More about Jim's signing book:
Author of Push Not the River Tours with Sequel Against a Crimson Sky
James Conroyd Martin will appear at a number of book stores in strongly Polish cities speaking about and signing copies of Against a Crimson Sky, a follow-up sequel to his highly acclaimed first novel, Push Not the River. The first book is based on the actual diary of a Polish Catholic countess who lived through the rise and fall of the Third of May Constitution years (1790s). Martin will launch the book and his tour at the Polish Heritage Festival at St. Stanislaus in Rochester August 4th and touch down in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Ann Arbor, Williamston, Grand Rapids, and Chicago. Details about the booksignings may be found at the end of the article.
The success of Push Not the River prompted the president of St. Martin’s Press to ask for a sequel. Against a Crimson Sky picks up the story in 1794 with the surviving characters and carries it forward twenty years into the fascinating Napoleonic period. Pre-publishing reviews have been very positive. Publisher’s Weekly calls the new book an “entertaining sequel” and that readers “will find much to enjoy in this sprawling epic.” Kirkus Reviews states that “Polish history buffs will be riveted.” Martin asserts that the sequel stands alone and may be read without having read the first novel.
Push Not the River won the prestigious recommendation of BOOKSENSE, a consortium of 1200 independent booksellers, as well as a place on their annual list of most recommended books for book clubs. Against a Crimson Sky has also made the August 2006 BookSense list, one of only twenty chosen. Also, the Polish translation, Nie ponaglaj rzeki, was published by the largest book club in Poland, debuting there at # 5. The first printing sold out in a matter of months. The German translation performed very well, too.
The story revolves around seventeen-year-old Anna Maria Berezowska, who started her diary at the age of seventeen, when both her personal life and the political situation in Poland began to unravel. Martin, a longtime English teacher in Illinois, began work with the diary in 1976, balancing and integrating Anna’s very personal odyssey with the rise and fall of the ill-fated Constitution. Critics have cited the book as having the sweep of stories like Gone with the Wind and Doctor Zhivago. “But Anna’s story is true,” Martin is quick to point out. “It’s about a woman’s strong faith and survival. Her life is a kind of metaphor for Poland itself and its enduring spirit.”
The author’s long struggle to bring the novel to the public involved numerous agents, editors, and publishers who found value in the work, but who thought the potential audience too small. Martin persisted and self-published in 2001 to glowing reviews and enthusiastic word of mouth. Martin spoke at culture clubs and hired booths at Polish festivals. “I went to my core audience,” Martin explains. “The Polish community welcomed both me and the book with open arms. I’ve had people come up and thank me for informing them, in a fascinating way, about the Constitution and the struggle for democratic reform. It was the first democratic constitution in modern Europe. But it seems that Push Not the River was most successful in demonstrating the Polish spirit, one that triumphs despite setbacks, invasions, and the many attempts by other nations to wipe it from the map.”
The success of the self-published edition awakened St. Martin’s Press to the wide appeal of Anna Maria’s compelling story with its themes of love and revenge, patriotism and treason, strength and survival. They released a hardcover edition in 2003 and soft cover (with book club discussion questions) in 2004. They expect even greater success with the August release of Against a Crimson Sky.
Against a Crimson Sky booksignings:
Rochester, NY: Fri. & Sat. August 4th & 5th ; 6 p.m. to midnight; St. Stanislaus Polish Arts Festival 1150 Hudson. (at Norton)
Buffalo: Mon., August 7th; Barnes & Noble, Williamsville 2 p.m. (716-631-4755)
Mon., August 7th; Talking Leaves (on Elmwood) 7 p.m. (716-884-9524)
Tues., August 8th Barnes & Noble, Amherst 7 p.m. (716-837-7209)
Cleveland: Wed., August 9th: Joseph-Beth, Legacy Village 7 p.m. (216-691-7000)
Detroit: Thurs., August 10th; Borders, Birmingham 7 p.m. (248-203-0005)
Ann Arbor: Fri., August 11th ; Nicola’s 2513 Jackson Ave. 1-2 p.m. (734-662-0600)
Williamston, MI: Fri. August 11th; Tuesday Books 7 p.m. (517-655-9700)
Grand Rapids, MI: Sat., August 12th; Schuler Books on Alpine 12-1 p.m. ( 616-647-0999)
Chicago: Tues. Aug. 15th; Borders, Orland Park; 7:30 p.m. (708-460-7566)
Forest Park, Il: Sun. Aug. 20th , Centuries and Sleuths, 7419 W. Madison St. 2p.m. (708-771-
7243)
Downer’s Grove, Il: Sat. Aug 26th, Barnes & Noble, 1550 75th St. 1-3 p.m.
Oak Park, Il: Tues. Aug. 29th, Barbara’s Bookstore 1100 Lake St. 7:30 p.m. (708-848-9140)
Chicago: Taste of Polonia September 1, 2, & 3 (for info. Call 773-777-8898)
Chicago: September 8th & 9th ;Polish Genealogical Society of America Annual Conference
Chicago: Sun., Sept. 10th Heritage Club of Polish Americans 1:30 p.m. (773-763-5587)
Winnetka, Il: Sat. Sept. 16th, 11 a.m. Bookstall @ Chestnut Ct, 811 Elm (847-446-8880)
Milwaukee: September 26th ; Schwartz Bookseller, Mequon 7 p.m. (262-241-6220)
For more information, or to contact Mr. Martin, visit his website:
www.JamesCMartin.com .