My Year as a Clown: A Novel

by Robert Steven Williams

Overview

With My Year as a Clown, Williams introduces us to the Philadelphia Eagles-obsessed Chuck Morgan, reeling after being blindsided by the abrupt collapse of his 20-year marriage. Morgan is a new kind of male hero, imperfect and uncertain, who—like his favorite football team—is fumbling forward into uncertainty. The 2013 Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex. Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. "Williams has written a terrific novel. His book pulls back the curtain on male masculinity--showing us what a guy really goes through when dealing with the difficult mess of his beloved spouse's infidelity and the ensuing divorce. Williams' characters give us the real-deal: a gut wrenching and often humorous look, showing us the everyday horrors of what it's like to start all over again as one approaches middle age." - Suzan-Lori Parks, winner Pulitzer Prize for Drama "Robert Steven Williams has written a novel of tremendous honesty, humor, and insight. His story of Chuck Morgan, cast adrift on the rocky shoals of dating when his wife of twenty years suddenly leaves him, does for men what Bridget Jones's Diary did for women." - Joy Johannessen, editor for Alice Sebold, Amy Bloom, Michael Cunningham and My Year as a Clown "When we first meet Chuck Morgan, he's broken, twisted and confused. And that's what makes him so interesting. Like other intriguing literary heroes, he is at his best after life has knocked him to the ground, forcing him to find a new way to be strong again; damaged maybe, but more confident this time, with a kinder, more open heart." - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, The Flatlanders

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780988403000
Publisher:	Against the Grain Press
Publication date:	12/26/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Robert Steven Williams is an author, singer-songwriter, musician, and former music industry executive. As a writer, Williams won the silver medal for popular fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for his first novel, My Year as a Clown. He was also a finalist in the 2005 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. He attended Bread Loaf, Sewanee and the Squaw Valley Writers’ Conferences, and worked closely with the esteemed fiction writer, Barry Hannah. His short fiction has appeared in Carve Magazine, The Orange Coast Review, and the anthology Tall Tales and Short Stories Volume II. Additionally, he was the executive producer of the critically acclaimed BOOM! Studios CBGB Comic series in 2010, nominated for a Harvey Award for Best Anthology. Robert’s work has also appeared in Poets & Writers Magazine, Billboard, USA Today and LetterPress, a newsletter for writers. He is also co-author of the best-selling business book, The World’s Largest Market. As a musician, Williams studied songwriting with Rosanne Cash, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and several other top country writers. In 2005 he released the critically acclaimed CD “I Am Not My Job,” featuring Rachel Z (Peter Gabriel, Wayne Shorter) and Sloan Wainwright. My Year as a Clown (Against the Grain Press), is Roberts's first novel.