Rain Taxi review

In its spring online edition, Rain Taxi raved about Las Vegan Alissa Nutting’s Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls. In its summer print edition, it turned its attention to My Week at the Blue Angel. Unfortunately, the print edition isn’t available online, but here’s a blurb:

“Though [Hunter S.] Thompson wrote about real events under the moniker of fiction, O’Brien’s book invokes the fictional aspects of narrative by representing reality in a mystified way. In this way, My Week at the Blue Angel offers itself up to infinite interpretation. One can read his stories as brutally honest portrayals of lost souls or as an allegory about what happens to a human (and humanity) when it is subsumed into an unfeeling capitalist machine, replete with poker chips, show girls, bright lights, and plenty of sewage.”

To read the review, which is a full page, pick up a hard copy of Rain Taxi. For more info, visit www.raintaxi.com.

A ‘Human’ touch

A quick thanks to the folks at “Human Experience,” the Monday night poetry, art and music event at the Beat coffee shop. In May and June, they held a donation drive for Shine a Light and collected a box full of socks, batteries, flashlights, canned goods and other items. I’ll be giving out the items to people in the tunnels over the next few months.

For more info on “Human Experience,” visit www.lasvegaspoets.org and click on the “Monday” tab.

Decatur Book Fest

A quick heads up: I’ll be participating in the Decatur (Ga.) Book Festival (www.decaturbookfestival.com) this year. The festival takes place from Sept. 2-4, Labor Day Weekend, on and around the Decatur Square. Not yet sure of the exact date of my panel discussion and book signing, but I’ll most likely be talking about authors and activism (i.e., my books and community project Shine a Light).

Really looking forward to coming home and catching up with everyone. I’ll keep you updated on the details.

Fundraising project

If you’re interested in helping the people who live in the underground flood channels of Las Vegas, here’s an opportunity to do it. The NPR show “State of the Re:Union” visits Vegas in its second season, which kicks off in the next month or two, and is raising money for my community project Shine a Light.

For more information on Shine a Light, “State of the Re:Union” and the fundraising project, visit http://02af589.netsolstores.com/lasvegas.aspx.

Book signing follow-up

Good turnout at the book signing yesterday. Thanks to everyone who dropped by: fellow Huntington Press authors Bill Branon, Cathy Scott and Al Mancini; author JJ Wylie; photographer Bill Hughes; curator and historian Brian Paco Alvarez; advocate for the homeless Linda Lera-Randle El; film director Delaney Dragon; and others.

I don’t have any other public signings scheduled. So if you want a signed copy of Beneath the Neon or My Week at the Blue Angel, visit the Beat coffeehouse downtown, the Borders at Town Square, Barnes & Noble on Maryland Parkway (just north of Flamingo) or the B&N near Summerlin (which, post-signing, had one copy of Beneath the Neon left). These businesses, last I checked, had signed copies in stock.

Thanks to everyone who’s supported My Week at the Blue Angel. Looks like it’s headed to a second printing!