book-review – Rebecca Cuthbert

First Book Look is an ongoing interview series that gives new authors a chance to talk about their debut titles.

Q: What is your new book called, and what is it about?

A: Fumble: Just a Dad Trying Not to Drop the Ball is a memoir about moments in my life when I have either dropped the ball or stumbled in some way as a parent. The first half of the book consists of standalone essays from fatherhood: moments when I learned a valuable lesson on how to interact with my kids. The second half is a compilation of moments from my childhood when I learned something. The hope is that these stories help shine a light on the dad I wrote about being in the first handful of essays. These two halves are separated by a halftime of sorts: two stories in which my wife is the key piece.

Q: What was your biggest challenge in writing this book or in getting it published?

A: The biggest challenge for me was perseverance. The constant state of rejection that you live in as a writer is something overwhelming and can be very unbearable. Luckily for me, I have a solid support system in place both at home and from my friends and colleagues. I just had to keep telling myself: all you need is one person to like it. Once that happens, everything clicks. And it happened.

Q: What are you hoping readers will get from your story? What do you hope to leave them with?

A: I hope these moments I share are relatable to families: both parents and kids. By embracing my fumbles, I am hoping that people can laugh and embrace their own moments when they may have stumbled as a parent, or a son or daughter, brother or sister. This light-hearted look in the mirror of a memoir is hopefully something that one can walk away from with a smile on their face.

Q: What has been your favorite part of being a new author, so far?

A: I have had several conversations on some of the questions I raise in this book, and I find that is one of the most rewarding parts of being published. The conversations about telling my daughter to stand up to the boy who pulled her hair because he “likes” her, or whether or not I truly believe that a Star Wars character was as powerful as I think she was. The amount of support I have received from my community, colleagues, and family has been extremely humbling.

Q: What are you working on next?

A: Book Two of the Bussman Saga is currently in progress. I have a working title and a list of moments that I am hoping to convert to another collection of standalone essays. This one will be almost completely centered around me as a stumbling and bumbling father and husband. I also have an idea for one of my unpublished essays to become a much larger book-length piece centered around me as a fifth-grader. But that’s not ready to talk about quite yet….

WEBSITE: jasonkbussman.com

FACEBOOK: Jason K Bussman

INSTAGRAM: @jkbussman

SUBSTACK: @jkbussman

Okay, they are actually “galleys,” as they are uncorrected proofs and haven’t been through the final formatting, BUT, people are more familiar with the term “advanced reader copy,” so I used that above.

Small press authors know they have to work their tail feathers off with marketing and promotion, since there are no or very small advertising budgets available. But, surprise: I do not have a marketing degree. I’m just a bumbler. But this bumbler has learned “ARCs good. Advanced reviews good.” So here I go!

Self-Made Monsters will be released in early October of this year–for you locals, we’ll hold a launch party at Downtown Brew in Fredonia on Oct. 5th, and I hope you will come!–and ramping up to that, I’m doing what I can to spread the word. One of those efforts is giving digital galleys of the book to people who are willing to read it and leave ratings and reviews on Goodreads (the page is up now) and eventually on Amazon (look for that in the fall). It would help a great deal if folks clicked the link at the beginning of this paragraph and marked it “Want to read.” If you have done/will do that, thank you!

I will also come up with a Google form, closer to publication, for preorders–that is when you can fill out the form, send money via PayPal or Venmo, and give me your mailing address. When I get my shipment of author copies, I will package up your copy along with some book swag and a special gift, and ship it out to you. (There will be an option for local folks–cost minus any shipping, and you can pick up your book and gift at the launch Oct. 5th at Downtown Brew.)

If you are intrigued about Self-Made Monsters and want to know more, here is a short review from Amelia Gorman, author of the book Field Guide to Invasive Species of Minnesota: Poems:

“‘A smashed marionette,’ ‘a queen of scale and bone,’ a ‘body sculptor’ and her assistant – Self-Made Monsters by Rebecca Cuthbert is a veritable encyclopedia of different ways women can be monsters, victims, heroes, and bystanders. This collection contains multitudes but never loses sight of its clear through-lines. Stories tend to be short and sit alongside several deliciously dark poems, meaning Cuthbert doesn’t waste time getting to the meat of what horror fans crave. Sometimes this comes in the form of violence, other times the pareidolia found in wild places or the temptation of the front door of that spooky house down the street. It’s easy to tell yourself ‘just one more,’ over and over until you realize you’ve devoured the whole book in one sitting.”

If you are interested in being an early reviewer, message me and let’s connect!

Tag: book-review

FIRST BOOK LOOK: Jason Bussman’s FUMBLE

Self-Made Monsters: digital ARCs available for review