Clumsy title for a late career epiphany. But it has taken me a dozen novels with big and small publishers to fully understand a simple…
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Black Dirt, Bright Stars.
Excerpt
Black Dirt, Bright Stars continues the saga of the Haugen family. The prequel, Power & Light, sets in motion the generational arc of a Norwegian immigrant family in the upper Midwest. The Haugens have come for their fair share of the American Dream. Underestimate them at your peril.
Reader’s tip: if you liked Sweet Land (film and story), these two novels are for you. And below, a closer look at book one, Power & Light. The two novels stand alone, but are best read in order.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/will-weaver/power-light-2/
https://thefriends.org/minnesota-book-awards/minnesota-book-awards-winners/
Praise for Black Dirt, Bright Stars
- "A marvelous work of art–deserves to be read and celebrated." Larry Watson, Montana, 1948 and Let It Go.
- "Weaver is an essential writer of pine to prairie literature." Nicole Helget, End of the Wild.
Reviews of other novels:
- "Weaver writes with both lyrical excitement and gritty power. "San Francisco Chronicle
- "Weaver's characters are rendered in the manner of Steinbeck's people... [with] compassion rarely found in today's literature." Chicago Sun-Times
- "Makes you feel good about the state of American fiction." Cleveland Plain Dealer
- "Views America's heartland with a candid but charitable eye..." The New Yorker
- "Weaver captures the flow of family cycles and lifestyles in a very American landscape." Publishers Weekly
- "Weaver not only knows these characters, he likes them...yet never allows his affinity to become sentimental." Library Journal
Praise for Black Dirt, Bright Stars
- "A marvelous work of art–deserves to be read and celebrated." Larry Watson, Montana, 1948 and Let It Go.
- "Weaver is an essential writer of pine to prairie literature." Nicole Helget, End of the Wild.
- "Weaver writes with both lyrical excitement and gritty power. "San Francisco Chronicle
- "Weaver's characters are rendered in the manner of Steinbeck's people... [with] compassion rarely found in today's literature." Chicago Sun-Times
- "Makes you feel good about the state of American fiction." Cleveland Plain Dealer
- "Views America's heartland with a candid but charitable eye..." The New Yorker
- "Weaver captures the flow of family cycles and lifestyles in a very American landscape." Publishers Weekly
- "Weaver not only knows these characters, he likes them...yet never allows his affinity to become sentimental." Library Journal
Books
My World. Real and imagined. In Writing
Saturday Night Dirt
It's a sizzling summer Saturday night, and Headwaters Speedway is the place to be. The first of the Motor Novel series, highlighted by Good Morning America as a "must-read."
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Power & Light
In 1906 an emigrant family from Norway arrives in the Midwest. The Haugens dream of owning land and "moving up in the world." Tragedy plus a crime against them by a powerful local man threatens to destroy the family.
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Memory Boy
The post-apocalyptic future is near, and the Newell family escape to the safety of their summer cabin to survive in the new world.
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Sweet Land
A collection of hand-picked stories that offer a vivid portrait of swirling, intergenerational changes in the Midwest.
Read moreIn the Write
If you write and like books, this blog's for you.
Power & Light (newspaper article)
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Writing Your Artist Statement
If you're applying for writing grants and prizes, you're often required to write an Artist Statement. It's usually accompanied by your Bio and and a…
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