The Poet's Funeral

(Paperback)

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Praise for The Poet's Funeral... "In this delicious sendup of the book trade...the author lampoons everything from the overstuffed 'collector's editions' to the self-importance of critics and the self-interest of publishers and agents." - Publishers Weekly starred review At the annual convention of the American Booksellers Association, everything goes wrong. Julia Child's cooking demonstration in the Random House aisle catches fire. A top New York editor catches a pie in the face. Invitations to the most exclusive publisher's party are stolen and all the wrong people show up. Worse, Heidi Yamada-the world-famous poet-is found dead, spread over the late Elvis Presley's king-sized bed. It's all caught on film by a busy photographer from Publishers Weekly, a woman soon kidnapped. When the Las Vegas police shrug their shoulders, Guy Mallon-Heidi's first publisher (and a discarded lover)- wonders what to do. Poor Guy. He's a book man from Santa Barbara who, despite the success of fellow residents Ross Macdonald and Sue Grafton, never felt inspired to be a sleuth. But he feels he owes it to Heidi. Besides, catching her killer may be his only chance to leave Las Vegas alive.... John M. Daniel has worked as a bookseller, a free-lance writer, an editor, an entertainer, and a teacher. Now a small-press literary book publisher in California, he has taught fiction writing at UCLA Extension and Santa Barbara Adult Education and is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. He is the author of several books, including Vanity Fire, the sequel to The Poet's Funeral. www.danielpublishing.com/jmd

Reviews

*STARRED REVIEW*

Daniel (Play Melancholy Baby) turns the 1990 Las Vegas ABA convention (now known as BEA) into a murder site in this delicious sendup of the book trade.
The meteoric rise of beautiful poet Heidi Yamada begins with the conversion of Guy Mallon, Santa Barbara bookstore owner, into Guy Mallon, publisher.
Clever, blatant and aggressive self-promotion wins Heidi a critic here and an agent there. Add a major publishing house and a star is born. But instead
of receiving a major literary award, Heidi winds up dead at the ABA (of an apparent drug overdose, according to Publishers Weekly). In their eulogies,
her mentor, her agent, her various publishers and the critic who first hailed her, among others, reveal the Heidi they knew. Each adds a piece of the puzzle that Mallon will eventually decipher. The author lampoons
everything from the overstuffed collector's editions to the self-importance of critics and the self-interest of publishers and agents as he parades a growing list of suspects in Heidi's demise. Daniel's sharp, sardonic wit and insider's view of book industry foibles are sure to make this bibliomystery a hit.
-- Publishers Weekly 2005-03-14

Author Bio

John M. Daniel lived in Santa Barbara, California for 20 years, where he and his wife, Susan, owned (and were owned by) a small-press publishing company. In 2003 they relocated McKinleyville, California, where they continue to publish books while John also does free-lance editing and teaches writing through adult education. He is the author of several books, including two mystery novels: Play Melancholy Baby and (most recently) The Poets Funeral. http://www.danielpublishing.com/jmd/index.html