Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Kaiping, China, to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the Western name “Ford,” thus confusing countless generations. Ford is an award-winning short-story writer, an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and a survivor of Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp.

His books include Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Songs of Willow Frost, and the new novel Love and Other Consolation Prizes.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. Ford's reply:

I just finished The Burning Women of Far Cry by Rick DeMarinis.

Darkly comic and masterfully written, this is one of those books that defies categorization. Like a richer, funnier, more textured version of Confederacy of Dunces, with a bit of Thomas McGuane and Tom Robbins thrown into the mix. It’s your classic, coming-of-age tale, like the journey of Holden Caufield, but in a warped, hilarious, blue-collar Twilight Zone.

I absolutely loved this book and am saddened that it’s been out of print for 30 years.

But, there is an Indiegogo campaign to give it new life.

Visit Jamie Ford's website.

--Marshal Zeringue