Lessons and Journeys and Laughs! Oh My!
March 27, 2024 | For Immediate Release
Red Brick Road takes readers down the road not travelled as J. T. Maxwell of Clinton, Massachusetts, releases a smashing, laugh-out-loud debut.
Inspired by a high school viewing of The Wizard of Oz and the mysterious red bricks that curled away from the famous yellow brick road, Maxwell answers the question of their existence with the release of his hilarious 346 page debut novel, Red Brick Road.
Using the classic masterpiece as a backdrop to explore what love really means, Maxwell tosses the main character into Oz during an upstate New York blizzard in 2008. On this odd journey of self discovery, we encounter the traditional cast of characters first introduced by L. Frank Baum in 1900 and immortalized on the Hollywood screen in 1939, but in ways we have never seen them before. It's funny, it's vulgar, it’s trippy, it's a celebration of old tech and fresh ideas.
Together with his wife of twenty-three years, two sons, and a pair of cats, Maxwell makes his home an hour west of Boston where he has settled into a teaching career after fifteen years in finance and banking. The book is full of locations with personal relevance to Maxwell that will be familiar to many around the greater New York-New England area. Intelligent Easter eggs and hidden trivia has been planted for the reader to discover, as well as a sense of humour that jumps right off the page and slaps you in the face with hilarity.
It’s “Funny, heady, and a new take on what we knew about The Wizard of Oz. Definitely worth your time,” says New York Times Bestseller James Frey. “Maxwell flips (Oz) on its head and whacks it in the shins with a baseball bat,” adds MassLive Deputy Editor Jim Pignatiello.
Amy Bartelloni, author of Gen One, said Red Brick Road is her favourite read this year. “Such a fun, funny, original take on The Wizard of Oz that had me laughing out loud!”
Officially launching on Saturday, March 30 at the Sterling Street Brewery in Clinton, Mass followed by a book tour that will take Maxwell from Massachusetts to Vermont to Rhode Island, Red Brick Road is already making a powerful impression on readers. “A delightful adventure!” says Q. Keeley. “Such a fascinating take,” says Susan M.
Red Brick Road is whimsical, irreverent, and charming in the way of a Coen brother’s film with a healthy dose of rich intension and valuable lessons about being a good human in a broken world. The book is available in paperback from the publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere else good books are sold. Ebooks can be obtained through Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, and Nook.
Red Brick Road is going to be the most fun you’ve had with a book in a very long time.
Store owners and distributors are invited to register with Chicken House Press as a retailer of titles or to seek out the title on INGRAM to enjoy a wholesale discount on copies of the book.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-990336-68-3
Or anywhere else fine books are sold
