Categories
Cuppa Pulp Selections Seasonal Features

Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles

Part star-crossed romance, part tribute to the women who give New York its alluring air of self-assurance and style, Rules of Civility is a delicious, sexy read.

Most girls in the typing pools and boarding houses of 1938 New York City think of success as snatching a ring from one of the men who call the shots, like well-heeled young banker Tinker Grey.

But best friends Katey Kontent and Eve Taylor are beginning to think that they’d rather be the ones calling the shots.

Amor Towles’ richly unique voice scats and resonates in this love letter to New York.

Buy online

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Cuppa Pulp Selections

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

We were so excited by the release of Shadow of Night, the sequel to this book, that we decided to feature both for the fall of 2012. Whether you are a paranormal fantasy fan or not, this story is just plain fun!

Diana Bishop, a young scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford’s Boeleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.

Buy online

Categories
Blog

Welcome to the Writer’s Space!

A shelf just for you!

We’re finally ready! Come on in and write!

Ideally, you should check the blue book on the desk and sign up at least a day in advance, to make sure that your preferred time is available. But don’t hesitate to drop by just to see if the space is free! We have wifi, writer’s resources, and a writer’s most important tool, other than pen and paper: a chair in which to park your, er, center of gravity.

In order to keep use of the space cost-free, and keep the Meadowlark/Sunbridge space free of bulky equipment, we do not offer a printer or photocopier. We also cannot lend out resource materials, but please feel free to use our limited copying service. Details in the binder on the Writer’s Space desk.

Check back with us soon for news about upcoming events for readers and writers, the launch of our online store, and our partnership with new ebook retailer, Zolabooks.

Categories
Blog

A Peek At Fall

Much as we would love to just surprise you, we just have to offer a little glimpse of the season ahead. We’re getting pretty excited!

First, here is a snapshot of our forming writer’s space! If you happen to be nearby, you can sneak upstairs for a test run. No wifi yet, and resources are not complete, but it is definitely a pleasant spot.

Nearly-ready, waiting, and well-lit!

For events, writers will soon be able to sign up for our first Reading and Writing group, a very relaxed evening of reading our work aloud. And readers can sign up NOW for the Fall Book Club! On the evening of Thursday, October 4, we’ll be discussing The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which has already been well-received by customers for its dreamy prose, vividly imagined fantastic setting–and reputation as one of fall’s must-reads. Please sign up at the Meadowlark counter, or via email to info@cuppapulp.com.

Fobbit, by David Abrams

A brief and cagey fall preview: we had a difficult time choosing from among the excellent books available this fall! Not to ruin the surprise completely, we’ll simply say that our final list includes Depression-era romance, dragons, witches—and a new release that is reputed to be the Catch-22 of the Iraq War, Fobbitby David Abrams. The title refers to a derogatory term for soldiers that serve exclusively from the relative safety of the Forward Operating Base—out of the line of fire. We are so excited about this debut novel, by a 20-year Army veteran and Army journalist. His Baghdad journals became the blueprint for his story of a soldier working to “spin” the war for the media back home.

This post is about fall, but summer is not over yet! State of Wonder by Ann Patchett continues to wow our readers, which thrills us to bits, since Ann is practically our patron saint! A popular and critically lauded author, she made book selling news last year when she took over part of a defunct Borders in her native town of Nashville. On the virtues of a small bookstore, she said, “You can go in to a small store with an intelligent staff …. [and] well-displayed, well-chosen books, and come out with five books that you’re dying to read. And that’s what we’re going to do.” (Do I hear an Amen?) Look for other Ann Patchett titles on our shelves, coming soon.

We still have copies of local sensation Emmy Laybourne’s Monument 14, surprise debut author Chad Harbach’s Art of Fielding, and rising auteur Lauren Groff’s Arcadia available on our Summer Features table. Enjoy 10% off all new hardcovers now through September 30!

 

Categories
Blog

A Warm And Wonderful July

Our new logo! Thanks to Dale Hushbeck for his artistry and expertise.

Thank you to our authors and customers for getting Cuppa Pulp Booksellers off to an exciting start this summer!

First item: we are so pleased to once again have occasion to congratulate Monument 14 author Emmy Laybourne! Monument 14 received a glowing review from the New York Times this month, and was subsequently named as an Editor’s Pick. Read more on Emmy’s blog.

Next, an announcement for Ann Patchett fans: State of Wonder is back on the Summer Features table at the store, after suddenly selling out last week. We apologize for the inconvenience!

Finally, we are pleased to announce our first Fall Book Club. The Night Circus was selected by local blogger and author Julie Goldberg (Perfect Whole) for discussion on Thursday evening, October 4. Read more about The Night Circus and find out how to sign up here.

Coming up for fall: new seasonal features, and for your convenience, the debut of our online store.

Please visit us again upstairs at Meadowlark. The last sultry days of summer provide perfect reading weather!

Categories
News and Events

Fall Book Club: The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

Cuppa Pulp’s very first book club meeting will be on Thursday, October 4, NEW DATE! MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2012, 8:00 pm.

Local blog-star and author Julie Goldberg (Perfect Whole) will lead a discussion of The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. Join us for a book and a cuppa! (Wine and tea will be available, in real glasses and mugs.) Space is limited in our cozy rooms, so please sign up at Meadowlark Toys, or email us at info@cuppapulp.com. Snacks are welcome. If you are so inclined, please let us know what you’d like to bring. Thank you!

The Night Circus is Ms. Morgenstern’s debut novel. Since its publication in September, 2011, it has received numerous critical acclamations and has spawned fan clubs the world over. Here’s a taste from Erin Morgenstern’s website:

It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

Behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love…

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Categories
Cuppa Pulp Selections

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout

Olive is the dowdy, unpleasantly sharp, middle-aged schoolteacher that everyone loves to hate. But Elizabeth Strout’s mighty pen renders her achingly human and, in fact, indispensable to every character portrayed in this truly flawless book: Henry Kitteridge, Olive’s mild-mannered husband, who understands and forgives her when no one else will; a suicidal ex-student, who finds in her the teacher that always believed in him; a perfect stranger, whose anorexia contrasts so starkly with Olive’s well-fed bulk.

A rare literary novel that is also funny, wise, and moving.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Buy Online

 

Categories
For Writers

Online Writer’s Resources

Helpful Links

Center for Fiction. In a distant future world where writers flock to the suburbs, Cuppa Pulp may aspire to be something like this. A New-York-City based Emerald City for fiction writers. Not much online interactivity, but look at what one writer’s center can do!

Duotrope. Offering a free searchable database of fiction writer’s markets, updated monthly, plus personal submission tracking if you register for an account (which is also free).

Fanstory. An online community for writers who want to get read! Upload your work and read others’ work.

Gotham Writer’s Workshop. Offering online workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and multiple sub-genres including screenwriting, memoir, sic-fi/fantasy, etc., etc., in addition to live workshops based in New York City. You can also connect to a private writing coach online, if you’re working on a more advanced project.

Togather. Still in its beta phase, we came across this online initiative at the 2012 Brooklyn Book Festival. Striving to connect authors with readers by helping us plan events with each other!

Writer Unboxed. A truly entertaining and mind-expanding blog about and for writers, offering author and industry interviews, advice on craft ranging from tips to the whole iceberg, and a portal to many fine online resources.

Articles and Blogs by Cuppa Pulp Featured Authors and Friends

7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, By Emmy Laybourne. Emmy Laybourne recently guest-blogged for Chuck Sambuchino, sharing some tips to help you focus your writing life.

The Business of Writing. James King’s funny, insightful blog on the writing life. Be sure to dig back into the archives for posts he wrote during the process of getting Bill Warrington’s Last Chance published. A great introductory education to the book world!

Lauren Groff on Arcadia. Lauren Groff recently packed a seminar for the New York Writer’s Institute at SUNY Albany. She discussed her writing process for Arcadia while pregnant and parenting a toddler, and more!

Perfect Whole. Julie Goldberg sounds off on education, religion, lifestyle, and politics with brilliance and wit. “[A] too-seldom updated, excruciatingly well-crafted blog.”

Categories
For Writers News and Events

The Gift List: A Character Development Workshop, December 13, 2012

Upstairs@Meadowlark, Thursday December 13, 8:00pm

Christmas shoppers and fiction writers have something in common.  Figuring out what people want!

We all struggle with “those people” on our gift lists. We call them tough-to-please, but we really mean that we don’t know what they want. Fiction writers, too, struggle with not knowing, or forgetting, what our characters want.

Honing in on our characters’ most urgent desires guides us in writing stories readers will care about. Will Frodo and Sam return to the Shire one day? Will the Beast earn Beauty’s love? And that seasonal favorite story: will the kids’ (or your significant other’s, or your parent’s) dreams come true for the holidays?

Whether you want to generate a gift list or a story, join us for a relaxed session of character exercises.  Bring a notebook, writing implement, and a sense of fun!

A Crudely Drawn Character

Writers of all levels welcome. Upstairs@Meadowlark.

Sign up via email at info@cuppapulp.com, on the clipboard
by the door at Meadowlark, or call us at 845-290-1572.

Donna Miele, owner of Cuppa Pulp Booksellers and Writer’s
Space, is pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts in fiction writing.
She has written many successful gift lists, and is at work on
her first novel. 

 

 

Categories
Party Invitations

Summer Salon!

Sangria!

We thought that this summer’s workshop with Max Ellendale would be the perfect excuse for an writer’s gathering, and Max did too!

Please join us for either event or both on Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Genre Writer’s Workshop with Max Ellendale
(read our interview with Max here):

Paranormal romance author Max Ellendale (Glyph, Breathless Press 2012) will lead a 2-hour workshop on all aspects of beginning a plot-driven novel. A great introduction to the discipline of writing a book-length work for fantasy, sci-fi and other writers. Optional individual consult. Sign up at info@cuppapulp.com. $20 2-hour workshop, $10 optional consult.

Salon to open at 5pm. Party with local writers in the intimacy of Cuppa Pulp’s digs upstairs@Meadowlark.

RSVP to info@cuppapulp.com (but if you Facebook or Tweet us we’ll still count you in!).