NEW BOOK FINISHED!

Hi folks,

A bit of news today… I finally finished a novella I’ve been working on for at least two years. I’m pretty sure my agent had given up on it (and me) months ago. I don’t believe in writer’s block—no, wait—I didn’t use to believe in writer’s block… but man!—this puppy has brought me to my knees. It’s based on the first short story I ever wrote and had published—Hard Times—which I wrote when I was 13 and which got a Pushcart Prize nomination and is included in my short story collection, Monday’s Meal. My agent, Svetlana Pironko, read it a long time ago and a few years ago told me it had haunted her ever since. She urged me to expand it into a novel, which I couldn’t quite do, but did manage to get it to novella length.

I had a good friend who I won’t name just yet, who’s just become head of a publishing company who’s been after me for a book—actually several books—and I was happy that Svetlana sent it to him yesterday. What’s really cool is that his company pays actual advances that are decent and their books end up on bookstore shelves and aren’t POD but actual books. I am trying to remain cool about this, but it’s hard.

And now, since I finally got through this book, I can begin writing three books I’ve put on hold that I’ve been itching to get to. This just feels like freedom!

Also, here’s some new reviews of Adrenaline Junkie. It’s been difficult getting reviews because I find myself at 76 fairly poor—SS and my online class are my only sources of income—which means I can’t afford to buy copies of my book and send them to folks for reviews and I suspect my friends are probably as poor as I am and can’t afford to buy a copy either, but thankfully, some have. I can’t begin to tell those people how much I appreciate it! Anyway, like the first ones, these folks seem to have liked it, too.

Alec Cizak

5.0 out of 5 starsThey Don't Make 'Em Like This Anymore

February 13, 2019

Format: Paperback

Reading Les Edgerton's Adrenaline Junkie is a lot like sitting in a bar listening to a guy tell you stories you refuse to believe are true (spoiler alert: The stories are true). His writing is straight-forward and wastes no time with filler. Frankly, he doesn't have the space to waste. Edgerton packs so much information into a single paragraph, it gets dizzying. The most valuable aspect of this book, however, is its demonstration of an unrestrained approach to life I fear is going to become a thing of the past as unbridled attempts at free living are deemed unacceptable. This is a document, a testimony to spending your brief life the way YOU want to, as opposed to the way the spineless masses would prefer.

Liam Sweeny

5.0 out of 5 starsLong Strange Trip

January 20, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition

I've been a longtime fan of Les Edgerton's. Now, if you've ever read any of his work, you probably love all that gritty-yet-approachable narration, that "life on the edge" grimoire that you have a hard time putting down. This book is like the Genesis chapter of the Bible of all his other works. This is the memoir of the marauder, and Les writes it in a way that isn't painting heroes and antiheroes. Is it a little sexy? Sure, but it's as glorious as the big score is right before the flashing red-and-blues smack you in the face from your rear-view mirror.

I was graciously given an advanced copy. Membership has privileges, folks.

Livius Nedin

5.0 out of 5 starsA terrific ride

January 20, 2019

Format: Paperback

Adrenaline Junkie feels like an open and honest look back at one's life. Les is an interesting guy with great stories to tell

Chloe

5.0 out of 5 starsHold your breath - this ain't your typical memoir!

February 21, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition

I'm a longtime fan of Les Edgerton's brilliant writing, and must say his pulp noir is so enthralling, when reading those I always felt I was riding shotgun alongside the characters, and long after completing said books, remembered lines and situations. Few authors can write with such depth, readers actually recall portions of the novels days/weeks/months after they've put down the book.

Adrenaline Junkie is not a tale, albeit reads like one. I put it on my Christmas list, and then caught a virus that took me out for a month until I finally felt like reading again. I've already Re-gifted my book to my sister, who grew up near Freeport, TX, and is the same age as Les. She will enjoy it as much as I did b/c we are southern ladies but we have Grit.

Unlike his amazing fiction (some based heavily on his life and some only lightly) Adrenaline Junkie pulled me in as I was curious about the real man writing such memorable and in-your-face books. If you've read The Rapist in which Edgerton takes readers into the mind of a psychopath, you wonder what influenced him. This memoir enlightened me on so many unanswered questions and there is nothing as refreshing to me as Edgerton's brutal honesty.

If you can't handle the good, bad, and ugly, surely you will appreciate the wit infused at necessary times to get you through this rather bizarre tale that shaped this author's unique life.

Ronald Hampton

5.0 out of 5 starsAn examination of ones life opens doors!

February 9, 2019

Format: Paperback

Les was a high school buddy of mine.
To read his life story left me stunned . Very few of us experience a calamity of deeds that Les reveals. Violent crime, a plethora of sex and romance. Then a simple act allows Les to redeem himself! Followed at the end by an uplifting revelation of who he really is and who was his real father!
Powerful reading!

Thanks, everyone! Your taking the time to write a review means the world to me.

Blue skies,

Les