Book Synopsis

"A riotous exploration of ambition, passion and greed." -Christopher Smith, theater critic, The Orange County Register

"A raucous satire of our times that is also an affecting study of family bonds and an acerbic tribute to the flawed, glorious, once-mighty dinosaur that was daily journalism." -Ana Menendez, critically acclaimed author of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd and The Apartment

Mud Season tells the story of Woody Hackworth, a disgraced newspaper reporter and wannabe novelist. Resentful, bored, and looking for a way to get back at his ex-employer, Woody makes a fateful decision: to write an environmental thriller and post chapters online as he goes.

His novel-in-progress gains traction in the gossipy snow-belt city of Icarus, New York, but not for reasons Woody wanted. His readers believe Woody is using his fiction to expose his in-laws and their successful family-owned construction business.

With each new post, Woody's domestic discord grows, but how can he stop now? He's almost famous.

Mud Season merrily wallows in the classic conflict between ambition and family, digs into the murky perils of online notoriety, and slings a comic-tragic elegy to the daily newspaper.

Review Quotes

"A riotous exploration of ambition, passion and greed, carried by concrete mixers and run through car washes, always with a keen eye on contemporary American folly." -Christopher Smith, theater critic, The Orange County Register

"This hilarious novel within a novel showcases all the wit and brilliance long-time fans will remember from Jeff Kramer's humor columns. From the halls of publishing to small-town entrepreneurship, no one emerges unscathed, not even Woody, the bumbling but well-meaning hero of his own purple prose. A raucous satire of our times that is also an affecting study of family bonds and an acerbic tribute to the flawed, glorious, once-mighty dinosaur that was daily journalism." -Ana Menendez, critically acclaimed author of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd and The Apartment, winner of the Pushcart Prize for short-story writing, award-winning Miami Herald columnist, and creative writing professor