Bloom: A Novel

03/29/2026

Here's a review from Peter Okonkwo of P.English Literature (the guy who interviewed me). He gave me FIVE STARS on Goodreads!

The first thing Michael Bloom’s dead cousin Ronnie gives him is a mirror. Ronnie died alone in his apartment, undiscovered for days, pants around his ankles, his body adhered to the upholster…

02/25/2026

Here's a video my promoter made to be posted throughout social media. I think she did a great job!

12/04/2025

The P.English Literature interview is live!

Curtis Andrew Burton was born in Washington, DC in 1962. He returned to the DC area in 1987 after growing up in Seattle, Washington and Newtonville, Massachu...

11/13/2025

PRIZE ALERT!! Just received word that BLOOM is the 1st Runner-Up (Finalist) for the American Book Fest Best Book Award for LGBTQ+ Fiction! https://www.americanbookfest.com/2025bbafullresults.html
The congratulatory email doesn't say if I actually won anything, but I'll accept the honor regardless. I entered a bunch of contests a few months ago, so seeing as it's near the end of the year there may be more to come. Stay tuned!

AMERICAN BOOK FEST covers books from all sections of the publishing industry—mainstream, independent, & self-published.

11/06/2025

FANTASTIC review from BookLife in connection with Publishers Weekly! Online now (scroll down to the middle of the page https://booklife.com/booklife-reviews/1 . In print 12/8/25. This is a real breakthrough - I hope it leads to other good things!!

Devereaux’s mordantly titled autofiction debut is a witty, sharply observed time capsule of the go-go Wall Street of the 1980s. As a female bond trader in a testosterone-fueled brokerage, Kelly feels sidelined, barred from working on the high-powered New York desk, which generates 80% of the busin...

09/05/2025

And I just got a sales report from Ingram: I sold TWO copies last month and made $6.68! I'M RICH!!

09/05/2025

Kirkus said: "Absurd humor overpowers tenderness in a playful but chaotic novel." Coming at the end of a not-really-bad review, it pretty much torpedoes what came before it. But I don't necessarily know if that's not the reaction I was going for. Yes, it has its tender moments, but I didn't want it to be ALL tenderness. Tenderness is boring. Tenderness doesn't shake people up! I think what disappoints me most is that they see it as a "coming-out" novel, which I don't think it is. I've already written a coming-out novel, I didn't want to do another one. But I guess with this book I can't make people see what I was trying to say. One thing I'm saying is that life IS absurd. What does absurd mean? "Contrary to all reason or common sense; laughably foolish." Well, I want people to laugh when they read this book, not just make them feel all warm and cuddly inside. 'Warm and cuddly' is not moving. So, in a way, the reviewer did get it, they just didn't put it in a positive way. There are things in the review I can use with ellipses - "A playful but chaotic novel" could be one, for that matter.

Part of my problem, I guess, is that I don't have an audience focus. Well, like Stephen King, I wrote the story for ME, not an audience; if the reader likes what I have to say, that's terrific. But I didn't want to be 'normal;' normal, to me, is not creative. And you have to figure, somebody like Samuel Beckett, who had plenty of detractors, wasn't going for 'normal' when he wrote WAITING FOR GODOT. (Not that I'm comparing myself with Beckett.) So - what next? I will have to go out and sell it, do readings and signings and hope people listen. But I'm already working on the next one, so it won't be long before I have to let this one go. But what a year it's been!

08/20/2025

Tried to move forward with availability this p.m. Opened an account with Barnes & Noble and tried to publish the paperback but, once again, there's a problem with the cover. So back to the designer in London, whom I won't hear from until tomorrow. At least I got the Nook published. Then I tried to create a ePub at Ingram to go with the paperback, but there's a problem with the file; that'll have to wait until tomorrow, too. So kind of a wash today, which I took off because I had a bad reaction to some meds I'm taking. Somehow I think this is all going to come together next month, worth the effort I'm putting into it. God, I hope so...

08/09/2025

Very interesting: the AI overview of BLOOM based on the reviews it's received changes every day. Today:

"Customers find this book entertaining and engaging, with a romantic comedy plot that balances drama and humor. Moreover, the characters are incredibly relatable, and the narrative is raw and complex, defying easy categorization. Additionally, customers appreciate the book's approach to themes of self-acceptance and body image."

And with green-up arrows next to them:
- Enjoyment
- Story quality
- Humor
- Character depth
- Pacing
- Complexity
- Self-esteem
- Surprise

Now who wouldn't want to read a book that has all of that? Honestly...

08/04/2025

Yours Truly is pleased to announce that I have entered BLOOM in the annual contests of the following organizations, in the categories of Fiction and/or LGBTQ+ Fiction, in one case both:

Chanticleer (Somerset Award for Contemporary Fiction)
Independent Author Network
American Book Fest
Next Generation Indie Books
American Writers Association
Literary Global Book Awards
and
The Pulitzer Prize
(There may be one more; if I win it'll be a surprise)

Now, I have NO IDEA how well I'm going to do in these contests. That's because I remain defiantly ignorant of my competition. I could have already lost. But I think BLOOM is different enough to get a judge's attention. If anything else, it's very well written, and uses its share of big words you have to look up (I'm thinking of the lo******ng line before the hammock scene). And "The Kiss" paragraph at the end is a killer (one of my reviewers said it took her breath away); a quick dose of magical realism never hurt anybody. This is where I would totally lose the literal-minded: that could never possibly happen. But this is a novel: every story, even western or military, has an element of fantasy/imagination to them. That's why they're novels. That paragraph is the best thing I've ever written, and could be the last "great" thing I'll ever write. I think it hits it out of the park. And who cares if it has a ho******ic element? It's two people expressing their love for each other. Isn't that a beautiful thing to see? [If you want to know what the hell I'm talking about, go get the book! And read it!]

I won't know if I've won any of these awards until later this year or early next; the Pulitzers aren't until next spring. Any and all good vibes are heartily accepted!