Category Archives: writing

Sewanee 2015

Folks who pay attention to my Facebook page or my Twitter account might remember that a couple of months ago, I announced I had been accepted to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference in Tennessee. I’ve been hyperventilating over my good fortune since then, excited about the opportunity to work with and learn from amazing writers, toContinue reading “Sewanee 2015”

Ellen Urbani’s novel Landfall and your book club

Awhile back, I had the privilege of getting an early peek at Ellen Urbani’s much-anticipated forthcoming novel, Landfall. Set in the midst of Hurricane Katrina, the novel is not so much about the storm but about the maelstrom of our human lives and, specifically, the sudden collision of two pairs of women, mothers and daughters,Continue reading “Ellen Urbani’s novel Landfall and your book club”

Lidia Yuknavitch launches tshirts, and also her new novel, The Small Backs of Children

Last night, at Powell’s City of Books, the people of Portland, OR experienced magic. When I say the people of Portland, I don’t literally mean the whole city, but I very nearly mean it. For those not in the know, Powell’s famously takes up an entire city block, and last night, our literary crowd climbed to theContinue reading “Lidia Yuknavitch launches tshirts, and also her new novel, The Small Backs of Children”

Ryan Werner goes Soft

Gang, if you want to read something truly innovative, check out Ryan Werner’s “shattered novella” Soft. “Shattered novella” is what Ryan’s calling it, but really, it’s hard to know what to call this thing other than art. It is a novella, in the sense that it’s a unified narrative spanning a long period and coveringContinue reading “Ryan Werner goes Soft”

Hagridden cut through Kindle like a Bowie knife

You all are amazing! Last week, my publisher offered Hagridden for free on Kindle, and in those few weekdays, more than 500 of you grabbed a digital copy of my book! That sudden momentum rocketed Hagridden up through the overall Kindle ranks, and y’all drove Hagridden to #1 in the War genre for Kindle books (it is set inContinue reading “Hagridden cut through Kindle like a Bowie knife”

The Jersey Devil celebrates the 4th by dropping burnt hot dogs for its pet dinosaur

Happy barbecue and sky-explosions, America! So how does Jersey Devil Press celebrate? The AMERICAN way! We ride wild mutant hogs, swallow bees, practice a little alchemy, hit the nudie bar of the undead, and build really big walls. Just like our Founding Fathers did. And yes, the Jersey Devil does indeed now have a petContinue reading “The Jersey Devil celebrates the 4th by dropping burnt hot dogs for its pet dinosaur”

Hagridden is FREE on Kindle this week

I’ve been posting about this on Facebook and Twitter since yesterday — and loads of kind friends and fans have been sharing the news as well — but in case you hadn’t heard: Hagridden is free! That’s right: it’s Fourth of July Week, and for this week only, my independent publisher, Columbus Press, has given everyone theContinue reading “Hagridden is FREE on Kindle this week”

Crayons, conflicts, crises, and catastrophes: how I’m outlining my new novel

When I was in grad school, I once participated in a group presentation on Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. I forget what all the group as a whole wound up saying, but I remember clearly that my first instinct was to focus on that famous first chapter, where the author of the book (Vonnegut himself?) explains why and how he wentContinue reading “Crayons, conflicts, crises, and catastrophes: how I’m outlining my new novel”