"Your
novel Mean Thoughts made it to what I call 'the
true semi-final round' of the competition for the 2002 Peter Taylor Prize
for the Novel. Out of 455 entries, less than a dozen made it as far as
yours. As a writer myself, I thought you should know this...My only regret
is that we are not able to publish every semi-finalist: the high quality
of the work that makes our semi-final round is simply overwhelming to
us. Every year we are surprised and perhaps a bit humbled by it. You are
surely a fine writer, and I can only hope your manuscript will find a
home. We believe it will. I most sincerely wish you all the best. Thank
you so much for sending us such a fine manuscript."
— Brian Griffin, Program Director, Peter Taylor
Prize for the Novel
"Enjoyed reading
Mean Thoughts with its rich sentences relating
Mark's self-awareness as he passes into maturity. I was given an honest
male perspective, a three-dimensionality, not the usual 2-D... As Mark
tells his story of where he came to the unfolding of his now, I revisited
my own experience of divorcing parents, 1970's pop culture, and struggles
with identity. As Sarah next door says, 'You can't write the script, but
you can write how you respond.' And I appreciated Mark's humor as it broke
the toughness of his account."
— Maria Nevelson, Sculptor, Philadelphia, PA
"I've read Mean
Thoughts twice now and I loved it both times. You're a keen
observer of human relationships, and you share your observations in a
way that makes the reader care about each of the characters. Mean
Thoughts nicely describes a relationship pretty much every
one of us has had with a man or woman who we knew was 'wrong' for us -
yet we couldn't stop ourselves from wanting them. More importantly, it
evokes the feelings such relationships stir."
— Anthony Noel, Journalist, Emmaus, PA
"I just finished
a great book...yours! It is superbly written and nearly impossible to
put down. I may be biased since I knew a lot of the characters in the
story, but I laughed out loud in reading about them. Even when I didn't
know the people (and some I'm glad I didn't), I still would stop reading
at some points to admire the word structure, descriptive detail, and storyline.
You have my permission to use this letter, and don't worry, I need no
more thanks than just knowing I contributed to making you an outrageous
success."
— Steve Gamburg, M.D., Berwyn, PA
"I enjoyed reading
Mean Thoughts.You have the ingredients for
a great Philly novel. I especially liked the chapters focusing on Mr.
Martin's restaurant. Every character was very real to me... Thanks for
letting me see it before its arrival at Border's or Barnes and Noble.
I owe you a dinner at Ralph's at the very least for a good read."
— Ken Sokolow, Former Columnist, Baltimore City
Paper, MD
Steve Oskie welcomes your comments and questions. He can be reached at steve@steveoskie.com