After eight crazy years in the making, I'm happy to announce that my first novel, Jesus Swept, is now available for your reading enjoyment, at the wonderfully low price of twelve dollars at Amazon.com.
Part way through this journey, Street Prophets, another Daily Kos community, became a steadying force in my thinking, providing an opportunity for me to soften my rough edges and refine my ideas. Those early years here triggered a fundamental shift in my book, which may account for the Library Journal classifying Jesus Swept as Christian fiction. When I read that review, my jaw literally dropped.
Debut novelist Protzman offers a refreshingly different tale about a man who calls himself Jesus and leads a group of men who have taken the apostles' names as they sweep parking lots and anything else they can throughout the South. Jesus, or "Gary Gray," was abandoned as a baby at a church, where he was adopted by a troubled couple. Gary's mother made brooms as a craft, and after she and her husband die in a trailer fire, Gary inherits the brooms. Fresh prose and an offbeat style make this an appealing tale, although it is not traditional CBA fiction. Jesus Swept includes some rough language that may offend more conservative readers, but it might appeal to more adventurous patrons who enjoyed last year's Saving Erasmus by Steven Cleaver. Recommended for public libraries.
Well, that's one way to describe it. I simply never imagined my irreverent look at god might be embraced by the Christian Book Association. For my part, there's a simpler framing: Fun with words, fun with gender, fun with god. All backed by a philosophy of life you can put on a bumper sticker.
Here are some other early reviews:
From one of my favorite authors, James Morrow, who wrote Towing Jehova. "Chock-a-block with local color and cosmic lunacy, James Alexander Protzman's first novel is the opposite of a Chinese meal: the prose is lean and the style spare, but this tasty text continues to satisfy long after the last page is turned."
From Peggy Payne, who wrote Sister India and Revelation: James Protzman's Jesus Swept is a rare accomplishment: the satire is sharp as an Exacto blade, yet the characters become real and lovable. The voices are irreverent, yet the plot leads to sweet redemption. The eye is critical; the philosophy uplifting. This novel is funny and full of growing suspense, dry wit and wild imagination. What a combo! I highly recommend it.
From a woman in Colorado: Snapped me up and kept me tangled and entertained all the way through the last page. A satirical view of god, jesus, and his "disciples" in a trailer park wearing grimy jeans. They didn't just come down to earth but in the dirt with the rest of us. Silly, irreverent, spiritual, and wonderful ... I recommend it highly.
I'm giving copies of Jesus Swept away to established book groups and serious reviewers. If you have a book group or are in a position to publish a review, let me know. Best to reach me at jesusswept at aol dot come. My goal is to spread goodness and inspire hope, I am not in this to make money. Any profits I make will be donated to Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Thanks everyone, for keeping these Daily Kos communities alive and well. Just know that those of us who participate in fits and starts greatly value the strength, the wisdom, and the silliness we find here.
Peace,
James Protzman
Here's the link to my Amazon page.
UPDATE: Dang, I haven't had a diary recommended since I wrote "Fuck you, Mr. President" two Veteran's Days ago. Thanks everyone!