The LARB review is in! Late last week, Robert Foyle Hunwick, an editor-at-large for Beijing Cream, posted the following write-up about UMDC to the site’s China blog:

http://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/chinablog/great-american-china-novel/

He referred to Alec Ash’s quote, which I mentioned in the previous Reader Update, about "a nondescript, borderline-alcoholic English teacher" and dubbed UMDC "probably as close to [the China equivalent to The Sun Also Rises] as we’re likely to get, or want."

Thank you! Your financial and moral support have gotten the book to this point. I still can’t believe it. This is a HUGE step up in terms of publicity. I couldn’t have done it without you. Now, let’s spread this $#!+ like wildfire!

Gratefully,

Quincy

Hey folks!

"It’s All Fun and Games is as much a nostalgia trip for grownup gamers as it is a gateway drug for the next generation. The pop-culture references bridge the gap between geek parents and their kids. Dave Barrett writes with all the joy and love of a nerd who runs games for his kids—while cracking Dad Jokes. The result is a rollicking good portal fantasy starting with boffer swords instead of d20s." - Dave Gross, author of Lord of Runes  

"It’s All fun and Games is one of those rare books that makes you wonder if around every corner magic and adventure await. Kids and adults alike will find themselves swept away into the world Mr. Barrett has created." — Shannon Mayer, USA Today Best-selling author of the Rylee Adamson series

 "It’s fun and exciting to get lost in a fantasy world while roleplaying. It’s All Fun And Games shows that getting lost in one for real might not be as fun, but it’s no less exciting!" — Jon Verrall, co-creator of hit Geek & Sundry web series LARPs

In other news, the edit and design work is pretty well done, so next step is off to the printer - probably some time late next week - and then about a month and a half for manufacturing and shipping back to the warehouse.  We’re right on target for backers to get their books mid-July, with the e-books coming out a little it before.

Don’t forget you can follow the book and me on Facebook and Twitter!

Again, thanks for all your support.  It means the world to me!

Cheers
Dave

Hi everyone,

This is a quick email to let you know some exciting news: the LA Review of Books is planning to run a piece on Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside later this month. I have no idea if the review will be positive, but until this point, it’s been very hard getting established media contacts to give me the time of day—let alone consider reviewing the book—so this is a HUGE breakthrough!

Back in December, Alec Ash, a correspondent for the LARB who started a writers’ colony in Beijing, mentioned UMDC while talking about expat writing in China on the Sinica Podcast. Unfortunately, he hadn’t read the book yet, but I was able to get his address and send him a copy while in Bali. Of course, that copy got lost in transit, but four days after he emailed me to let me know that it hadn’t arrived, the Bookworm (a large expat bookstore in Beijing) told me that they would be willing to stock it! One of my former students from Ningyuan agreed to stop by later that month to confirm that they had it:

Like I said, I have no idea if the review will be positive, but I’m hopeful, given this scathing, no-holds-barred takedown of Shanghai Cocktales that Mr. Ash wrote last year. He begins the review by saying:

"Somewhere outside the Fourth Ring Road, a nondescript borderline-alcoholic English teacher might be polishing off the manuscript of the China equivalent to The Sun Also Rises. Escape, reinvention, exoticism, disillusionment—it’s all there for the novelist or memoirist, plus baijiu, smog and as many happy endings as you can afford. There’s definitely a way to do it right, make it funny, and say something meaningful about how us foreigners (with nowhere else in particular to go) engage with China, or don’t."

That sure sounds like me, and that sure sounds like my book! Keep your eyes peeled. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but my fingers are officially crossed. Thank you again for all of your support. As I hope this update demonstrates, minor victories (mentioning the novel to the right person, getting it into the right store, leaving a review *cough, cough* that resonates with someone else) have the potential to lead to major developments.

Quincy