FF&R Podcast + Pushcart Nomination

Shalla Magazine reprinted an older story of mine, FAKE FIRE AND RESCUE, on their site. They nominated me for a Pushcart Prize for it. They also recorded a podcast reading of the Shalla editor reading it: here. I had no idea. It was nice of them to do that. Though it's strange to hear someone else reading your words. It kind of made me feel like there was someone in the room watching me and I do not have any clothes on.

It is getting cold out.

Tonight I am going to see NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. I haven't been excited to see a movie in a while. Though it is my least favorite McCarthy book, it should be better than most of the garbage they put out on the screen these days.

Shivering indoors is not fun.

Ninth Letter & Phoebe news and links and so on

So last night I about shit my pants when Andrew Ervin from one of my favorite literary magazines Ninth Letter called on the phone to let me know that they wanted to take my story 'The Gown From Mother's Stomach' for publication in their Spring 08 issue. I've never had a phone call acceptance before, and 9L is an amazing journal, so I've been in pretty great spirits since then. To the point I couldn't sleep last night. Supposedly my story was one that was unanimously voted to go in, which rarely happens without contention in their meetings. Thanks to Andrew and Jodee and all others involved with that. I feel blessed.

Not to mention that as soon as I got home from where I was when I got the phone call, I had another acceptance letter from Phoebe saying they wanted to publish my story 'Seabed,' which is the longest story I've ever had accepted anywhere, right around 6000 words. I think before this I'd never published anything longer than 2000. Another awesome journal. Thanks to Ryan Call for digging my stuff enough to take it.

Anyway, enough gloating, but I'm pretty fucking stoked.

Other things:

Anais Nohant blogged about me, particularly my David Lynch story and my sex pervert list. Thanks to Anais.

I now have a job writing a blog about poker (for a small amount of money) that you can look at here: Allpokeraddicts.com. I get more money if the site has a lot of traffic. You should click on that link. You should come back everyday and click on that link seven or eight times an hour while you're at your desk at work. I'd love you a lot. Allpokeraddicts.com Allpokeraddicts.com

Now I'm going to go eat sugar and feel okay.

NANO fiction

a short-short i wrote recently will be in the second print issue of the new journal of very short writing NANO Fiction from the University of Houston. they are now featuring my piece on the web to promote the new issue. read it here: THE WAY THE RUIN CAME.

the piece is from a series of reportage from a pre/during/post apocalypse sort of event that i've been working on. i enjoy.

if you have some short pieces (they only take things that are 400 words or less) you should drop by and submit.

strangely, after i wrote a post here a week or two ago about how i never write pieces longer than 1500 words or so unless i'm working on a novel, in the past 9 days or so i've written 3 new stories all about 4000 words.

just bought the collected works of MICHAEL MARTONE this week also. i'd read bits and pieces of him but never a lot at once. i look forward to it.



also looking forward to many journals' submission periods reopening this month and next. i think i'm gonna go on another rampage.

what are some other people's dream acceptances, beyond the obvious clods of big daddy new yorker paristrope blahana?

monday night lit #6

i got contributor copies of the 6th issue of Monday Night Lit. it's a nice little independent mag and has work from pal Mike Young whose 'The Peaches are Cheap' I read immediately---dude can work the flash piece like nobody's business. you'll want to get a hand on this thing based on his page-and-a-half alone.

also in the mail today i got proofs of Jim Shepard's new collection 'Like You'd Understand, Anyway' and Steve Erickson's 'Zeroville'. two of my favorite writers. i can hardly decide which one i want to read first. i am excited to be excited about reading again.

i went on a submissions bender last week. sent out a slew of short stuff i had let sit for a long time. starting to get responses back to some of the stuff i sent out in the last slew i mailed. black warrior review took one of my lists as a nonfiction piece for this fall. very excited about that. and some nice new stuff forthcoming ;)

400 words

i have a very short nonfiction piece @ 400 words today.

it is nonfiction because it's true, right?

finished re-editing THE PUPILS OF AN INFLATED GIRAFFE. it was funny to rework on something i finished 3-4 years ago and haven't looked at since. almost like doing play-doh with someone else's work. i was happily surprised with things i'd forgotten about it. several parts needed work and it was fun to apply new brain to old brain output. i quite like what it is now. i am happy.

about to began new draft of INVISIBLE ERRORS. or maybe i'll chill on that and work on short stuff. very short stuff.

i got gary lutz's new book PARTIAL LIST OF PEOPLE TO BLEACH today in the mail. excitement.