Mark Binder's Story A Week

I wrote “The Shaggy Dog's Tale” when I was collecting stories for THE BED TIME STORY BOOK. It didn't take long to write, but it takes a while to tell. It's the sort of story children enjoy, and parents… well, maybe you will and maybe you won't.

Scroll down to listen to the audio here, and download the story's text here. The audio is from the in-progress audiobook, so make sure you sign up for the newsletter to hear about it. You can buy the book and the ebook. 

Enjoy 
– Mark

April 1, Providence, RI

The afternoon skies went dark as an estimated 14,653 bats swarmed above the State Capital building in Providence, RI.

“At first it looked cool,” said Melford Glum, a tourist visiting the Ocean State from Shrieve, UT. “The kids were laughing and pointing. Then, when the bats started dive-bombing us, it felt like the Apocalypse.”

Read the whole story in Motif Magazine

Or, listen to the audio version below…

This is the first installment of a serial.

#audiobook #audiobookshort #serial #serialization #LifeDuringCovid #fatherandson #family #yoga #parenting #onlineschool #virtualschool 

Isaac, Adam, Helen, Charlie, Sean, Jésus and Rover had planned on coasting through their final semester at Ashby Bryson High. They called themselves Team Bomb Shelter, and their plan was simple, get stoned, play video games, get into college, and get the hell out of Groston.  

Instead, they get caught up in chaos.

The last straw is when Ashby Bryson High School is suddenly shut down, and they’re bussed to Fectville Regional, which sucks. 

But every time Team Bomb Shelter gets knocked down, they get up again, come together, and solve their problems. They throw the rules out the window and make up their own. 

THE GROSTON RULES is like a humorous buddy war movie, with high school as the battlefield. Everyone in Team Bomb Shelter has their own challenges, but by working together, they overcome and ultimately triumph. 

PREORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY TODAY

Advance Praise for THE GROSTON RULES: 

“A group of high schoolers deals with mishaps and disasters six months before graduation in this coming-of-age novel.... Immensely likable characters on an enthralling and entertaining journey.”
– Kirkus Reviews

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I had a dream that Julie Andrews was making a television show about my bagel story…
But I hadn't written one yet. So when I woke up…

#audiobook #audibookshort #roshhashanah #yomkippur #jewishholidays #bagel #bread #chelm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

At 3pm Central time, author, storyteller, playwright and craft publisher Mark Binder will perform the world's first Zoom eBook at Digital Book World. The whimsical autobiographical talk will spiral around the subject of "How technology and distribution spark creativity".

"It's going to be an informative and (hopefully) entertaining whirlwind," Mark explained. "Changing technology has always influenced my process: from my first Mac 512 and MacPaint through The Brothers Schlemiel and Cinderella Spinderella to forthcoming release of The Groston Rules."

For information and to register, visit https://www.digitalbookworld.com/

Every summer, Mark tells stories. This is the ONLY way you can hear him perform live. A 45 minute program the whole family will enjoy.

Includes a BONUS companion book

During a normal summer, Rhode Island storyteller Mark Binder would be out doing his usual shows at camps, summer schools and community centers. But this pandemic summer is different. 

So Binder has issued a collection of five original stories, recorded over the years in various venues. The ones where you can’t tell there’s an audience sound the most professional — but the ones with that “live” feeling have a wonderful charm, with children shouting answers and singing at key moments, prompted by Binder. 

The stories themselves are eclectic: a Cinderella who uses a wheelchair (glass slippers aren’t practical for dancing, after all, but they’re perfect if you’re sitting); a version of “Stone Soup” set at Valley Forge; and the true story of Binder’s son Max, who hated pizza. 

And then there’s the tall tale of Erika P. Spunk (the “p” stands for prudence, of which she had none), a circus performer with a sturdy and useful umbrella; and Binder’s cousin Adam, who survives a tsunami at Scarborough Beach with admirable style. 

It’s all a lot of fun. Binder is a masterful performer, his voice swooping and diving, his characters coming alive. 

And if you’d like to see and read them, purchasers of the book can email for a bonus 99-page e-book with the same stories; the “Cinderella Spinderella” tale is nicely illustrated by Steve Mardo. You can get both books at https://gum.co/summer2020

As it says in the introduction, a good friend asked me to write a humorous story about the coronavirus.
It's too soon. But… I remembered that I'd written this story a decade ago. 

Enjoy!

- Mark Binder

"The Feel-Good Book of the Season!" – Kate Nagle, GoLocalProv

"great fun and full of humour." – Facts and Fiction Magazine, UK

"The Wise Men of Chelm’ reimagined… Mark Binder’s “The Misadventures of Rabbi Kibbitz and Mrs. Chaipul” will almost certainly make you laugh – and might even cause you to shed a tear." – James Rosenberg, Jewish Rhode Island Newspaper

“Village stories that deftly lift a curtain on a world of friendly humor and touching details of Jewish life.” – Kirkus Reviews  

"The Lethal Latkes is not a murder mystery. It concerns some awful-tasting latkes (potato pancakes) and what you might call another Hanukkah miracle: love.”  – The New York Times