Tuesday, June 28, 2022

My Experience with Dar Dixon


This podcast was to promote Joe the Salamander but instead, the host, Dar Dixon and I got into all sorts of social issues, previous books and future books. To listen click this link, or watch the video.  Also, there are sign post times to move to subjects you want to hear about....for example the 10% of the podcast we do talk about Joe the Salamander happens at 32:45. (Also, the pre-release of Joe reached number one on Amazon--beating out a Kennedy)





About Dar Dixon: 

The Art of Being Dar - Hosted by Dar Dixon

Dar is a half Iranian/half American white boy...born in Tehran.

Yes, Iran.

He's moved over 80 times.

He escaped the Iranian Revolution with, literally, the clothes on his back.

He even found himself in a cult...

And through every crazy thing that's happened, against insane odds, he's been succeeding in life & in Hollywood, for almost 30 years.

People with boring lives have boring stories.

Nothing boring here.





Saturday, June 18, 2022

10 BY 10, Ten Flash Fictions by Ten Writers publishes "Beloved Do Us Part" in their Inaugural issue


    Zvi Sesling, Editor of the Muddy River Poetry Review, has jumped into flash fiction by having numerous flash pieces published. Then he decided to put out 10 BY 10 with ten unpublished works of flash by ten different writers. I was honored to be solicited---IN FACT, he wrote, "wait till you see who you are in with." 

   Well it's an all-star flash fiction lineup with : Paul Beckman, Jayne Martin, Robert Scotellaro, Renuka Raghavan, Michael C. Keith, Phil Temples, Francine Witte, Niles Reddick, and Kathy Fish. 
Thanks, Zvi. 


* * *

     Now the story behind the story, Beloved Do Us Part. I wrote this story mear the end of March, about a week after my father passed. It was a pretty dark week---so, as the mind expanded into the world of writing, I thought, what could be worse than going to a funeral?

   The answer involves an accident while delivering the urn to the service....and the protagonist arriving late, and having his wife drop one more bomb on him. 

    Enjoy? 

Monday, June 13, 2022

REVIEW: Boston Small Press and Poetry and Joe the Salamander PRE-ORDER INFO

JOE THE SALAMANDER HAS A RELEASE DATE: JULY 4, 2022 (PRE-ORDER INFO BELOW)




Second review (Boston Small Press and Poetry Scene)---and this text will appear in the print Somerville Times in July. Thanks Doug Holder
Doug Holder "At first glance it may seem that a novel about an autistic boy and his struggles, might not be a ripe subject for fiction. After all, this population is characterized by repetitive behaviors, and non-verbal communication, hardly the stuff for rich dialogue, and action-filled pages. But in Tim Gager’s latest novel, “ Joe the Salamander” the author brings an autistic boy named Joe alive, and follows him from a newly-slapped baby-- to his maturation as a man. This is a survival story in many respects because if Joe can’t adjust to a hostile environment, he would be doomed to be some ward of the state or even worse. Often the sins of our fathers are passed on, and as it happen Joe’s dad Adrian is autistic as well, and doesn’t have enough distance from the disorder to help his son. The women in his life—Millie his mother, and Laurie—a caring nurse, are the stalwarts in Joe’s travails.
Gager, who is a social worker, and who once worked out of a state office in Davis Square, Somerville, brings his knowledge of this disorder to the forefront. We experience the agonizing and grinding progress of Joe; we are able to get a fascinating look at his skewed thought process, and his profound confusion with emotion.
Joe when he was a young kid, often adorned a Superman costume. This is a great conceit Gager brings into play. The use of an all-powerful, flying superhero, transcending the fray—saving the day—breaking the nefarious bubble that surrounds our protagonist is inspired.
Not to give anything up, but in the end Gager ties things up beautifully."
Gager, to my mind brings the skills of a clinician to fiction, but this is not a dry, clinical work. Having worked in the mental health field at McLean Hospital for 37 years, this book rings powerfully true for me. This book is an accomplished work of fiction--but it should be required reading for aspiring mental health professionals, as well.
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