Only rather than toss them away amid the dreaded “writer’s block,” he made them into an ebook. This reporter had the chance to catch up with Sutton this past Sunday afternoon. “As for my latest e-book,” he said, “‘The Bar of Soap: 31 City Stories,’ the inspiration for it is that I had all these stories I’d been working on for many years and thought it was time to publish as an e-book.”
Sutton who has written over 10 books decided after all the stressful routine of print, that he would publish in an ebook format instead. Last year he released “The Life and Death of Abraham Massry and Other Short Stories,” his very first ebook. It is based upon his experiences growing up. It has a familiarity that some readers might recognize in the likes of Neil Simon or maybe even a more serious Woody Allen. Yes, Woody Allen has a serious side, even in his comedy; check out “Radio Days.”
“One of the stories in the collection of this current ebook, (my favorite, by the way),” he said, “Is the story ‘The Bar of Soap,’ from which the collection is named. It’s about a homeless man in San Francisco who receives a bar of soap from his very wealthy father. That is the only thing that was willed to this homeless man after his father’s death.”
“The synopsis of the entire story collection is this, said Sutton, ‘The Bar of Soap: 31 City Stories’ covers a wide range of subjects—from homelessness, sex and sports to school and animal stories.
“Plus,” he said, “There’s a cruel mother-in-law story, a story about a man who saves Manhattan from a terrorist attack, a story about a man who survives two days in the ocean after his boat blows up, and even a story about all unknown writers being the equal of Hemingway, These stories are innovative and unusual, as well as stimulating and humorous.”
When I asked him if there was any particular ‘theme’ or meaning to the stories, Sutton replied. “I looked at all my stories and saw that the only theme running through them is that they take place in cities. The cities are San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Paris.”
And, just so he could completely clear out that drawer of stories long tucked-away he added: “There are four stories that don’t take place in any city but are a part of the 31 stories in the collection.”
When I asked if any of the short stories he had in that drawer were potential novels, Sutton stated simply. “All the stories were meant to be just stories; I never had a novel in mind while writing them.”
So far since its release this past September, “The Bar of Soap,” received a five-star rating from one reader who purchased the ebook through Amazon.com.
For more information about “The Bar of Soap: 31 City Stories” and other titles by San Francisco author Joseph Sutton visit his web site.
