124. The Duffles

Live from Hudson, NY, it’s an author Q&A with Brian Shaefer and his debut novel Town & Country. 

Recorded in front of a live audience at Spark of Hudson, Mat moderates a conversation about character, plot, and the worlds of weekender and local coming together.  The story follows a congressional race set in a fictional town of Griffin, inspired by the Hudson Valley.

“Duffles” is Brian’s word for cidiots. One lesson which I really appreciated is the importance for all of us in a community, as Brian says, in just “showing up.”  We also play the Cidiot® Geography Game with instinctive reactions to a list of towns across the Hudson Valley. 

Be sure to get your copy at your local bookstore, via his author page, or through the Cidiot bookstore on Bookshop dot org.

Places Mentioned:

• Hill Rock Distillery, Ancram
• Rogers Book Barn, Hillsdale
• Hillsdale General Store, Hillsdale
• Books & Cake, Hillsdale
• Zinnia’s Dinette, Craryville
• Random Harvest Market, Craryville
• Spotty Dogs Books & Ale, Hudson
• Spark of Hudson, Hudson
• Rough Draft Bar & Books, Kingston
• Merritt Bookstore, Millbrook
• Harney & Sons, Millerton
• Phoenicia Diner, Phoenicia
• Cinnamon, Rhinebeck
• Diamond Mills Resort, Saugerties
• Camp Catskill, Tannersville

About Brian Shaefer:

Brian contributes regularly to The New York Times and has written for The New Yorker, New York magazine, and more. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Arts Journalism and was a finalist for the Livingston Award for International Reporting. He earned his master’s degree in creative writing from Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv. He and his husband live in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Town & Country is his first novel.

Early praise for Town & Country:

• “A big-hearted and true debut novel set in a small rural town amid a congressional race that forces the candidates, their families, and a clique of gay second homeowners to confront lies, betrayals and shifting allegiances. —Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Price winner
• “Rich in sex and social intrigue.” —The New York Times

Thanks for listening to Cidiot®, the award-winning podcast about moving to the Hudson Valley. Sign up for the newsletter at Cidiot.com and please rate and review the show here or in the Apple Podcasts store. Come visit.

• Photo credit: Stephen Mack
• This episode’s guest editor is Julian Blackmore.
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