Title: My Year As a Clown
Genre: Popular Fiction
Author: Robert Steven Williams
Publisher: Against the Grain Press (December 26, 2012)
Pages: 312
Language: English
ASIN: B00AHS0IUM

Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

With My Year as a Clown, Williams introduces us to Chuck Morgan, a new kind of male hero—imperfect and uncertain—fumbling his way forward in the aftermath of the abrupt collapse his 20-year marriage.

Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex.

Edited by Joy Johannessen (Alice Sebold, Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom), My Year As a Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.

Excerpt

An Excerpt of the book can be read here

Guest Post

I thought I’d discuss the sports aspect of My Year as a Clown.  Chuck Morgan is a die-hard Philly fan and he particularly loves his Eagles. The team shows promise of late (the book parallels the 2003 season), but so far, it’s never won a Super Bowl.

When I was writing the novel I was conscious of not wanting to turn away people (specifically women) who abhor sports. Recognizing that you can’t please everyone, nor should a writer try, I wanted to create that sense of how sports can affect a relationship when the man is obsessed and the woman is indifferent.

At the same time, I also wanted to use a guy’s commitment to a team, even when they are perennial losers, as a metaphor for loyalty.

Chuck’s wife doesn’t understand why he doesn’t simply change teams – she doesn’t know much about football, but she knows that the Eagles will lose.

Reflecting upon the collapse of his marriage, Chuck at first thinks it’s all her fault, it takes the year for him to start to see that he must assume some responsibility. As the author, I wanted to show that his football obsession caused problems, but I also wanted it to drive home an even more important theme: she’s what Chuck would call a ‘fair weather’ fan, that sort of fan can switch teams effortlessly, and at some point this hits home for Chuck and explains how she so cavalierly left him for another man after 20 years of marriage.

Chuck knew there were problems with the relationship, but it never crossed his mind to dump her for another woman – he was committed, just as he’s committed to supporting the Eagles despite never winning the Super Bowl.

I also use sports to explore the bond between brothers, sons and fathers too – it’s an excellent way to explore the emotional connections between men. When Chuck’s brother moves to Dallas and becomes a Cowboy fan, he might as well have joined the North, if he’d grownup in the South during the Civil War—sports creates that level of angst.

I recently got a note from a woman who had read the book who said that she almost put it down because the opening sequences reminded her of her honeymoon – her husband needed to catch the Final Four/March Madness and she wasn’t pleased. Lucky for both of us, she didn’t put the book down and after reading it she said she understood better where he husband was coming from and she realized that not all of this obsession was a bad thing. She thanked me for writing the book.

I couldn’t have asked for a better note. Literature should make you uncomfortable, not to the point of horror, but to the point of having an opportunity to learn about yourself from someone else’s story.

There are lots of funny bits in the book too – you know how avid sports fans are superstitious, believing that somehow what they do, say or wear can affect their favorite team. I had fun with that in My Year as a Clown because I created two-way Mojo, not only did Chuck believe that what he did could influence the outcome of an Eagle game, the Eagle’s on-field performance could affect his life.

The 2003 Eagle season starts off poorly, but soon turns and the team ends up in the NFC Championship game for the third consecutive year. The stakes could not be higher for the team, and the same can be said for Chuck who’s dealing with lawyers and the terms of a divorce, as well as confronting dating after 20 years of being with one woman–it all makes for an action-packed year for Chuck.

About the Author

Silver Medal Winner for Popular Fiction from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

With My Year as a Clown, Williams introduces us to Chuck Morgan, a new kind of male hero—imperfect and uncertain—fumbling his way forward in the aftermath of the abrupt collapse his 20-year marriage.

Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get lucky. But as his emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by the suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex.

Edited by Joy Johannessen (Alice Sebold, Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom), My Year As a Clown will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper and Tom Perrotta. Like others in that distinguished group, Robert Steven Williams delivers a painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.

His latest book is My Year As A Clown.

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