Kings a Finalist for Omaha Reads!

March 26, 2018March 26, 2018 | Ted Wheeler

vote kings — See how easy it is to vote at any OPL branch location! (Photo by M. Edward Wheeler.)

Some very exciting news last week, as voting opened for Omaha Public Library’s 2018 Omaha Reads selection and my novel Kings of Broken Things is a finalist!

Please go vote for Kings here. We’re up against some heavy-hitters and can surely use your support.

The other finalists are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, and A Warrior of the People by Joe Starita.

If you’re not familiar, Omaha Reads is the city’s largest book club and marks a great opportunity for increased visibility. In addition to increased sales and library checkouts, of course, OPL also hosts numerous discussion and author events. Here’s a little background from Omaha World-Herald entertainment reporter Micah Mertes.

Friend of the blog (and one of my great mentors) Jonis Agee saw her novel The Bones of Paradise selected last year. It was a lot of fun seeing Jonis get the attention she deserves locally, and I’d be floored to earn the same noteriety for my book too.

GO VOTE!

A Few Updates, Plus Photos from the Durham Museum

October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 | Ted Wheeler

SAMSUNG CSC Hey, loyal readers. I hope you’re doing well. Things have been busy here around the Wheeler homestead, what with a few more readings to promote Kings of Broken Things, I spoke with Mary Hartnett on Siouxland Public Radio about Tom Dennison’s legacy in Omaha, saw Kings named as having one of the best book covers of the year by Book Riot, and most recently appeared on the Writing Fun YouTube channel to talk about the process of writing historical fiction and whether or not I’m into the MLB post-season even though the Royals didn’t make it this year. (Meh.) Along with teaching fiction writing at UNO again this fall, starting Dundee Book Company, and that whole full-time job and family thing, I’ve been busy.

A couple more things.

First, I’d like to point out that the hardcover edition of Kings of Broken Things is now 49% off at Amazon. I know many of you already have the book, but if you don’t yet have a copy, or don’t yet have the beautiful hardcover version, and have been waiting for the price to drop online, here you go.

Lastly, Carrie Meyer from the Durham Museum was kind enough to send along some images from our awesome Objects of Inspiration event at the museum a few weeks ago with my fellow Omaha historical novelists Timothy Schaffert and Andrew Hilleman. It was such a fun event, made even more special by the select artifacts that Carrie had pulled from the Durham’s archive. Specifically related to Kings, there was a WWI-era doughboy uniform and an amazing zither. See below for the full gallery. (All photos were taken by Dawn Myron and appear courtesy of the Durham Museum.)

Now we’re all caught up.

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More Photos from August Events

August 30, 2017August 31, 2017 | Ted Wheeler

Here are a few more photos from my events this month. Between the release of Kings of Broken Things and the launch of our “roving” bookstore (Dundee Book Company) I took part in an even ten events this month, ranging from traditional readings to launch parties to street fairs, radio spots, a cocktail party, and finally setting up last Sunday at my grandparents church. It’s been exhausting and exhilarating to talk to so many people about the book, and the events start up again this Friday when touring-author Zachary Schomburg and I will read from our debut novels at Solid Jackson Books. See you soon!

Waiting for studio time at NET before recording my NPR debut.

Special menu for 1887 Society event at Mercury Lounge. (Photo by Omaha Public Library)

Gallery of authors at the 1877 Society event, including Tosca Lee, Cat Dixon, myself, Liz Kay, Lydia Kang, and Leo Biga. (Photo by Omaha Public Library)

My nephew’s favorite authors.

A warm welcome to the Lincoln launch of Kings at Indigo Bridge Books.

OWH print edition.

Working the room at the 1877 Society cocktail party. (Photo by Omaha Public Library)

Dundee Book Co. book cart in action.

Kings Makes Book Riot Best Covers List

August 15, 2017August 15, 2017 | Ted Wheeler

wheeler-kings-of-broken-things-final-front-cover Some exciting news for a Tuesday, as Kings of Broken Things was recognized by Book Riot as having one of the best book covers of the year! Check out the full list for what look like some great books, and kudos to Book Riot for going there and judging a bunch of books by their covers. As I mentioned last week, it’s a beautiful cover, so I’m glad to see it get some much deserved recognition.

Some other news:

-An excerpt from Kings was posted this morning on Schloss-Post. Thanks to Akademie Schloss Solitude and online coordinator Clara Herrmann for putting together the post. Most all the promotion for the novel has focused on the race riot, so it’s nice to bring a little focus to one of the more character-driven elements. In this case, the chapter introduces Evie Chambers, the female lead in the novel, and sets up her life as a kept woman on Omaha’s Capitol Avenue.

-I have a few events in Omaha and Lincoln coming up in the next week or so, which includes being on a panel of historical novelists at Oak View Barnes & Noble on Sat Aug 19, a reading at Indigo Bridge Books in Lincoln on Tue Aug 22, and a cocktail reception with the 1877 Society and Omaha Public Library Foundation at Mercury Lounge on Wed Aug 23. If you’re in the area, come on out and say hi.

Photos from Kings Launch Week

August 9, 2017August 9, 2017 | Ted Wheeler

Reading at the Bookworm.

The Dundee Book Co bookcart made it’s debut at PTL Literary Pub Quiz.

CCB received his copy in Bangkok.

Nicole and I trading spots after she introduced me at the Bookworm.

Q&A at the Bookworm.

Grandparents and other family soaking it all in.

The book cake!

My mom and me with a giant book cover.

Signing books at the Bookworm.

Super-friend Darren finding a copy at the Strand.

My dad and me at the Kings launch party at Wilson & Washburn. We’re so happy.

My brother and I being photo-bombed at Wilson & Washburn.

How to Get a Signed Copy of Kings of Broken Things

July 25, 2017July 25, 2017 | Ted Wheeler

The event schedule for the launch of my novel Kings of Broken Things is coming together for the next couple months, with a dozen regional events already on the books. Check out the events page to see where you can find me, with new events being added through the end of the year.

In the likely case that I’m not coming to your town and you’d like to purchase a signed-copy, just email ted@dundeebook.co at the Dundee Book Company and it can arranged for a personalized copy of Kings of Broken Things to be sent your way. Or if you’d like to send one to a friend, just let me know who to inscribe the copy to and where to send it.

Fyi, Dundee Book Company is the roving bookstore that my wife Nicole and I are starting this fall. We’ll be setting up our new custom-made barnboard bookcart (newly built by our friends at Barnboard & Salvage in Des Moines) that we’ll be setting up at three or four events each month in Omaha. For a while we’ve lamented the need for an indie bookshop in our neighborhood, and hopefully DBC helps fill that need in some way. We’ll see where it grows (we’ll have an online store open soon) but for now we’re excited to get our cart and its six shelves of awesomeness out around Midtown!

Imaginary Gardens Reading Series in April

March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 | Ted Wheeler

Fyi, I’ll reading from Bad Faith at the Imaginary Gardens Reading Series on Tuesday, April 18 at 7pm, with poet Katie Berger. Put on monthly by Michael Skau at Mister Toad’s downtown pub, the series is in its third year. Originally a poetry series, Imaginary Gardens recently opened its doors to prose writers, and I’m certainly excited they did.

This will be my last event to promote Bad Faith before setting my sights on the August 1 release for Kings of Broken Things. Since I’ve already done a few readings in Omaha from the collection, I’ll try something new for this event, I promise.

On a more personal note, the writers group I’m in meets periodically at Mister Toad, so it will be fun to read my work in the space. Their back room is a great space to hang out and read. Usually that’s done quietly, but reading aloud will be fun too!

The event is free and open to the public.

Imaginary Gardens Reading Series
Tue April 18, 7pm
Mister Toad, 1002 Howard St, Omaha

Solid Jackson Reading on Nov 4; More News

October 17, 2016October 17, 2016 | Ted Wheeler

14606434_2126155184276951_2120107325737057729_n Hi, all. A few notes to update, including that I’ll be reading on Friday November 4 at the new Solid Jackson Books location at 3925 Farnam Street in Omaha, starting at 7pm sharp. (See here for more info.) Joining me on the bill are poets Trey Moody (author of Thought That Nature) and Jeff Alessandrelli (author of This Last Time Will Be the First). The three of us were senior readers together for Prairie Schooner a few years back–more than a few now, I guess–so it will be great to share work from our first books and a special night all around, as Jeff and Trey recently moved back to Nebraska, and are new to Omaha.

In other Bad Faith news, a strong review of the book recently appeared on Necessary Fiction. Many thanks to Greg Walklin for his analysis here and excellent riffs off of the Nebraska Nice ad campaign. “Most of the characters in Bad Faith aren’t nice, and Wheeler plumbs that not-niceness throughout. The Pythagoreans talked of good as definite and finite, and evil and indefinite and infinite. Niceness may make for a slogan, and a friendly face to provide directions, but it is often just a veneer.”

Check out the Bad Faith book page here on the site for links to all the reviews and press the collection has received to date. I’ve been pleased with the reception the book has received, especially as a small press book, and am very grateful for the coverage. The book has been out for three months now, with a couple events still on the agenda. In addition to the November 4 Solid Jackson reading, I’ll also be reading at East City Books in Washington DC on Wednesday February 8, 2017, an off-site during the AWP Conference. This is the Key West Literary Seminar Workshop Alumni reading with Amina Gautier, Paula Whyman, Jay Desphande, and Sam Slaughter, something I’m thrilled to be a part of.

Also, if you check out my events page you’ll notice that I’ve already booked the first appearance to help launch my debut novel next year, as I’m scheduled to read from Kings of Broken Things on Friday, September 15, 2017, at the Writers Place in Kansas City.

Speaking of Kings of Broken Things, there’s been a lot of activity behind the scenes to get the book ready for publication next year. You can pre-order the Kindle edition for one thing, if you’re so inclined, with the bones of the page coming along over there. The publication date is set for mid August, and an audio edition of the novel is going into production too. How cool is that?! Copyedits were finished up last week and the process is moving along apace, with a cover and galley editions not too far off. !!! !!!

PTL Literary Pub Quiz Returns for Autumn Schedule

September 6, 2016September 13, 2016 | Ted Wheeler

After taking off a month to recharge and tour behind the release of my debut short story collection Bad Faith, the crew behind Pageturners Literary Pub Quiz will be back this Wednesday, September 7 at 8pm! Ryan, Drew, and I have put together some entertaining and mildly challenging book trivia for your enjoyment, along with some cool prizes for the top two teams. We hope to see you there!