A couple of weeks ago, I was at the campus of the Pacific Northwest College of Art, where, in the lobby, I found a pile of crayons on a table. I don’t know why. It’s a college of art — why wouldn’t there be crayons just lying around? Anyway, I sorted through them — weirdContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: crayons”
Category Archives: writing
Jersey Devil Press’s special novella issue awaits you
I’ve been really psyched for Jersey Devil Press‘s special novella issue since we editors first agreed to tackle a novella contest. Then we got a look at the top stories and, blown away, I’ve been even MORE psyched to get this issue into print. How Jody Giardina manages to make such a gross-out storyContinue reading “Jersey Devil Press’s special novella issue awaits you”
“Life Among Giants,” by Bill Roorbach
(As with so many of my reviews, this is available on Goodreads as well, but I wanted to share it here, too, because it’s a book worth sharing.) Bill Roorbach is an artist of the human heart, but as a writer, he is pure craftsman. You can see the workmanship in his prose the wayContinue reading ““Life Among Giants,” by Bill Roorbach”
A Writer’s Notebook: Why I cried at the Superman trailer
I mentioned last week that I’ve been writing an essay on Superman. I gave it up for a recollection of the ’96 Olympic Games, but the essay has still been on my mind. Then, the other day, a friend of mine posted an outraged link to Newsarama’s list of the 10 Worst Comic Book-Based MovieContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Why I cried at the Superman trailer”
Dora says, “My body is not your battleground!”
Today marks the launch of Lidia Yuknavitch‘s new novel, Dora: a Headcase, the follow-up to her much-lauded memoir The Chronology of Water. To celebrate the launch, Lidia has decided to promote body image awareness and women’s rights issues through a viral photo campaign on her Facebook page. Here’s the explanation in her own words: theContinue reading “Dora says, “My body is not your battleground!””
A Writer’s Notebook: Olympic history
I’ve been writing an essay on Superman for almost a day straight, intending to post it here as an essay draft. But then I remembered that today, this evening, we will get to see hundreds and hundreds of superheroes, representing the whole planet, competing in peace and camaraderie during the Olympic Games. Not that I needed reminding. My wifeContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Olympic history”
Best Texas Music (literary edition)
Today, the Dallas Observer is running a piece on “The Best Texas Songs of All Time,” counting down from 100. I found out about this from Denton band Slobberbone’s Facebook page, where they celebrated hitting #63 on the list with their track “Barrel Chested.” “The huge riff is lifted straight off an AC/DC albumContinue reading “Best Texas Music (literary edition)”
New publication
I have a new story online today, one I’m really excited about for a number of reasons! For one thing, the story, “Summerplace,” is in Eunoia Review, a publication I’ve liked for some time now and which is getting a bit of buzz in the world of online lit magazines. (And they’ve had a solid runContinue reading “New publication”
Work In Progress – ChainBlogging
I’m not going to tag anyone specific, but if you’re reading this, consider yourself tapped and feel free to play along. My pal Hobie Anthony passed this along to me, and it looks like fun, so here we go: What is the title of your WIP? Do I have to pick just one? I haveContinue reading “Work In Progress – ChainBlogging”
A Writer’s Notebook: story cycles
Today’s exercise is visual. And it’s a mess. But I’ll just share with you what I’ve done, and then I’ll explain how and why I did it. All you need to know up front is that these are stories, mostly in collections, and the names of characters. I do this kind of thing all theContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: story cycles”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 