[Bryan R. Dennis]

My debut novel is now available!

Product Description:

Here lies Henry Pluck -- corporate cubicle rat and frequenter of nursing homes. A perfectionist at work and an eater of sandwiches, he drove an import, lived alone in a box, and was virtually indistinguishable from any other office drone in Las Vegas, Nevada.

So might have read the inscription on his gravestone.

But when he encounters Rosa Santana, an unconventional and perplexing young woman from the desert, he learns what a defunct building feels like before a wrecking ball.

This is a portrait of a lonely man coming to terms with his flawed interpretation of perfection. For the world is not what Henry thinks it is, and as he'll soon discover, neither is Rosa. This is the wild, mysterious world of 4,000 year old movies, cosmic irony, predators, and prey.

This is the American Dream, just before its pants fell down.

"This is an intelligent and at times very funny novel as unpredictable as life, and as memorable. The "message" is so cleverly presented as well-written and engaging fiction that one may find oneself rereading the last few chapters, again and again."

-- Publisher's Weekly

 

[Ann in Arlington]

Welcome to KindleBoards, Bryan, and congratulations on your book!

(If you've gotten this welcome before, it's just as a matter of housekeeping. We like to put a copy of the "welcome letter" in each book thread. It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong, it just helps us know that you know the rules.)

A brief recap of our rules follows:

--We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Instructions are posted here

--Please bookmark this thread (using your browser's bookmark/favorite function) so you can update it as we ask that authors have only one thread per book and add to it when there is more information. You may start a separate thread for each book (or you may have one thread per series of books, or one thread for all of your books, it's your choice).

--While you may respond to member posts to your thread at any time, you may only bump your thread (back-to-back posts by you) once every seven days. Once you've responded to a member, that resets the clock to zero and you must wait seven days to post, unless another member posts before then.

--We ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead.

--Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, our most successful authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles! Please note that putting link information in the body of your posts constitutes self promotion; please leave your links for your profile signature that will automatically appear on each post. For information on more ways to promote here on KindleBoards, be sure to check out this thread:
Authors: KindleBoards Tips & FAQ.

All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. Be sure to check it from time to time for the current guidelines and rules.

Oh, and one more thing: be sure to check out the index threads at the top of the Book Bazaar. . . .there are details there about how you can be listed so that our readers can find you.

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards! Feel free to send us a PM if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators

 

[medicalhumor]

Sounds like a great read Bryan.

How did you enter the breakthrough novel award competition?
Where did you find out about it?

Thanks,
Mike Cyra

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

Hi Mike. Amazon's first Breakthrough Novel Award contest coincided with the introduction of the Kindle. So I was right there at the dawn of the digital revolution - though at the time I didn't know it. I stumbled upon the contest while browsing through Amazon's book catalogue. At the time I was nearly finished with my first novel: An Epitaph for Coyote, but I had only a month remaining to submit it to Amazon. Long story short, I submitted a rough draft as my entry. Although the rough draft didn't win the contest, I did make the semifinals and received good reviews, including the one from Publisher's Weekly.

The version I have for sale now is clean, polished, and professional, and reflects four years of careful scrutiny. So I'm very excited about how it's going to be received.

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

Here's the full review from Publishers Weekly:

Henry Pluck, real estate closer, unabashed gerontophile, and a lonely man unto himself, is set on a road to self-discovery when he finds cockroaches in his house, calls Pest Slayers exterminators, and Rosa Santana appears. "A bug woman! Who would have thought they even existed?" Henry thinks to himself. The plot here is life, specifically, the stream of consciousness life of Henry Pluck's unpredictable and previously lonely but wildly precocious mind, as Rosa draws him out, changing his life from "beige" to one tinged with color, beginning with their jaunt into the desert where Rosa unveils for Henry a 4,000 year old "movie."

Part of Henry's isolation comes from grief at the death of his parents, and his subsequent relationship with Irma, an elderly resident of Sandy Pines Senior Living Center. The surprising, almost shocking, ending begins when Henry makes plans to purchase a house in a Las Vegas development encroaching on the last habitat of Nevada's wild coyotes and in fact makes eye contact with "the last coyote he would ever see within twenty miles" of town and that stared at Henry "as if he were an old acquaintance."

This is an intelligent and at times very funny novel as unpredictable as life, and as memorable. The "message" is so cleverly presented as well-written and engaging fiction that one may find oneself rereading the last few chapters, again and again.

 

[mikelewis]

I have just started reading this and am really enjoying it.

Mike

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

Glad to hear it, Mike. 

I noticed I sold a couple copies in the UK today. Have to admit, I was thrilled. I think this book would give people overseas an interesting insight into American society -- though a bit of a skewed perspective, considered how quirky I wrote the characters. But there's a lot of truth bundled in there.

99 cents is the cheapest Vegas tour package available! 

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

It's tough to sell books without reviews, and equally tough to get reviews without selling books. The age-old dilemma.

I'm still willing to give away a limited number of review copies to interested readers. My email is in the first post of this thread. Alternatively, you can buy it for the price of a beer, read it, and if you want, leave a little review at Amazon telling others what you thought of it. Doesn't have to be anything fancy or detailed.

I don't really do too much promotion. This is about it I guess. I just love writing so much, that I drag my feet when it comes to getting my work noticed. I'd rather by writing my next novel. 

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

Here's a review from the UK:

"What will become of accounting drone Henry Pluck? When you finish a book hoping the hero will be able to move on with his life, you know you have just read something special. Bryan R Dennis paints characters with such depth and insight, and with such ease, that they feel alive and familiar after the first introduction. Dennis's descriptive talents and understanding of human nature are remarkable, drawing the reader into scenarios that remind of Tom Wolfe in their capacity to excite sympathy and schadenfreude, while the consistent vein of surrealism, humour and the Las Vegas setting suggest something Hunter Thompson might have produced in a gentler mood. A must."

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

Sometimes a book just hits you a certain way...

And this book did that for me. Sometimes what the author is saying is something you can just see in your own life. You find yourself fully invested in the characters and their story. They leap off the page and come to life in your mind, in your heart, and you sometimes just don't want the story to end.

That was what I felt with "An Epitaph for Coyote." Quite simply, I loved this novel. I loved it the way you sometimes stumble across a novel that just suddenly hits you like a punch in the gut - and I mean that in a good way. I hate to make comparisons to other works, as I feel a novel should stand on its own, but this one could easily become a modern classic.

I spent a lot of years with a life all-too similar to the one Henry has in this novel. And then, like Henry, I made changes and found out life was more than cubicles.

Full of rich story-telling, subtle humor, stunningly three-dimensional characters. I recommend this book for everyone.

It now resides on my own personal "favorites" list.

Bravo, Bryan. And, by the way, I like how you spell your first name. ;-)

--Bryan W. Alaspa

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

This book was an unexpected find for me and one of the best books I've read in a long time. The story depicts the quirky, zany, hilarious world of a very ordinary "loser" type of guy - Henry Pluck. (He had me when he said "I'll see you later, Honey!" to his empty apartment as he left for work in the morning.) As funny as it is philosophical, the story moves between the emptiness of his life in the corporate cubicle, to the loneliness of his best friends (all really old people), to the unpredictable, whacky, vibrantly alive young woman who enters his life and shakes things up for him - Rosa Santana. Set in Las Vegas, the author juxtaposes the artificiality of the strip malls and casinos with the timeless, mystical, beauty of the desert - fast being encroached upon by "civilization." The author's masterful use of language creates vivid scenes, unforgettable characters, and unique ways of seeing things - nothing studied or strained here, just an original mind with a great sense of humor (you wouldn't want to read this on the subway or bus), and a deep felt empathy for the world. A great read.

--Agnes Irene

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

"Some books are read and some books are experienced. 'An Epitaph for Coyote' is an experience. I laughed, I cried, I was moved in ways rarely achieved in any form of entertainment. This book reminded me that novels are an art form. 'Epitaph' is a genuine work of art.

It's the classicly simple story of a boring man learning from an eccentric woman that he has been alive but not living. It's full of everyday observations worthy of a stand-up comedian. It's also full of life-affirming messages and world-views that, while heavy, are never heavy-handed. We are reminded that life is a paradox where every little moment means nothing and everything at the same time. We are reminded to look around. Participate in your own life. Participate in the lives of others. Find the magic in every day.

This 99 cent e-book made the purchase of the Kindle worth it even if I were never to buy anything else. I am that thrilled to have randomly discovered this masterpiece.

It is one of the best novels I have ever read." -- Kevin J Burke

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

"Good writers pay attention to details. Great writers help you taste the chocolate ice cream, feel the paper cut and enjoy the glass of wine. Bryan Dennis is a great writer. You find yourself saying, "oh my gosh he's right" when he describes a situation you've neglected to pay attention to a hundred times. He has done a wonderful job of helping us live the lives of Henry Pluck and Rosa Santana. They are unique individuals surrounded by characters who touch their lives and ours briefly or for a more extended time.
Henry is an every man or woman. The one who doesn't know they aren't happy or are content with mediocrity until someone comes along who accepts them for who they are and holds up a mirror so they can see they are more than they thought they were capable of being.
The author seamlessly integrates life in ways that touch us and make us laugh out loud. He uses fun and thoughtful points and transforms them into striking visual images. If I gave examples, I'd have to tell you the entire story so I will let you discover the gems on your own.
Bryan understands the human condition and invites you to join him for an enjoyable experience."  --- Amazon reviewer

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

An Epitaph For Coyote, more than just another "pretty" reading experience!

Quite possibly this is one of the most thought provoking reads in my library of books that I finished and still could not put out of my mind. Henry Pluck is the character of every man, someone who you might bump into and never notice as his demeanor is such that he pretty much blends into the proverbial wall. That dullness changes when he meets the very charismatic and off-the-wall Rosa Santana. Rosa comes to Henry's house to exterminate cockroaches and soon the two become involved in a friendship that inexplicably works and even turns into a semi-romance at one point...

From Henry Pluck to his elderly friends Vince, Carlos and Irma to the strange young woman Rosa Santana who shines a new light on the darkness that is Henry's life the characters in this story are ones the reader embraces easily.

These are the main characters but the secondary characters that grace a few scenes here and there lend believability to the story as well, especially the co-workers in the cubicles at Henry's work place... Having worked in this kind of environment myself I could easily identify with the boredom and the lack of camaraderie as well...

There are a lot of things that could be pointed out as to why this particular book is a reading experience that should not be missed, however doing so would retell the tale and totally spoil it for those who have not read it themselves. Suffice to say that author Bryan R. Dennis points out that there is more to most people than what we see on the surface, there is a lot wrong with how we act and react towards each other as human beings, there are more wild animals losing their habitats today than there are places left for them to live their lives out as they have for thousands of years and most of all we do not have to "settle" simply because it is easier to do so than it is to stand up for ourselves and be happy living a genuinely fulfilling life.

I have to sincerely thank Bryan R. Dennis for asking me to read
An Epitaph for Coyote: A Novel in exchange for an honest review because it is a truly interesting, funny, sad, happy, gripping and at times bewildering experience that I would have missed out on otherwise.

{Disclosure: this book is the only compensation received by me from the author in exchange for an honest review besides my pleasure in reading the story.}

--Jackie Burris

 

[Bryan R. Dennis]

Cool! My book was featured today at Daily Cheap Reads http://ow.ly/6AVPA.

If you're a reader, that site is an easy way to find good new (and cheap) books to read. Their requirements are that each book must be 99 cents and have a minimum number of good reviews. It's a clean site and gets lots of traffic, so for writers it's highly desirable to get featured there. I hope this helps get my book noticed.