In this space each week, I have proven my willingness to hype on behalf of our little mutant radio show, and on behalf of my books, my blog, and other projects. I have waxed enthusiastic about various records, podcasts, and live music events. Today, I want to pound the ol' pulpit in favor of a new novel: A Breath Of Fresh Air (A Transplant Tale) by long-time TIRnRR pal Dave Murray.
Dave and I have been friends for decades, and he was one of the most vocal people urging me to turn my Greatest Record Ever Made! gimmick into a book. Dave is also a former contributor to The Syracuse New Times, and the author of a nonfiction book (House Training Your VCR) in the early '90s.
A Breath Of Fresh Air (A Transplant Tale) is a masterful work of fiction which draws upon Dave's own real-life experience as a cystic fibrosis patient and the recipient of a double lung transplant. The novel crafts a compelling story, a story told with humor, passion, emotion, and determination, with elements of tragedy and despair, but ultimately awash in the delight of living to tell the tale. I loved it, and I don't just say that because it was written by a friend. This is very good work, and I hope it finds the audience it deserves.
Let's hear what the author hisself had to say about his book:
"This is a work of fiction (wink-wink) about Danny Martini, a man with end-stage cystic fibrosis who is on oxygen 24/7 and desperately in need of a double-lung (BOGO) transplant. Spoiler alert: He gets it, but not without lots of thrills and chills along the way. Danny's story, from his tumultuous childhood, through his foolish 20s and 30s (and, sometimes, his 40s) is a wild roller-coaster ride that I hope you'll enjoy reading.
"If you want to buy a paperback copy directly from me (that I can sully with a scrawled autograph), let me know. I should have books in hand by the launch date. The price is only $19.99 but you'll probably give me a $20 and I won't give you the penny back.
"If you want to buy it from a bookstore, may I suggest shopping at our only remaining locally owned bookstore, Parthenon Books, located downtown on Salina Street across from the Landmark Theatre.
"E Book version of A Breath of Fresh Air (A Transplant Tale) will be available on August 26th, just about anywhere you get your e Books, for $7.99."
Street date for A Breath Of Fresh Air (A Transplant Tale) is August 26th, exactly twenty years to the freakin' day since Dave Murray received his own miracle lung transplant. It's a tale worth telling, a story worth reading, and a book worth owning. The novel is available from all of your usual online sources, but if you have an independent bookseller in your area, I humbly recommend you order your copy via those means. KEEP BOOKSTORES ALIVE!
This week's radio show has nothing at all to do with Dave or his book. But we dedicate it to him anyway.
A breath of fresh air.
IN TWO WEEKS: A beloved TIRnRR tradition returns on Sunday September 1st, with The 13th Annual DANA'S FUNKY SOUL PIT! And this is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO).
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