NEW YORK, NY – On June 3rd, New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons announced The Fatness won in the humor category of the annual IndieReader Discovery Awards (IRDAs). The announcement was made at BookExpo America (BEA), a major publishing trade show. This is the second literary award the satirical novel has
Continue readingAuthor: Mark A. Rayner
mark a rayner: Silver IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for The Fatness!
Hey, hey, The Fatness won a Silver in the humor category of the 30th annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award™ These awards aren’t well-known generally, but they’re quite prestigious and valuable indicators of quality. The Independent Book Publishing Association (IBPA) has more than 3,000 members, and is the largest publishing trade
Continue readingmark a rayner: Review: My Hands Were Clean
Tom Bradley is one of those writers who sends me running to the dictionary. That is praise and damnation at the same time, but more of the former. Because like John Fowles, who also does this to me, I’m always impressed by the precision and rightness of the word in
Continue readingmark a rayner: Review: The Cache and Other Stories
I thoroughly enjoyed this new collection of short stories and poems, by Sherry D. Ramsey. As always, her fiction is rooted in authentic human emotions, problems and foibles, even when we’re reading about aliens or fairies. In particular, I really enjoyed “B.R.AN.E., Inc.”, which read like the beginning of a
Continue readingmark a rayner: Roundup of more great reviews of The Fatness
Reviews continue to get posted about my new book. If you haven’t already checked out Joe Mahoney’s funny video review of The Fatness, you definitely should. There’s also a new review up on IndieReader.com: IR VERDICT: Easy to devour in one sitting, this tongue-and-cheek account of a BMI-obsessed society is both
Continue readingmark a rayner: Assorted Nonsense Reviews The Fatness
My buddy and fellow-writer, Joe Mahoney, has done a charming and funny video reviewing The Fatness. In addition to having wonderful taste, Joe writes fiction himself. You can check out his debut novel, A Time and a Place, here on Goodreads. Oh, and I’m sure he’d appreciate it if you
Continue readingmark a rayner: IndiePicks Magazine Loves The Fatness
Great review in the January 2018 edition of IndiePicks Magazine! Keelan Cavanaugh has been sentenced to a very different kind of prison. Uncomfortably installed at the Calorie Reduction Centre (CRC) — also known as the Fatness, or the Girth Gulag — he will lose weight, whether he wants to or
Continue readingmark a rayner: London media cover The Fatness
I was really pleased to see how the local media stepped up to cover my new release, The Fatness. On New Year’s Day, the London Free Press published an article titled: “Satirist takes a bite out of obesity epidemic” My thanks to Dan Brown for a truly enjoyable interview and
Continue readingmark a rayner: Long guest post on Booklikes
I have a long guest post up on the Booklikes blog today, in which I describe the process of writing The Fatness. There’s also a giveaway of the book there. Check it out here.
Continue readingmark a rayner: Writing The Fatness
I’m not sure how interesting it is for readers to know the story behind the story, but I thought I’d share my experiences with writing this book. This one was personal. I’ve struggled with weight issues most of my life, so I found it quite difficult to write a humorous
Continue readingmark a rayner: The Fatness is live!
My fourth novel is available as of today! It’s a satire about concentration camps for fat people and bureaucracy gone mad. (Don’t worry, it’s a love story.) This crazy book was 12 years in the making, so I hope you enjoy it. Here’s a quick synopsis, and more purchase links
Continue readingmark a rayner: Rejected Halloween-Themed Cereals
After the success of Count Chocula, Boo-berry and Frankenberry, cereal executives everywhere were on the look out for new Halloween-themed cereals. Alas, these never made it to market, though the last entry did make it to the packaging design phase. (This happens BEFORE taste testing, I should note.) 10. Candy
Continue readingmark a rayner: The Simianularity
“I swear to God, I never thought the cyborg-monkeys would betray us.” Alltop wouldn’t survive even the robo-bees stage.
Continue readingmark a rayner: The void loves you
The caption is perfect if you imagine it being narrated by Werner Herzog. Herzog continues to read: “The orange sky, like the creeping shadows that threaten to engulf our fictional protagonists, is a visual clue that this never happened beyond the void of imagination.” If this cause a full-on existential
Continue readingmark a rayner: Vintage Coulrophobia
Sugar Krinkles: so you have the energy to run from psychotic clowns! Things that make him extra scary: tiny hat suspiciously perfect teeth he’s wearing someone else’s face he painted it to blend with his face the broken pinkie. Alltop thinks he broke the pinkie in a funny way. (Maybe
Continue readingmark a rayner: What Groundhog Day Means on Alternative Earths
Our Universe: groundhog sees its shadow = 6 more weeks of winter. Foofy Bum Universe: annual celebration of Lord Fuzzy’s victory over the Lizard Horde. Zentropia Universe: day of the year when all rodents are allowed to drive. It’s-in-the-hole! Universe: Bill Murray [praise be his name] emerges from his four-fold slumber
Continue readingmark a rayner: New Fiction: Wormageddon
My latest short story just appeared in The Saturday Evening Post: Less schmaltz-y, WAY more worm-y. You can find Wormageddon here.
Continue readingmark a rayner: He’s My Man: Leonard Cohen
I’m sure most people are still trying to understand Trump’s win, but seriously, they’re missing the meaning of Cohen’s loss. He made the personal epic, but in the right way. Leonard Cohen will be lauded as a songwriter, and a poet, but for me, he was always a consummate storyteller.
Continue readingmark a rayner: Excruciating Album Cover Art — Mr. Bat Sings
“Can’t sleep, clown will eat me.” –Bart Simpson I always used to think one of the silliest phobias was coulrophobia — the fear of clowns — until I saw this album cover. This thing is terrifying. I mean, it just reeks of menace! Mr. Bat is wearing some kind of
Continue readingmark a rayner: The 2nd Monday of October
Meanwhile in Canada … Every year on the second Monday of October, Canadians celebrate the end of the Moose Ascendency. During this dark period of Canadian history, the moose reigned supreme, forcing our provocatively dressed women to worship them, and slaughtering any man who got in their way. Eventually, Canadians
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