(Working on) Waiting for the Train, Part One

After nearly three decades of on and off again preparation, we are ready to finally tackle the behemoth that is John MacDonald’s journal.  His son, Robert (Bob) MacDonald, tried and failed several times to get the journal published. His efforts to put the journal into a publication-ready state were incomplete and faltering, despite years of work.  The reasons become quickly evident – John’s writing is difficult to decipher and contains run on paragraphs, mangled grammar,…

Short Book Review: Senlin Ascends

Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft, was a novel I picked up on a whim and took me quite by surprise in its excellence. The author has a florid, flowing writing style that serves as a perfect match for both the Victorian-Steampunk setting and the main character’s academic nature. This selfsame protagonist, Thomas Senlin, was indeed the primary reason for my enjoyment of the book. He is a bookish, quiet man whom I found it remarkably…

Introducing “Waiting for the Train”

John MacDonald rode the rails during the worst years of the Great Depression. In his journal, Waiting for the Train, he combines the grittiness of Studs Terkel with the romanticism of Woody Guthrie. Warner House Press will publish the journal for the first time later this year. In the meantime, follow us here on Facebook and on Twitter at @warnerhouseprss for some great excerpts.