600 HOURS OF EDWARD

Book Description

Edward Stanton is a man hurtling headlong toward middle age. His mental illness has led him to be sequestered in his small house in a small city, where he keeps his distance from the outside world and the parents from whom he is largely estranged. For the most part, Edward sticks to things he can count on...and things he can count. But over the course of 25 days (or 600 hours, as Edward prefers to look at it) several events puncture the walls Edward has built around himself.

In the end, he faces a choice: Open his life to experience and deal with the joys and heartaches that come with it, or remain behind his closed door, a solitary soul.

A couple of months later, as Lancaster wound down his recuperation, a friend asked him to make a run at National Novel Writing Month, the annual 30-day dash in which writers are challenged to put down at least 50,000 words. It’s something Lancaster had attempted before but had never seen through.

“I was reluctant to do it again,” he says. “I was still in a bit of pain, and I didn’t really want to do anything that would lead to more disappointment.

“But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. If you have a traumatic injury and make it through, you can’t help but think about the things you’ve always wanted to do and haven’t, for whatever reason. So I took the chance.”

The results exceeded his expectations – and exceeded the requirements of the event known as NaNoWriMo. Lancaster wrote nearly 80,000 words in the first 24 days of November 2008, laying the foundation of what would become his debut novel, 600 HOURS OF EDWARD. The story centers on a middle-aged man, Edward Stanton, who has Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder and has settled into a life largely devoid of human contact. In 25 days one autumn – 600 hours – the world he has kept at bay crashes onto his front step and forces him to deal with the fallout.

Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana, released the book in October 2009, to critical acclaim. New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen hailed the book, saying, “Funny and quirky, Lancaster’s compulsively readable debut has a heart as big as the Montana sky.” Readers who have peeked into Edward’s meticulously kept world have fallen in love with the character and the changes that come – not just with him, but with the people around him.

For Lancaster, who lives in Billings, Montana, with his wife, Angie, and two rambunctious dachshunds, 600 HOURS OF EDWARD wrenched open a whole new world. The longtime journalist is hard at work on new fiction projects, all of them intensely character-driven. And all because a deer ruined a summer day’s ride.

“It sounds cliché, but it’s not: Crushing disappointment has a way of leading to things you didn’t expect,” Lancaster says. “It’s part of the human experience. I want to explore that as deeply as I can.”

Watch an interview with Craig Lancaster

Read Craig's Online Interviews:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2009/10/craig-lancaster-guests-part-1.html

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2009/10/craig-lancaster-guests-part-2.html

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2009/10/craig-lancaster-guests-part-3.html

http://www.forthesakeofjoy.com/600-hours-of-edward/

http://jimthomsen1.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/guest-blogger-craig-lancaster/

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Press Release

Novel’s hero is loveable loner

Montana author deftly describes mental illness in captivating
first novel

Montana author Craig Lancaster’s debut novel, “600 Hours of Edward,” is a funny, quirky, big-hearted tale about Edward Stanton, a solitary man with Asperger’s syndrome who is hurtling headlong toward middle age.

For most of his life, Edward’s mental illness led him to keep his distance from the outside world. But over the course of 25 days (or 600 hours, as obsessive-compulsive Edward prefers to keep track of it) several events puncture the walls Edward has built around himself. In the end, he must choose to open his life to experiences and deal with the joys and heartaches that come with it, or remain behind closed doors, a solitary soul.

The book has received high praise for its compelling narrative and its realistic portrayal of someone with Asperger’s, a high functioning form of autism.

Sue Hart, an authority on Montana literature and English professor at MSU-Billings (where Lancaster lives and where the novel is based), advised readers, “Set aside a weekend for this great read.” Gregg Olson, the New York Times bestselling author of “The Deep Dark,” said“Lancaster’s compulsively readable debut has a heart as big as the Montana sky,” and T.L. Hines, author of “Waking Lazarus,” favorably compared Lancaster’s story to the classic novel “Flowers for Algernon.”

Reviews

“Funny and quirky, Lancaster’s compulsively readable debut has a heart as big as the Montana sky.”
- Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep Dark

“With shades of Flowers for Algernon, author Craig Lancaster doesn’t just give life to Edward Stanton’s world; he gives life to the reader’s world.”
- T.L. Hines, author of Faces in the Fire and Waking Lazarus

“600 Hours of Edward has some laugh-out-loud moments, some tender moments, and an ending that will probably bring you to tears.”
- Sue Hart, PEN Award winner for syndicated fiction and 2007 WILLA Award winner

“Edward Stanton’s struggle to escape his self-imposed isolation makes for absorbing reading in this elegantly written debut novel.”
- Carol Buchanan, 2009 Spur Award winner for God’s Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes of Montana

The Bellingham Herald


The Lively Times


New West Magazine


San Jose Mercury News


Heidi Thomas, the review


Heidi Thomas, the interview


That Chick That Reads


One Book at a Time


Life with Aspergers


Coffee, Books & Laundry


Swan Range

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