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Bell Hammers

The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt

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Pub Date 12 Oct 2020 | Archive Date 14 May 2020

Lancelot Schaubert | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles


Talking about this book? Use #BellHammers #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

PRANKS. OIL. PROTEST. JOKES BETWEEN NEWLYWEDS.

AND ONE HILARIOUS SIEGE OF A MAJOR CORPORATION.

Remmy grows up with Beth in Bellhammer, Illinois as oil and coal companies rob the land of everything that made it paradise. Under his Grandad, he learns how to properly prank his neighbors, friends, and foes. Beth tries to fix Remmy by taking him to church. Under his Daddy, Remmy starts the Bell Hammer Construction Company, which depends on contracts from Texaco Oil. And Beth argues with him about how to build a better business. Together, Remmy and Beth start to build a great neighborhood of "merry men" carpenters: a paradise of s’mores, porch furniture, newborn babies, and summer trips to Branson where their boys pop the tops of off the neighborhood’s two hundred soda bottles. Their witty banter builds a kind of castle among a growing nostalgia.

Then one of Jim Johnstone’s faulty Texaco oil derricks falls down on their house and poisons their neighborhood's well.

Poisoned wells escalate to torched dog houses. Torched dog houses escalate to stolen carpentry tools and cancelled contracts. Cancelled contracts escalate to eminent domain. Sick of the attacks from Texaco Oil on his neighborhood, Remmy assembles his merry men:

"We need the world's greatest prank. One grand glorious jest that'll bloody the nose of that tyrant. Besides, pranks and jokes don't got no consequences, right?

Publisher Note: Everyone who downloads the book will be entered for a chance to win a signed hardback of BELL HAMMERS sealed in red wax bearing the signet monogram of the author.

PRANKS. OIL. PROTEST. JOKES BETWEEN NEWLYWEDS.

AND ONE HILARIOUS SIEGE OF A MAJOR CORPORATION.

Remmy grows up with Beth in Bellhammer, Illinois as oil and coal companies rob the land of everything that...


A Note From the Publisher
In the "Listen to an Audio Excerpt" section, please enjoy the live reading from Lancelot at a New York City music venue. Full audiobook now in production: we will update as soon as a clip becomes available.

In the "Listen to an Audio Excerpt" section, please enjoy the live reading from Lancelot at a New York City music venue. Full audiobook now in production: we will update as soon as a clip becomes...


Advance Praise

:: PRAISE FOR LANCELOT SCHAUBERT AND BELL HAMMERS ::

“BELL HAMMERS is written in a style not unworthy of John Ken- nedy Toole and William Faulkner – the vivid characterization of Southern ethnography commingled with stark, episodic spectacle breathes with the spirit of quintessential Americana. It is a text I would happily assign in an American Novel class and would expect it to yield satisfying discourse alongside works in the canon, whether beside the sardonic prose of Mark Twain or the energetically painful narratives of Toni Morrison.”
— Dr. Anthony Cirilla

“BELL HAMMERS is the kind of story that makes you a better person and stays with you long after you put it down.”
— F.C. Shultz, author of The Rose Weapon

“Loved BELL HAMMERS because Lancelot wrote about people who don’t get written about enough and he did it with humor, compas- sion, and heart.”
— Brian Slatterly, author of Lost Everything and editor of The New Haven Review

“Schaubert’s words have an immediacy, a potency, an intimacy that grab the reader by the collar and say, ‘Listen, this is important!’ Prob- ing the bones and gristle of humanity, Lancelot’s subjects challenge, but also offer insights into redemption if only we will stop and pay attention.”
— Erika Robuck, national bestselling author of Hemingway’s Girl

“Myth, regret, the lore of our heritage and the subtle displays of our castes — no one so accurately and imaginatively captures the joys and sorrows of life in the Midwest as Schaubert does here. BELL HAMMERS is a Tree Grows in Brooklyn as told by Gabriel Garcia Marquez if Marquez lived in rural Illinois and only told stories to his grandkids. Seriously a delight to read.”
— Colby Williams, author of the Axiom Gold Medal winning book Small Town, Big Money

“I’m such a fan of Lancelot Schaubert’s work. His unique view and his life-wisdom enriches all he does. We’re lucky to count him among our contributors.”
— Therese Walsh, author of The Moon Sisters and Editorial Director of Writer Unboxed

“Lancelot Schaubert writes with conviction but without the cliché and bluster of the propaganda that is so common in this age of blogs and tweets. Here is a real practitioner of the craft who has the patience to pay attention. May his tribe increase!”
— Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove, author of Common Prayer and The Awakening of Hope

“Lancelot’s attentive, thoughtful, a bit quirky, and innovative. He continues to impress me. He ‘sees,’ and BELL HAMMERS is full of details that enable his audience to see. Bravo, Lance.”
— Jackina Stark, author of Things Worth Remembering and Tender Grace

“Schaubert’s narratives are emotionally stirring with both a vulnerable sensibility and rawness to them. BELL HAMMERS will take you on a journey full of open wounds, intimate successes and personal delights. Lancelot’s words have a calmness, a natural ease but the meaning is always commanding and dynamic.”
— Natalie Gee, Brooklyn Film Festival

:: PRAISE FOR LANCELOT SCHAUBERT AND BELL HAMMERS ::

“BELL HAMMERS is written in a style not unworthy of John Ken- nedy Toole and William Faulkner – the vivid characterization of Southern ethnography...


Marketing Plan

1. We're going to be doing live readings all over the New York City GMA at libraries, schools, bookstores, and dive bars
2. There's a giveaway running all year at Voracious readers.
3. There will be several Goodreads giveaways.
4. Viral marketing campaign with street artists.
5. Whoopie cushion giveaway to go with the theme of pranks.
6. Reaching out to radio hosts and local papers in Southern Illinois, SEMO, Southern Indiana, and western Kentucky + Tenessee
7. Netgalley 6 months + Voravious Readers 1 year
8. Book Bub placements
9. International book tour next year.
10. Blog tour this year to 300+ blogs
11. Several live streaming + podcast interviews
12. Political trolling of large companies involved in the crimes in the book.

1. We're going to be doing live readings all over the New York City GMA at libraries, schools, bookstores, and dive bars
2. There's a giveaway running all year at Voracious readers.
3. There will be...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781949547023
PRICE US$27.00 (USD)

Average rating from 54 members


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