A couple of years ago, I posted a list of great Irish writers — or, at least, ones I’ve read and liked — in celebration of St. Patrick’s day. This year, I have a new favorite Irish writer, and she’s going to get the post all to herself: the fabulous Ethel Rohan. So far, I’ve onlyContinue reading “Happy Irish Writers Day!”
Category Archives: fiction
New publication
This is technically a day early — the issue officially goes live tomorrow — but according to my Google alerts emails, the page is active and already getting traffic, so screw it: I have a new story online! I’m really excited about it. So sue me. As I mentioned a few days ago, this isContinue reading “New publication”
A Writer’s Notebook: not really a notebook, just a passed note in class
Maybe you’re young enough that every note you’ve ever passed in class was in the form of a text message. But not me. I remember when all passed notes were on intricately folded sheets of notebook paper, often torn out of spirals, and handed cupped palm to cupped palm below desk-level or handed off inContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: not really a notebook, just a passed note in class”
A Writer’s Notebook: Texas and a chapbook introduction
I just spent all morning working on a chapbook I can’t submit because I misread the guidelines — the press was asking for more than half the stories be unpublished. My chapbook contains mostly published stories. I’m a victim of my own success, I guess? Anyway, I was just beginning to revise the introduction forContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Texas and a chapbook introduction”
Jersey Devil Press announces its first-ever novella contest
Heads up, writers and readers: Jersey Devil Press, the magazine I work for, is announcing its first-ever novella contest. Which is awesome for two reasons: 1) Even though novellas seem to be coming back into vogue and lots of publishers are dabbling in contests of one sort of another, they still don’t get the attentionContinue reading “Jersey Devil Press announces its first-ever novella contest”
A Writer’s Notebook: travel fiction
This isn’t all new writing, but some of it is. This is, though, a response to an exercise, which I’ll explain below. When Name was a child, his mother would tell him stories while his father and and older brother worked and the infant children slept. Some of the stories were local tales of theContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: travel fiction”
A Writer’s Notebook: story opening from an old notebook (Retro #3)
It’s been busy this week, what with the website relaunch and all. So I’m back to old notebooks (ridiculous misspellings and all). When Samson — for he only went by his stage name now — heard from the hospital staff that all the vomiting and bloody diariah was from a rupture ulcer, that his pallor and frailtyContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: story opening from an old notebook (Retro #3)”
A Writer’s Notebook: newspaper/object story
This is the beginning of something, but where it goes, I don’t yet know: When I was in college I bought pot from a guy who kept turtles in a kiddie pool on his sun porch. I forget how many altogether, but he had at least a dozen in there. All kinds, too — aContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: newspaper/object story”
11-11: Russian fiction review (Vladimir Nabokov)
I suppose that if one is going to read Nabokov for the first time — as I have with this book — one ought to start with Lolita. Because, well, why wouldn’t you? But Lolita — the character, at least — has become such a part of our cultural consciousness that I fear any readingContinue reading “11-11: Russian fiction review (Vladimir Nabokov)”
11-11: World fiction review (Orhan Pamuk)
Part murder mystery, part historical novel, part spiritual meditation, part political intrigue, part love story, part philosophical treatise, part artistic rumination, part narrative experiment. . . . Orhan Pakmuk‘s My Name is Red, the English translation of which helped him secure a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature (he won in 2006), is many, manyContinue reading “11-11: World fiction review (Orhan Pamuk)”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 