Todd & Jedd Hafer: Authors, humorists, speakers, omnivores.

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What's New with Hafer Bros? (Last updated: March 26, 2009)

Another BAD Award

"From Bad to Worse," our sequel to the novel "Bad Idea" was named one of the top 10 novels of the year by Christian Fiction Reviews. We are grateful to everyone at CFR for recognizing us. (And in case you haven't heard, "Bad Idea" was a Christy Awards finalist. The Christies are sort of like the Academy Awards for faith-based fiction -- without the over-produced dance numbers and ill-timed political polemics.

If you have trouble finding a copy of "From Bad to Worse," try the online sources like Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, etc. Barnes & Nobel was featuring the sequel for a while, but lately we haven't seen a lot of copies at retail. (If you are one of the retailers supporting us, thank you so much!)

Previous Updates

Good Times For Bad Idea (July 2007)

First, a big, bad thanks to everyone who has grabbed a copy of Bad Idea. The book is off to a good start, with more than half our sales in the general market. We rather expected this, but we hope Christian retail will give us a shot.

Even more than sales, though, we're grateful for the reader response. Please keep 'em coming.

Critical response has been good too. Here's a sampling:

"One of the best books I've read this year. I don't know if I read three consecutive pages without busting a gut. A fantastic read. I highly recommend it." -- Jamie Driggers, armchairinterviews.com

"Well-written, often amusing, but alwaysgripping." -- Harriet Klausner, Amazon.com No. 1 reviewer (also featured in Time magazine's "Most Influential Americans" issue)

"I would suggest this book to anyone." -- Samantha Copenharve, Charlotte Sun-Herald

". . . I especially enjoyed the hilarious mental riffs Griffin would take off on. I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to read this book. Once I started, I had no intention of cutting my trip short." -- Donna Shepherd, author and book reviewer

"Bad Idea is a coming-of-age story like no other I have ever read. Griffin, though, is what draws the reader in. He is not without flaws, but his down-to-earth and refreshingly pessimistic, yet hopeful view of life makes him a character you can relate to." -- Alyssa Perez, reviewer for Florida Today

"Bad Idea has all the earmarks of a great novel. Get and read this book." -- A Peek at My Bookshelf

And just when we thought the news couldn't get any better, we learned that Bad Idea was a finalist for the Christy Awards (in the Youth category). The Christies are like the Emmy Awards for faith-based books, so we are honored to be recognized as one of the top three books in the category.

Finally, if you think Bad Idea has a cool cover, you have good taste. Designed by the talented people at studiogearbox, the B.I. cover took a gold medal at a local, regional, and, ultimately, a national competition in New York.

Beyond Bad...

How do you follow up something like Bad Idea? We hope we have. We're excited to announce the next story in the "Bad" saga. From Bad to Worse grabs the steering wheel from its predecessor, as we find Griffin and his longtime crush, Amanda Mac, sharing a car -- and much more -- on a dangerous, confusing, and painful trip from Oregon back to the duo's home in Kansas City.

As with BI, the early buzz is good for From Bad . . .

Best-selling author Adam Palmer notes, "From Bad to Worse might as well have been called From Great to Awesome, as Todd and Jedd have outdone themselves this time. Specifically, the character of Griffin Smith is truly a brilliant creation: conflicted, complex, authentic, droll, self-aware, honest -- simply magnificent."

Another best-selling author, Melody Carlson (check out her TrueColors series), has this to say: "They've done it again. Courageously honest, this riveting tale is relevant to today's culture and a must read for teen guys . . . and girls who want to get into a guy's head."

Kristin Armstrong adds, "From Bad to Worse is relevant, poignant, and hilarious. I laughed my ass off. It is that funny. And it tugged at my heartstrings, as I could feel Griffin struggle with living a spiritual life in the natural world. This book is so good that I did not want the road trip to end."

(BTW, you gotta check out Kristin's new book, Strength for the Climb. Also, her blog on runnersworld.com is addictive, even if you're not a runner.)

Anyway, that's what's new with us, for now. We're working on a novel that's an insider's view into the world of stand-up comedy, but we don't have a publisher committed to us yet. We'll keep you posted.

Before we close, we want to keep our tradition of sending a few free books out. So, be one of the first seven (a nice biblical number) people to email us here at haferbros.com, and a free copy of From Bad to Worse will be on its big, bad way to you.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Old Updates:

October 7, 2006

A Bad Idea Is Born . . .

The latest Hafer Brothers novel is here. Bad Idea (a road-trip novel -- with coyotes) is our edgiest and riskiest project yet. (Substance abuse, self-harm, family strife, sexual temptation, and man-on-coyote violence -- it's all here.) We're excited, and more than a little apprehensive, to see what the reaction will be. Here's some early feedback . . .

"Exceptionally witty and insightful, the Hafer brothers are master storytellers. Bad Idea not only is a great read, it is also a refreshingly honest portrayal of authentic people struggling to make sense of faith in their world. This is a striking story that you won't want to miss." -- Danny Oertli, author and songwriter

"Wow! What a story! Written with aching reality and irreverent humor, this gut-wrenchingly honest novel takes the reader on an unforgettable road trip to the land of Growing Up and Getting Real. Big kudos to Todd and Jedd!" -- Melody Carlson, author of more than 100 books, including theTrueColors series

"I started reading Bad Idea out of curiosity. By page 3, I was hooked. When it comes to writing, the Brothers Hafer know what they're doing, exuding a confident command of style, tone and wit that had me eager to see what was on the next page, and the next, and the next. At long last, a modern novel that refreshes as it challenges. Here's hoping they get an even worse idea in the future." -- Adam Palmer, author of Mooch and Taming a Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons from Napoleon Dynamite.

We are extremely grateful for these encouraging words -- and for the good early reviews on Amazon and Christianbook.com.

Let us know what you think of the book. It's available on most of the on-line sites, and we've also found it at the Mardel chain, Family Christian stores, and independent Christian retailers who are part of the Parable Group. Next month, Wal-Mart will begin carrying it. It's really tough to get a book into Wal-Mart, so we're grateful to our publisher, Think/NavPress, for making this happen.

We have a couple of national TV possibilities related to this book. We'll let you know if they come to fruition -- or we end up getting bumped in favor of a guy who falls into a vat of chocolate or a woman who weaves pot-holders from the hair of her cat.

More news soon. Thanks for visiting our site!

Older site updates are being consolidated into a news archive page. Thanks for your patience.