Mary Miller (writer)
Mary Miller | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jackson, MS |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Texas |
| Genre | Coming-of-age |
| Notable works | The Last Days of California |
| Website | |
| maryumiller | |
Mary U. Miller is an American fiction writer. She is the author of a collection of short stories entitled Big World.[1] Her debut novel entitled The Last Days of California was published by Liveright.[1] It is the story of a fourteen-year-old girl on a family road trip from the South to California, led by her evangelical father.[2] By January 2014, Big World had sold 3,000 copies and Last Days of California had an initial print run of 25,000.[1]
Last Days of California was recommended by numerous newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times,[3] the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,[4] the New York Times,[5] and Oprah's Book Club.[6] New York Times book critic Laurie Muchnick described her book as a "terrific first novel."[7] Chicago Tribune critic Laura Pearson wrote that it had "vivid but unfussy prose, pitched perfectly to the attitudes and observations of a teenage girl adrift."[8] Wall Street Journal critic Sam Sacks gave the book a mixed review, finding disappointment in that Miller's insight into characters did not extend to the subject of religious belief.[9] Critic Josh Cook in the Star Tribune gave the book a mixed review, saying it had "plenty here" but that some scenes felt "amiss".[10] Miller is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas.[11] In 2014 she is the John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence at Ole Miss.
Miller described the challenge of writing:
A story works when there's momentum, life behind the words. Some stories have this and others don't, and it's difficult to say why this is. If all stories 'worked,' though, writing wouldn't be much of a challenge; it wouldn't be art.
— Mary Miller, 2014[12]
Publications
References
- ^ a b c d Julie Buntin (Jan 17, 2014). "A Debut Novel's Long Road to Publication: Mary Miller". Publishers' Weekly. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...Liveright, the W.W. Norton imprint,... To date, Big World has sold around 3,000 copies. Liveright, on the other hand, is doing an announced a first print run of 25,000 copies for The Last Days of California, ...
- ^ "The Last Days Of California by MARY MILLER". NPR. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...Fourteen-year-old Jess' beliefs falter when her evangelical father packs up the family, ...
- ^ CAROLYN KELLOGG (April 17, 2014). "Jackie Kerouac? 12 women's road books". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...Here are 12 road trip stories written by women, starring women, both fictional and real....family driving from the South to California...
- ^ "Mary Miller & Sarah Cornwell". Journal Sentinel (Austin, Texas). Jan 23, 2014. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...Mary Miller's Last Days of California is one of our favorite new books of 2013. ...
- ^ "THE LAST DAYS OF CALIFORNIA, by Mary Miller. (Liveright, $24.95.) A teenage girl and her family travel cross-country in preparation for the Rapture in this terrific first novel". New York Times Sunday Book Review. Feb 7, 2014. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...A teenage girl and her family travel cross-country in preparation for the Rapture in this terrific first novel....
- ^ "14 BOOKS TO PICK UP THIS FEBRUARY: A glowing tribute to George Eliot, a rich debut novel and more of this month's riveting new releases". Oprah Magazine. 2014. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
....The Last Days of California ... By Mary Miller....evangelist family of four embarks on a cross-country road trip in anticipation of the Rapture
- ^ LAURIE MUCHNICK (Jan 31, 2014). "Are We There Yet?: Mary Miller's 'Last Days of California'". The New York Times. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...Mary Miller's terrific first novel, "The Last Days of California," ...Miller crawls so deep into Jess's skin her own voice almost disappears.
- ^ a b Laura Pearson (February 14, 2014). "Review: 'The Last Days of California' by Mary Miller: For Jess Metcalf, protagonist of 'The Last Days of California,' a funny thing happens on the way to the rapture". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...vivid but unfussy prose, pitched perfectly to the attitudes and observations of a teenage girl adrift, ...
- ^ Sam Sacks (book reviewer) (Jan 24, 2014). "Fiction Chronicle: Twisted Folktale: Sam Sacks reviews Magdalena Zyzak's "The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel" and Mary Miller's "The Last Days of California."". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...Yet the disappointment of "The Last Days of California" is that Ms. Miller refuses to extend this level of insight to the subject of religious belief. ...
- ^ JOSH COOK (February 1, 2014). "Review: 'The Last Days of California,' by Mary Miller". Star Tribune. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
...There's plenty here: family secrets, sexual firsts, teen pregnancy. But more than a few scenes feel amiss, with Miller skirting the tensions....
- ^ David Plick, March 2014, Down & Out Magazine, The Last Days of Texas: An Interview with Mary Miller, Retrieved Sept. 21, 2014
- ^ ANNALISA QUINN (Jan 23, 2014). "Book News: Maker Of 3-D Printed Guns Has A Book Deal". NPR. Retrieved Sep 12, 2014.
..."A story works when there's momentum, life behind the words. Some stories have this and others don't, and it's difficult to say why this is. If all stories 'worked,' though, writing wouldn't be much of a challenge; it wouldn't be art."...
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