I just found out about these today, but others of you may already know about them. The great East Texas author, Joe R. Lansdale, has a young adult novel coming out in trade paperback on September 13, 2011, about seven weeks from now. The title is All the Earth, Thrown To the Sky and is 240 pages long.
Taking place during the 1930's depression, the novel deals with young Jack Catcher, who's parents have have died. He suddenly decides it's time to get out of Oklahoma and away from the dust bowl. When two other kids show up on his doorstep with plans to steal a dead neighbor's car and head out to parts unknown, he quickly agrees to join them. A run-in with gansters, however, forces them to head to Texas where a wrestler for a circus is the bad guys' intended target. The kids now feel the need to warn him about the gansters coming his way. Hopping a train, they encounter all sorts of strange characters and the adventure kicks in.
I don't usually read young adult novels from my favorite authors, but I will get a copy of this. I know Joe's writing, and he can make anything come alive with that incredible East Texas writing voice of his. Every story he does is an adventure in and of itself, and a pure joy to be a part of. I kid you not. If you haven't read anything by then I suggest The Bottoms, which is being turned into a motion picture by actor, Bill Paxton. There's also A Fine Dark Line and Sunset & Sawdust. All three of these novels are major accomplishments in the literary field, but filled with East Texas noir, suspense, murder, humorous characters, beautiful ladies, and more twist and turns than a roaring tornado.
In late March of 2012, Joe has a hardcover coming out, but it isn't a Hap/Leonard novel. The title is Edge of Dark Water and runs in at 288 pages. Below is the blub for the book from Amazon.com.
"May Lynn was once a pretty girl who dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star. Now she's dead, her body dredged up from the Sabine River.
Sue Ellen, a strong-willed sixteen-year-old yearning for something greater than what she's been given, decides to take May Lynn's ashes to Tinsel Town and place them on her favorite actor's grave. It's the least Sue and her friends can do for May Lynn. But first, they have to figure out how to get there.
Then fortune strikes, and the group stumbles across a vast sum of money theirs for the taking. But what seems the perfect chance to escape from an empty life will have disastrous consequences, as Sue Ellen discovers just how hard growing up can really get."
That sounds pretty damn good to me, folks! After reading his novels, A Fine Dark Line and Sunset & Sawdust, I know what Joe can do with a young protagonist, especially a female one. They're tough as nails and they never give up, no matter what, just like the author. Okay, we have some fantastic reading ahead of us so get ready for any and everything as His Own Self (the great Joe R. Lansdale) takes us on the adventure of a lifetime.
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