SALT LAKE CITY, UT February 26, 2013
Every so often a work that is so fresh and original that it hardly fits in a genre arrives in an editor’s inbox. An agent or a large publisher may not be able to place it but a small press like WiDo™ knows just what to do with it. Offer a contract and be thrilled when the writer says yes!
John von Daler’s manuscript was just such a work. His book, currently titled “Pieces,” is written like a suite in eight movements, thus the title; a book about music, with leitmotifs, repetitions, counterpoint, harmony and disharmony. It is also about the transposition of a life from the U.S.A. to Denmark. And about how to play music. As described by the author, “It is a series of self-portraits painted by someone who found it much easier to depict the surrounding world than to paint himself.”
Acquisitions editor Allie Maldonado has this to say about the book: “It is enchanting, carrying the reader along in a flow and movement that is very much like music. The writing is exquisite. We are honored that John von Daler chose WiDo as his publisher.”
When asked why he submitted to WiDo, von Daler said, “I Googled ‘good literature’ and ‘unsolicited submissions.’ When WiDo’s home page appeared I read this admirable statement of publishing intentions: ‘literary but not obtuse, realistic and thought-provoking without being graphic…’ Pretty irresistible thoughts, and at WiDo they were still reading submissions and not letting agents do the work. So I submitted.”
John von Daler was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Connecticut. He attended Princeton, where he studied creative writing under Philip Roth and majored in English, writing his senior thesis on symbolism in the works of Karen Blixen. After graduation, von Daler moved to Denmark, marrying a Dane he had met in Princeton. He taught at Copenhagen University and the University of Southern Denmark. After a decade of teaching, he worked as a freelance violinist in the Promenade Orchestra in Tivoli, later becoming conductor. He has worked in recording studios and theaters in Copenhagen, composing and arranging music and writing plays. He has toured throughout Europe as a soloist and recording artist. Now retired, von Daler spends his time writing, composing, translating and studying European history. See his website www.strings.dk
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