New Smoketown Review
The Lesbian Review had some kind words to say about Smoketown. I did not pay them; they’re safe to believe. Read them here.
New Smoketown Review
Dear Author has just reviewed, Smoketown and here’s a bit of the reviewer had to say:
“The characters each had not exactly a secret, but maybe a small mystery behind them, which are first hinted at and then revealed in each individual’s “song” which is played in the main symphony. I say “song” not because every character in the book was singing, but because at times the writing felt very musical and very passionate to me . . . I truly did feel that the city of Leodaire was a living breathing thing in this book; the city which was still hurting from the traumatic event of its past and which finally started healing at the end of the book. I really loved how the hope and darkness are both present in this story and that hope eventually prevails.”
The full review is available here.
Book Excerpt up at Shewired
Shewired has posted an excerpt of Smoketown on their site. You can check it out here.
R/evolution and Smoketown Ebooks Up at Weightless Books
Just in time for Fat Tuesday, both novels are up on the wonderful Weightless Books , home of some amazing writing and all is DRM-free! For more about Weightless check out this PW article
Smoketown Reviews Are In
Lambda Literary’s take:
Smoketown, on the surface, is a creative attempt at shaping a story around one of today’s most pressing concerns, climate change, and man’s timeless battle to control nature. There is a post-apocalyptic feel to the novel that stems from its underlying theme of loss and isolation. The tandem fuels what essentially is a story of intrigue and mystery. The novel unfolds to reveal a fate of devastation incurred by man’s relentless quest for technology and disregard for the environment. Ms. Johnson tackles the complex relationship between nature, humans, and technology, from a wonderfully imaginative and engaging perspective.
Fellow writer and reviewer Craig Gidney had this to say:
Smoketown, the debut novel of Tenea D. Johnson, belongs in a rare subset of speculative fiction novels that examine the relationship between art and society. These books include Pat Murphy’s The City, Not Long After and a number of Samuel R. Delany’s work, most notably Dhalgren. Smoketown, like the aforementioned works, blurs the boundaries between perception, magic and science, and the futuristic/transformed landscape is both a living metaphor and geography . . . Johnson weaves all these strands together with lyrical prose and a thematic eye towards redemption and transformation.
Fluidity of Time gave Smoketown 5 of 5, An ‘Amazing’ Rating:
” . . . A fascinating setting that is both intriguing and disturbing, and a story that completely captures me . . .This book is also beautifully written . . . Reading it made me feel quiet and thoughtful, and it made me want to read more from this author.
This one’s just in from Mrs. Giggles reviews:
“ . . . Smoketown is more of an exploration of the human psyche. Loss, loneliness, idealism, cynicism, and hope may be by themselves banal words but in this story, these concepts take wings like the birds in this story. I find myself fascinated by the characters, thanks to the author’s graceful prose.
Smoketown isn’t a romance novel or a typical action-oriented urban fantasy romp. It has elements of both, but it’s more about the believable human emotions that endure through harsh climates and heartbreaks. I did not know what to expect when I picked this book up, but I’m completely satisfied with what I got out of it.”
From Publisher’s Weekly:
In the neurosis-filled city of Smoketown, where birds are outlawed after being blamed for a devastating plague, three purposes collide to alter the city’s future. Genetic artist Anna, seeking a lost friend, creates something beautiful that the city fears. Eugenio, recording survivors’ remembrances of the plague, unearths Smoketown’s deepest secret. Rory, an elderly survivor who has barricaded himself from the city in a luxury apartment, fights his own greatest fear after discovering a connection to Eugenio’s discovery. All of Johnson’s characters come nicely slantways at their unintended roles in Smoketown’s destiny, often hardly caring about the parts they play as they gauge the personal successes of their quests, and the understated, lyrical prose makes even small moments, such as the appearance of a flock of birds within the city’s force field, feel triumphant.
If You Publish a Novel You Can Have a Party
invite people, meet new ones,
admire odd beauty,
eat yourself silly
and make your family proud.*
*while eating yourself silly
How’s that for motivation?
Read an Excerpt: Smoketown’s First Chapter
The folks at Blind Eye Books have been kind enough to make Chapter 1 available as a downloadable PDF, just click here for the link: Smoketown Chapter 1
Smoketown and R/evolution at Blue Lucy
Come join us as we celebrate the launch of Smoketown, a novel, and the upcoming release of R/evolution, a novel in stories, at Blue Lucy Gallery. Great music, original artwork, sushi, signed copies and good times.
When: Saturday, August 6, 2011, 7:00-9:00 PM
Where: Blue Lucy Gallery, 653 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Smoketown
The city of Leiodare is unlike any other in the post-climate change United States. Within its boundaries, birds are outlawed and what was once a crater in Appalachia is now a tropical, glittering metropolis where Anna Armour is waiting.
An artist by passion and a factory worker by trade, Anna is a woman of special gifts. She has chosen this beautiful, traumatized city to wait for the woman she’s lost, the one she believes can save her from her troubled past and uncertain future.
Smoketown in Publisher’s Weekly
Publisher’s Weekly Review of Smoketown is in:
In the neurosis-filled city of Smoketown, where birds are outlawed after being blamed for a devastating plague, three purposes collide to alter the city’s future. Genetic artist Anna, seeking a lost friend, creates something beautiful that the city fears. Eugenio, recording survivors’ remembrances of the plague, unearths Smoketown’s deepest secret. Rory, an elderly survivor who has barricaded himself from the city in a luxury apartment, fights his own greatest fear after discovering a connection to Eugenio’s discovery…
