Author James Frey may have been down, but he is certainly not out. After the controversy with his book, A Million Little Pieces, got up off the canvas and came back with another book: a novel.
It has been my belief that the reaction to what James Frey did in his book A Million Little Pieces was overblown and Frey was the victim of a media feeding frenzy.
The one comment I had heard over the years about James Frey is that the man "can write." His writing is gripping, compelling and authentic. He is an enormous talent. And that memoir should have been a novel, but it wasn't. And the judgment of him was harsh and overblown. But now he has now come back with another piece of great writing.
It is called Bright Shiny Morning. Here is how Publishers Weekly reported it.
How does the (formerly?) most-castigated author in publishing promote his new novel? That's a question that the PR team at Harper, which releases James Frey's Bright Shiny Morning tomorrow, had to confront. Although it seemed as though Frey might only be talking to Vanity Fair for its largely flattering profile--author Evgenia Peretz said in the piece that Frey "fears and loathes" the press and would not be doing any other interviews--the former bad boy memoirist will appear on the Today show tomorrow and also did an interview for USA Today (also running tomorrow). But that, according to Tina Andreadis at Harper, is all the national media currently lined up for Frey.Andreadis said that at the time of the VF piece, Harper had not scheduled any other interviews. When asked about whether Frey is avoiding the proverbial hot seat, Andreadis said the author is not afraid of the press. She noted that Frey is, as Peretz said in her story, prohibited from discussing the details of what happened with Random House and the publication of A Million Little Pieces by for legal reasons. Nonetheless, Andreadis acknowledged that Frey knows the scandal will come up interviews and is prepared to deal with those questions.
So what's Frey doing outside of those two aforementioned national press appearances? Hitting the road. Andreadis talked up the book tour Frey has planned--he'll be stopping all over the country, sometimes with author/friend Josh Kilmer-Purcell--and noted that he will also be doing some local radio. In addition to traditional signings at stores like Book Passage in Corte Madera, Calif., and Book Court in Brooklyn, Frey will appear with some bands at a May 13 at New York's Blender Theater and May 15 at West Hollywood's Whisky A Go Go.
If you haven't read A Million Little Pieces as yet, order that today. In the original publisher's release of the book they said:A Million Little Pieces is an uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed. It is also the introduction of a bold and talented literary voice.How prophetic. "A life destroyed and a life reconstructed." And that is where he is at today. Frey once again had to pick up the pieces from a situation that could have destroyed his writing career. This is a man that overcomes obstacles and doesn't use them as an excuse. James Frey's comeback is an inspiration to anyone that has made a big mistake but managed to redeem himself. Good luck to James Frey. We know something about overcoming obstacles. Reading on Walden Bookstore.
