apparently and friends said I looked like “a ruffled eagle” there. I’d unpack that more, but I’d rather not get depressed right now. Anyway, when I was getting on the plane, the guy boarding right in front of me was also named Brendan Flaherty. It caused a bit of a stir with the airline. He wound up in the seat behind me from Hartford to Atlanta. It was a sliding door moment, and I still wish we'd traded destinations. I felt that either the plane was going down or something transcendent was about to happen. What really happened was neither, if you can believe it. But I loved New Orleans, and I had jambalaya for the first time. The dark horse was the cole slaw, which is theoretically disgusting. But it was the best thing I ate in that delicious land of bonk food. If you’re interested in the jambalaya recipe, I can send you a photo of it from perhaps the most poorly constructed cookbook I’ve ever seen.
Alright, that’s it. But here is Ice Cube’s “Today was good day,” in case you need it today. And here is the Isley Brothers song where that sample came from, in case that wins you Double Jeopardy someday. Thank you and I know you and goodbye and you are a good person.
brendan
