tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41576570622704787312024-03-27T02:37:26.943-04:00BENT COUNTRYrelax, it's sheldon lee comptonShel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.comBlogger657125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-41963259313450175972024-03-09T19:34:00.005-05:002024-03-10T09:05:15.717-04:00I Asked Leah Hampton Some Chaos Questions<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJAvdJjP6dBtfjyLwrjnGzrx_23A4UID7KUueIHU0yvGC5wTTvY3Wp9TzFztz-jfGppdzvVmMwlrcCT1G7sZRB18iUjU1nZq-wJQhyphenhyphen_U-8pW_Iw-bCHQP8afXOwUvR9XLQBHKDHZ-jcQyPVIt9GAKN2GHsG19k33cfbm66YqL5pilkP2o8sh8hRXHXC9y/s1000/Leah-Hampton_c-Carrie-Hachadurian.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJAvdJjP6dBtfjyLwrjnGzrx_23A4UID7KUueIHU0yvGC5wTTvY3Wp9TzFztz-jfGppdzvVmMwlrcCT1G7sZRB18iUjU1nZq-wJQhyphenhyphen_U-8pW_Iw-bCHQP8afXOwUvR9XLQBHKDHZ-jcQyPVIt9GAKN2GHsG19k33cfbm66YqL5pilkP2o8sh8hRXHXC9y/s320/Leah-Hampton_c-Carrie-Hachadurian.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Leah Hampton, the chimera herself, "sat down" for a <a href="https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/chaos-questions-with-leah-hampton" target="_blank">Chaos Questions interview </a>with me at <i>Hobart</i>. She is also the self-espoused Hobo Hampton, it turns out.<p></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-24586088544051110332024-03-09T19:28:00.001-05:002024-03-10T09:05:58.101-04:00Productivity<p>The reason I've written and had published nine books in twelve years is because I write for recreation, for fun. It's what I do instead of going to the movies or having dinner out, or so forth. I don't mean it's my hobby; I'm saying it's the most fun thing I do, so I do it a lot.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-62771814932770433622024-03-02T20:52:00.003-05:002024-03-02T20:52:52.875-05:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeo0zrqfG7MADjGkcsUq7SdyJycQVB9GripANBNbe19u0BeAzT6uxGKt7wOTvIvKINRsD61bN4Vi0UqHq44hU4MBA3PaPECX2vhO0Sbfa5Ad2ULEWjQEvhAge7cnKv4oxKrB2Oqf9SeY7UQ2eZnwoUMVldUBPlrdotDVOEty-PTy8ff8qxZ89I7L0hyphenhyphenMB/s2000/kcVMmVR8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1545" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeo0zrqfG7MADjGkcsUq7SdyJycQVB9GripANBNbe19u0BeAzT6uxGKt7wOTvIvKINRsD61bN4Vi0UqHq44hU4MBA3PaPECX2vhO0Sbfa5Ad2ULEWjQEvhAge7cnKv4oxKrB2Oqf9SeY7UQ2eZnwoUMVldUBPlrdotDVOEty-PTy8ff8qxZ89I7L0hyphenhyphenMB/w494-h640/kcVMmVR8.jpg" width="494" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-20837498601918139442024-02-17T10:25:00.002-05:002024-02-17T10:25:17.487-05:00I talked to Benjamin Drevlow at Hobart<p>The Drevlow "sat down" for a <a href="https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/fiery-hells-of-our-own-an-interview-with-benjamin-drevlow" target="_blank">chaotic interview </a>with me at <i>Hobart</i>. </p><p>I so dig how Ben can extoll on any subject so colorfully. He's fun just to talk to, let alone interview. Give him room to run and he'll sprint til the cows come home.</p><p>I'd love if you'd go read it!</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-8341689852168900242024-02-04T19:50:00.001-05:002024-02-04T19:50:19.671-05:00Another Stunner from Cody Sexton<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxeysbmiWrDjbFQwiVgOBfN9iEZbm8EdTItNykUNLrhyphenhyphenyOqS4Uts5cmadMIqRxL9WLbxjmPiNtCDIuBd8JRh8O71oxPU4nLTrvMga-7w_ZsabZVHmkHO0VtSpdoBDrOOTckNmcpwNqssUUzFPmNdA4l8YNaIKZzO2Vb1yl5eOMfL6pf9hea9ygDJlXXBu/s680/for%20bent%20country.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxeysbmiWrDjbFQwiVgOBfN9iEZbm8EdTItNykUNLrhyphenhyphenyOqS4Uts5cmadMIqRxL9WLbxjmPiNtCDIuBd8JRh8O71oxPU4nLTrvMga-7w_ZsabZVHmkHO0VtSpdoBDrOOTckNmcpwNqssUUzFPmNdA4l8YNaIKZzO2Vb1yl5eOMfL6pf9hea9ygDJlXXBu/w400-h400/for%20bent%20country.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-18039443148162201972024-01-31T18:30:00.002-05:002024-01-31T18:30:48.640-05:00Some Writers Have Shakespeare, I Have My Uncle<p>I posted a poem at Poverty House yesterday by my uncle G.C. I started reading that poem, "<a href="https://www.povertyhouse.net/post/big-shoal-coal-town-on-the-big-sandy-1918-1949---g-c-compton" target="_blank">Big Shoal, Coal Town on the Big Sandy (1918-1949)</a>," when I was eleven years old. I've been reading it for thirty-six years. And I've yet to write anything nearly so beautiful and true. Nothing so honest and tender. But it has always been my measuring stick. Always will be. </p><p>If I've had any success as a writer it's because I had my uncle as an example throughout my childhood of someone who sat down and wrote words as a routine, as a career. I stood in his writing room as a kid and felt a religiosity I couldn't understand but felt deeply --- the quiet space, the bookshelves full and covering all the walls from ceiling to floor, the simple desk that sat in the middle of the room, the 1978 IBM Selectric 1 that squatted bulky on the desk in perfect mystery. I knew what he created with that typewriter, that whatever magic that happened in that room came from my uncle through that machine. </p><p>The result can be found in my body of work. What can I say?</p><p>Some writers have Shakespeare, I have always had my uncle.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-4939870739545612382024-01-27T11:56:00.001-05:002024-01-27T11:56:23.459-05:00My interview with Ben Loory is published today at Hobart<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2ZSNIqxsp1BknPelF7PigoY6vJo6ebIMf523Slmk2axBLb4xI1yFjrXAPaS3gKQM57SC_lN-cbNTA1KS0EekJ1K5Ui3cTqZd0YStwailt7_1lmqOG0KEf42i4pMvBI7K1rmKZOd6W9MKnc3LoaHt9i1M8PVlZCsaCHhRz_9EJNMMx7tqFuC4_vPt8_OK/s720/ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="720" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2ZSNIqxsp1BknPelF7PigoY6vJo6ebIMf523Slmk2axBLb4xI1yFjrXAPaS3gKQM57SC_lN-cbNTA1KS0EekJ1K5Ui3cTqZd0YStwailt7_1lmqOG0KEf42i4pMvBI7K1rmKZOd6W9MKnc3LoaHt9i1M8PVlZCsaCHhRz_9EJNMMx7tqFuC4_vPt8_OK/s320/ben.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ben answered my chaos questions with that big imagination of his and did so wonderfully. My favorite answer? This one:</div><p></p><p>/</p><p><b>SLC: </b>Tomorrow you show up for work and the whole damn place, the entire building, is gone. There's a note in the place you used to park that reads, "They know." Walk me through the rest of your day.</p><p><b>BL:</b> I think my day probably ends right there? My brain's not built to withstand shit like that. One time I ran out of peanut butter and had to go to the hospital.</p><p>/</p><p>It's okay to <a href="https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/chaos-questions-with-ben-loory" target="_blank">go read it </a>so go ahead and do that please and thank you. </p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-57921991298803364982024-01-21T14:48:00.001-05:002024-01-21T15:13:45.060-05:00New Position as Interviews Editor at Hobart<p>Something strange happened.</p><p>In September I sent a column pitch to <i>Hobart</i>. I had created an interview series called Chaos Questions for the now defunct <i>CCM's Enclave </i>and had several of those interviews published there. This was years ago. I love the series, so when I learned that a friend of mine, the author Frank Reardon, had a column at <i>Hobart </i>I figured it couldn't hurt to see if they would be amicable to allowing me to continue Chaos Questions there.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bRUlBQgyY0ONFXQLXs1yqtOzekTDqcfkXVAWnnuFMHYxthOupuwCpj-A9wlTlv2ZcNWpN0PyOTQ3k9NYKtVU9IOuI04HxBurUsw0VKxBDTn-iEYZt40IDU6yIzTnZ4gDxBdthtFd5j4Dtg2rl89YtWc_K_wQfgr7OQ1LxrRDVwpEZ2FcjjPE9RuJf0qL/s400/h.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bRUlBQgyY0ONFXQLXs1yqtOzekTDqcfkXVAWnnuFMHYxthOupuwCpj-A9wlTlv2ZcNWpN0PyOTQ3k9NYKtVU9IOuI04HxBurUsw0VKxBDTn-iEYZt40IDU6yIzTnZ4gDxBdthtFd5j4Dtg2rl89YtWc_K_wQfgr7OQ1LxrRDVwpEZ2FcjjPE9RuJf0qL/s320/h.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Months passed. I forgot I sent the pitch.</p><p>Then Elizabeth emailed back about a week ago and said she'd like the series. I felt really good about it. <i>Hobart </i>has been a solid indie lit journal for two decades, has a wide readership, and has published so many great writers over the years.</p><p>So she emailed back, including in the message the journal's managing editor Andrea Taylor, and introduced me to Andrea as the new interviews editor, saying it was great that <i>Hobart </i>would have one again. </p><p>I walked around the house for five minutes or so and then old instincts from my days as a journalist battling deadlines and searching for leads on new stories kicked in and I sat down and emailed Ben Loory. Loory is one of my favorite writers and the idea of his imagination answering the wild questions I send out with Chaos Questions was one I'd had in the back of my mind for years. </p><p>I don't if it was because he knew it would be an interview that would appear in <i>Hobart </i>(what I suspect, to be perfectly candid, and obviously is clearly understandable) or if he liked one of the old interviews I sent to give him an idea of what to expect, but he wrote back so so much more quickly than I could have predicted; it was about two hours later when I got a return email from Loory with enthusiasm, agreeing to take part.</p><p>I walked around the house for another five minutes or so.</p><p>There was a lot on my mind about then.</p><p>But I got it together and wrote Elizabeth to let her know I had a first interview lined up. It was really cool that she was excited about having Loory for the interview.</p><p>And that's where I'm at, present day. But I'm still walking around a bit, though it is settling in. I'm thinking of who to write to next and what kind of questions I'll write to play with their minds. </p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-87708756721365891972024-01-14T18:17:00.001-05:002024-01-14T18:17:07.879-05:00Dan Russell's FAIR TO MIDDLIN' PODCASTI had the honest to god honor of being Dan Russell's first guest on his new podcast<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V77paSZHT7M&t=576s" target="_blank"> Fair to Middlin' </a>this past week.<div><br /></div><div>I've said this on social media already but Dan was a really calming presence. Every interview I've done over the years has been something I couldn't go back and watch because my insanity always got very out of hand and watching it made me want to go to bed and sleep for 40 hours. But I was comfortable the entire time, which, if you know anything about me, is a full-blown miracle.</div><div><br /></div><div>We talked about Poverty House and writing and shared some stories. I can't wait to see who he has on next and on and on and on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank again for the awesomeness, Dan!</div>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-78637653879763067812023-12-24T12:57:00.000-05:002023-12-24T12:57:13.313-05:00I have an entry in the Absolute Horror Wiki! What?!<p>Just a quick post to say I'm crazy excited to come across the fact that I have an entry in the Absolute Horror Wiki, Fandom section. Here it is. Damn!</p><p><a href="https://absolutehorror.fandom.com/wiki/Sheldon_Lee_Compton" target="_blank">Absolute Horror Wiki - Fandom</a></p><p>Wow.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-91417980851857237062023-12-18T09:47:00.001-05:002023-12-18T10:03:14.688-05:00When a Friend Makes You Define Yourself<p>Talked with a friend yesterday about why I mess with all this "writing stuff." He meant not only my own writing but the journals, blogs, correspondence, etc. It's the easiest thing in the world to answer. I told him, "I do it because it's fun." </p><p>Folks, it's just fun. That's what I get out of it.</p><p>Some people go to the lake, others take vacations. I've noticed that a lot of people play video games and others go shopping. There's a lot of people going out to eat and then to a movie. I am not joking, I do all of this <i>writing stuff </i>because it's more fun than anything else I can think of besides sex.</p><p>There are a lot of writer friends of mine I've not talked with or seen around for a long time, writers who were so immensely talented it that I'm sure they still have amazing ideas ready to share. I don't know why they're not around anymore, but I wish they'd come back. I get a sense they were, as was I for sure, trying to get their writing careers off the ground, pushing around in the online indie lit scene hoping to cannonball out at some point the way our mutual friends like Roxane Gay, Blake Butler, and others did. And maybe when that didn't go exactly as hoped, they put their pens away and got on with life, as it were.</p><p>But I know they had fun doing this. You could feel it in their books and stories and poetry. I guess what's I'm saying is I wish they were still around. This indie scene is more than a set of steps to the real publishing scene. It's a carnival, a theme park, a party, a comfort food, a nostalgia, a night out.</p><p>Plain and simple, and again, it's just fun.</p><p>And well....</p><p>I miss you guys.</p><p>There, I said it.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-16701953388377594302023-12-18T06:26:00.001-05:002023-12-18T16:33:33.952-05:00Found a review of Brown Bottle from earlier this year!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytGWkY0whdk8Xxq2p82_-_WQxHKmakRrRxseyI4DEAxkJc-RFF38jK7RCuK3goXMtbpSQOE2SZvJE-7zdnus-ZhRP4MVUBcC9piPi-lqOsve-jGRYVDDPpUh9i8mMZgvHMnUPx93F8deJg33Ca4RxeUcCwsattJ5f-SP2LnR4ep-F6Qqfi1u7oXtP_dXe/s500/BB.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytGWkY0whdk8Xxq2p82_-_WQxHKmakRrRxseyI4DEAxkJc-RFF38jK7RCuK3goXMtbpSQOE2SZvJE-7zdnus-ZhRP4MVUBcC9piPi-lqOsve-jGRYVDDPpUh9i8mMZgvHMnUPx93F8deJg33Ca4RxeUcCwsattJ5f-SP2LnR4ep-F6Qqfi1u7oXtP_dXe/s320/BB.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br />Yes, friends, I'm not even sure I remember now how I ran across it (I do google myself sometimes to see where things are with my indie writing career, that's probably how it happened) but there's a new review of my 2016 novel, my first novel, as it were.<p></p><p><a href="https://brettmilam.com/about/" target="_blank">Brett Milam</a> (as soon as I write this and post I'm going to go find this guy and thank him) was the kind gentleman who wrote the review, and it's sincerely the best one I've read. He gets it, all of it. And like with any fantastic review, I learned something about my book I didn't know before reading it. That, to me, is the trait of a great review.</p><p>No need to ramble on. Go on ahead if you're interested and read <a href="https://brettmilam.com/2023/07/28/book-review-brown-bottle/" target="_blank">Brett Milam's review of <i>Brown Bottle</i></a>. He nailed it.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-88074492953746001842023-11-28T19:15:00.000-05:002023-11-28T19:15:04.031-05:00New western story "Her Little Place of Dying" published today at Cowboy Jamboree.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5e1F8-YSXbtTecbLk93wx_OGDJgnyymN05jxK3Vd6K_JxQ8gaTTvduqSGej63F0aJKh1gsTg82QwmvlbxeSNuUHQic2III1OtaqutTGGluUJutJv2f0-3GiQr33e0twOCVbxqTGIi0_cd_4JPl8ZHzZ0gwis71zkb36j9sfN6bnrdPJpPHNRp3OeemND/s432/indian%20woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="432" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5e1F8-YSXbtTecbLk93wx_OGDJgnyymN05jxK3Vd6K_JxQ8gaTTvduqSGej63F0aJKh1gsTg82QwmvlbxeSNuUHQic2III1OtaqutTGGluUJutJv2f0-3GiQr33e0twOCVbxqTGIi0_cd_4JPl8ZHzZ0gwis71zkb36j9sfN6bnrdPJpPHNRp3OeemND/s320/indian%20woman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Cowboy Jamboree Magazine published a short story of mine today. I took the title from a line in the novel Comanche Moon by McMurtry, "Her Little Place of Dying."</p><p>The story is one of several I've finished and had published for an upcoming western collection called <i>Seven Drums</i>.</p><p>It's western with a twist of horror and was a lot of fun to write. It had been several months since I'd finished a story, so I'm doubly happy to see it appear today.</p><p>If you'd like to read it just visit the following link:</p><p><a href="http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/her-little-place-of-dying.html" target="_blank">HER LITTLE PLACE OF DYING.</a></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-44640947715469549372023-11-05T19:09:00.003-05:002023-11-05T19:09:30.908-05:00Am I Writing a Novel?<p> Ahhhh, just sitting here thinking about how I can't really write a novel. I mean I've written and had published three (kind of four, cause hybrid and all) but I still don't feel like I can do it well enough to be noticed. Now that's not saying the books were bad. My publishers for each (especially Adam Van Winkle) have great taste and wouldn't have published them if they weren't, you know, publishable. But can I really write a novel well enough to stand out? Well, no. </p><p>Can I write a short story that stands out? Hell, yes. I know this about myself, as a writer. I know my strengths; I know when I feel comfortable inside the room of words that's my brain when writing is happening. And it's in the short story, the most difficult form we have, canvasly. </p><p>So I'm thinking about this novel I have going, <i>Oblivion Angels</i>. I have lots of it figured out in my head. It's all spaced out crazy like right now. Example: I'm writing different sections starring different characters at different time periods right now. And with no idea how it's all going to tie together. Or if it even will. Or if there's a narrative there at all. Right now. </p><p>I do know that the first chapter and the last chapter (this last chapter because of the way it brings things back to the third chapter) are going to be strong. Really good, in fact. It will be poignant and heart-wrenching and beautiful all at the same time. I'm confident in those chapters. The others...I don't know. My plan is to get in there and just start writing. The more I plan things, the more of an absolute horror show it becomes usually. Every bit of humanness and heart gets sucked out of it. It ends up dry as a New Yorker short story. Dry as a Iowa Writer's Workshop short story.</p><p>That was mean of me. I take it back. Wait, I don't take back the New Yorker comment. That stands.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-82858210203149150302023-08-14T18:28:00.004-04:002023-08-14T18:28:43.553-04:00New story "The Caretaker" published today at Cowboy Jamboree Magazine and Press<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuKtP_lYHyBzGFYhX5RXNeEK7AtWTsgx4q7oPdD30Fuvfg1LmxkPaNViZ7aMFR2J4svsq82ud9UsW6bApUOE3bIF7j-6IwIWxeY5R2Dcoyfv3q0DBVsjuWl1MMnbRQSzkTnGBLttjGzSeRbpd9__wugeiEZj4BZISibEFkkPVCcRjjskzdIcGWEDRrOeF/s900/F3flSdwWQAEGa5x.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="900" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuKtP_lYHyBzGFYhX5RXNeEK7AtWTsgx4q7oPdD30Fuvfg1LmxkPaNViZ7aMFR2J4svsq82ud9UsW6bApUOE3bIF7j-6IwIWxeY5R2Dcoyfv3q0DBVsjuWl1MMnbRQSzkTnGBLttjGzSeRbpd9__wugeiEZj4BZISibEFkkPVCcRjjskzdIcGWEDRrOeF/w453-h133/F3flSdwWQAEGa5x.png" width="453" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I have a new story <a href="https://t.co/ViuchxaILR" target="_blank">"The Caretaker"</a> published today at my author's page at Cowboy Jamboree Press. And I've said it ten-thousand times but you need to know how much I love Adam Van Winkle, CJ Press publisher and mastermind behind it all. And how much I love my fellow authors at CJ Press. It's simply beautiful to find at this time in my writing life a press so supportive and so interested in publishing great books. I am so lucky and I know it.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-18806378117717597582023-05-29T11:42:00.001-04:002023-05-29T11:42:23.769-04:00A CLUSTER OF LIGHTS - Ten Years in the Making<p>Between May 2010 and May 2011 my great friend and amazing author Michelle Elvy and the gang published compositions as <i>52/250 A Year of Flash</i>. My story "<a href="https://52250flash.wordpress.com/category/sheldon-lee-compton/">A Mountain So Lost</a>" was published there during that time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxymFmpDJ7nmTcDKyLBLMcfAoNOglgaPnWjbAKgFNn-oVRmx305c9R5fSbK6IaFMuPe4IYYRqnHShuvOfCUyL9gEknHOSCnnRRVmHufycQ_vU2eba9u6wABe3X7gYbxrsLWubpzJVi15IKSSVUCYKe4jt0LiLPysFFCGzsJ6NB7WVDHiy4wlQjgzV8zQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxymFmpDJ7nmTcDKyLBLMcfAoNOglgaPnWjbAKgFNn-oVRmx305c9R5fSbK6IaFMuPe4IYYRqnHShuvOfCUyL9gEknHOSCnnRRVmHufycQ_vU2eba9u6wABe3X7gYbxrsLWubpzJVi15IKSSVUCYKe4jt0LiLPysFFCGzsJ6NB7WVDHiy4wlQjgzV8zQ" width="160" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was a terrific undertaking - from the website:</p><p>"...<i>176 artists and authors who contributed over 1,500 flashes, poems and art. What began as a simple challenge between two friends (let’s write a story a week for a year) swiftly gained momentum and turned into something exceptional in every way. Our first week began with 17 writers taking on the theme of “Breadfruit” and our year ended with 52 authors inspired by “Threesome.” In the collection below you’ll find 52 weeks of stories and poems, each piece limited in word count to 250 or less.</i>" </p><p>Not too long ago, I was invited to compose another story for the ten-year anniversary anthology from the press <a href="https://pureslush.com/">Pure Slush</a>. Ten years. Damn that's crazy. In some ways it feels exactly like ten years (or even more!) have passed and then sometimes it feels like a few months ago. But I was happy to be invited to take part and offered a story called "A Common Creation."</p><p>This past month, that anthology was published. <i>A Cluster of Lights</i> collects works from all of us ten years later. It's truly ingenious, just as the original idea was a decade ago. </p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cluster-Lights-Michelle-Elvy-ebook/dp/B0C56JGVJ9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34UYZABFRI657&keywords=%22a+cluster+of+lights%22+pure+slush&qid=1685374693&s=books&sprefix=a+cluster+of+lights+pure+slush%2Cstripbooks%2C109&sr=1-1">Go get the anthology and please do enjoy!</a></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-57797416255540786262023-04-21T14:07:00.001-04:002023-04-21T19:05:08.960-04:00Short story published in the anthology Travelin' Thru Townes<p style="text-align: left;">Cowboy Jamboree just published a Townes Van Zandt-themed anthology. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaP8NGML_QE" target="_blank">Here's who TVZ was.</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">I story of mine called "Marie" was included in the anthology, the title of which was taken from the name of one of my favorite Townes songs.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_zgouPqwoOYhNqxO41Q9zZzCtwbzmahZ8c5T8zpukd67K58RfSkaCngQGLy98B5QfWwLKmImUavVLs3n5vkX0Z0xMg1Udyi_3G8dL7qeIXCzJTktz4ZS7CMRQMHOQQ6qkGhXXG01YzqBJvMPxqTtD777c7oCjnqqLH9ppnCAkVQ9e-6gHkI6R7VNBQ/s599/A-274324-1672720880-8972.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="599" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_zgouPqwoOYhNqxO41Q9zZzCtwbzmahZ8c5T8zpukd67K58RfSkaCngQGLy98B5QfWwLKmImUavVLs3n5vkX0Z0xMg1Udyi_3G8dL7qeIXCzJTktz4ZS7CMRQMHOQQ6qkGhXXG01YzqBJvMPxqTtD777c7oCjnqqLH9ppnCAkVQ9e-6gHkI6R7VNBQ/s320/A-274324-1672720880-8972.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Townes in cool repose.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">It has a ton of fantastic compositions, including work from William Taylor Jr., Brian Beatty, Clem Flowers, Margaret Sefton, Anthony Lawrence, Joe Kille, Kent Rose, Barbara Byar, Burke de Boer, Teddy Griffith, Vincent Cellucci, David Mihalyov, Karl Koweski, John Yohe, Mark Rogers, Charles March, and Colin Brightwell.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Cowboy Jamboree Press's editorial staff Adam Van Winkle, Constance Beitzel, and Kassie Bohannon are to be thanked beyond thanks for the hard work and vision to put together a collection like this.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Travelin-Thru-Townes-inspired-music/dp/B0C2RP3CS3/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?crid=1KYB988C3G1YV&keywords=travelin%27+thru+townes&qid=1682099498&sprefix=travelin%27+thru+townes%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1-fkmr0" target="_blank">Go get a copy. It's well worth a few bucks.</a></p><p style="text-align: center;">⎰⎱</p><p>So I tried a workshop. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. Life is like that, though. I'm of an age now that little failures mean less. And I'll try again. And it might work next time. For now, though, Yonder Writers Workshop is in a vague place where it can't connect with anyone or anything. </p><p>Like I said, no worries. </p><p>But by god I've been writing and posting here for 14 years. I can go back to posts I made in 2009 and see what the hell I was doing and thinking when I only had a few short stories published, a couple of which don't exist anymore, in the vague place, too, I suppose.</p><p>It's funny because I'm still sitting here with this same interface (colors schemes are the same, tool bar, the strange white "b" in the middle of an orange square in the upper left corner) indeed sitting here with the same interface thinking to myself and writing down the words that come. I still think the voice we hear inside our heads is probably the most amazing thing about us. Not the fact that we can speak those words or write those words but the fact that the words are there at all.</p><p style="text-align: center;">⎰⎱</p><p>I just finished reading a book about the conscious and it's wiped me a little. Everything is suspect. The world is what I view it as but is that real and should I keep running from snakes when cutting grass? A lot is going on.</p><p>Also, I don't think I've posted my author's page at CJ Press here. <a href="http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/sheldon-lee-compton.html" target="_blank">Here's where you can go read some of my most recent compositions.</a></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-45521488914649134192022-09-27T17:35:00.001-04:002022-09-27T17:42:27.709-04:00Casting Out Into the Dark<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEZbcuGVkBcScgrG1IYhgIFTAShxOeqAM3IPFvOevyPjJJbMe0ob_5jYF5Nj7RCQZnAW7LL_jQJDwyPadpfsHpK0ID0idfAH26G-CXxMmwVP9QpPCJcrvKPDwHQZCXsyd5DrRRAd1s9dtA5odL80GZiN6pYH5g_toodZ_ULBlI4rVTVpy_zzUAKAVCA/s1000/casting%20into%20dark.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEZbcuGVkBcScgrG1IYhgIFTAShxOeqAM3IPFvOevyPjJJbMe0ob_5jYF5Nj7RCQZnAW7LL_jQJDwyPadpfsHpK0ID0idfAH26G-CXxMmwVP9QpPCJcrvKPDwHQZCXsyd5DrRRAd1s9dtA5odL80GZiN6pYH5g_toodZ_ULBlI4rVTVpy_zzUAKAVCA/w396-h263/casting%20into%20dark.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><p>So I teach writing. I never thought I would, because I have little to no idea of how I do what I do, be it good writing or bad writing. I just have no idea.</p><p></p><p>I sit down and write. One sentence comes from nowhere - </p><p>"The dragon spoke to me and I understood perfectly."</p><p>- and I start there. </p><p>I have no idea what is going to happen. Honestly, I have no idea what's even happening when I write the sentence, where it comes from, why I had that thought on my mind to begin with. The entire process is an incredible mystery to me. Always has been.</p><p>But anyway, so I teach, and I have no idea if I'm doing any good. I think about it all the time. I teach three or so classes a semester online in the MFA program at Concordia University, St. Paul. I love doing it, I just don't know how much I'm helping the students. I'm a "professor" (I've mentioned many times that I'm just Shel, but it must be a requirement to call us professors) and I'm supposed to have pinpricks of knowledge at the very least to share. Mostly I find myself simply writing in their evaluations that this is good or this could use work, but I have no at all how to break down the process.</p><p>There are times the students know more about this breaking down of the process than I do. It's not really all that difficult to do. My process is so haphazard from the outside my suggestions are usually too broad (i.e. make everything you write as memorable as possible). But how does that happen? What are the steps to making the work memorable? Well, my answer is usually, "Remember that the way you see the world will always be entirely unique because no one has had your exact memories. Only you. It doesn't get more original than that."</p><p>But what is that <i>teaching </i>them?</p><p>I want to tell them to keep their thoughts under constant observation, keep complete concentration. And when something pops up like, "The dragon spoke to me and I understood perfectly," be ready to write that down and start running as hard as they can. Just keep running forward, word after word, and take the risk that what you're writing might not be any good, but it's by god going to come from a magical place, not from an overwrought and overanalyzed prison cell of the heart.</p><p>But mostly they only seem to care about grades and due dates and assignment lengths. Though it's possible one of my students might read this post, I have to say that that kind of thing drives me absolutely fucking crazy. I don't want those students thinking about anything except how can I express what's in my heart? Everything else, everything else, is secondary. I won't accept any other way of seeing it. </p><p>Stubborn? Maybe. Idealistic? Maybe. It's possible I'm undermining the structure of our craft, but I doubt I'm doing anything on that level. I want to figure out how to teach passion, ways to set your heart on fire.</p><p>It's not asking much, right?</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-39835581688374797522022-09-02T20:03:00.000-04:002022-09-02T20:03:35.593-04:00Our Lord and Savior Christian Slater appears today at Cowboy Jamboree...BOOM!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUUMvL1efyQSdBvs8osG-MX-a8tCXMXRwQKXgXx1vgDgYQJEt41cevYbTuoh3SuXKDYZQST5VAsUl4CyrlbbNMCz2WycZC1gUZyQY7ks0hl8BMl1DdQ8PUKshswejxHbyHIJbRUiOtl7Q7umKOUJXYMA23MoC6C3JautmVaLHmwuztW6cS7Ee0uuh3g/s889/heathers-1988-007-winona-rider-christian-slater-medium-shot-with-gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="889" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUUMvL1efyQSdBvs8osG-MX-a8tCXMXRwQKXgXx1vgDgYQJEt41cevYbTuoh3SuXKDYZQST5VAsUl4CyrlbbNMCz2WycZC1gUZyQY7ks0hl8BMl1DdQ8PUKshswejxHbyHIJbRUiOtl7Q7umKOUJXYMA23MoC6C3JautmVaLHmwuztW6cS7Ee0uuh3g/s320/heathers-1988-007-winona-rider-christian-slater-medium-shot-with-gun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> My friend and publisher Adam Van Winkle published my short story "Our Lord and Savior Christian Slater" today at my author's page there at Cowboy Jamboree Press.<p></p><p></p><p>It's a story I've wanted to write for a long time and hadn't <i>felt it yet</i>. I felt it over the past couple months and had a blast writing it. The last third came as a complete surprise to me. It came together quickly.</p><p>So please go read "Our Lord and Savior Christian Slater" and comment here and let me know what you think. Thank you!</p><p><a href="http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/our-lord-and-savior-christian-slater.html" target="_blank">GO READ HERE IT PLEASE!</a></p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-2827920301587585722022-08-07T10:42:00.000-04:002022-08-07T10:42:09.956-04:00"The Good Life" included in Best Small Fictions 2022<p> <span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many thanks to series editor </span></p><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1cvl2hr r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/21045Nathan" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d9bf0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: inherit;">@21045Nathan</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and guest editor </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1cvl2hr r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/MauraYzmore" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d9bf0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: inherit;">@MauraYzmore</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Gone Lawn editor </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1cvl2hr r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/Owen_Wyke" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d9bf0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: inherit;">@Owen_Wyke</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and BSF 2022 editorial/advisory board members </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; 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border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d9bf0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: inherit;">@MichelleElvy</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><div class="css-1dbjc4n r-xoduu5" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; align-items: stretch; background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; 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box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline-flex; flex-basis: auto; flex-direction: column; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; margin: 0px; min-height: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap; z-index: 0;"><span class="r-18u37iz" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; flex-direction: row;"><a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1cvl2hr r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/ryan_ridge" role="link" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d9bf0; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: inherit;">@ryan_ridge</a></span></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Read my included story at <a href="https://gonelawn.net/journal/issue41/Compton.php" target="_blank">Gone Lawn #41</a>.</span><div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid black; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1419; display: inline; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This fucking amazing collection of short stories will be released soon. </span></div>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-62953255309518164322022-07-19T06:35:00.003-04:002022-07-19T11:48:21.796-04:00 An Appreciation of Anthony Neil Smith's SLOWER BEAR<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-hyphenate: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">After reading Anthony Neil
Smith’s soon-to-be-released new novel <i>Slower Bear</i>, I right away bought
his prior novel <i>Slow Bear </i>to get as much as I could of Micah “Slow Bear”
Cross. </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-hyphenate: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A fantastically drawn character
can do that to a reader. It is, for me, possibly the biggest test of an
author’s talent. I have often called it the Sherlock Effect. Slow Bear stays
with me the same way Conan Doyle’s eccentric detective did after the first story
of his I read. </span><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In <i>Slower Bear</i>, Micah
Cross takes no time at all continuing headlong toward more violence and a
unique sense of chivalry, though unapologetically self-serving at times. He is
a former reservation officer with one arm (blown off in the line of duty) and a
penchant, if not a preoccupation, if not an outright obsession for a pulpy glass
of orange juice. Smith draws the line between likable and unlikable with an
incredibly light hand, but Slow Bear’s core goodness stays intact throughout. If
not entirely likable, Micah Cross is nothing if not memorable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And that’s a start. But Smith
was clearly not satisfied with only his mastery of character development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As I read, the book really
started in earnest for me when Slow Bear met Abeline, one of numerous women he
has picked as possible one-night stands to have a place to sleep. It’s his
primary concern. Not the sex. But a warm place to lay his head for a night.
With the redheaded Abeline, an older lady who wears a Brooks and Dunn tour
t-shirt “that showed her shape” Slow Bear finds more to like than usual. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><i>This was a white woman, sixty-years-old, but sixty
now didn’t look like sixty when Slow Bear was a boy. Sixty used to be old. Now,
sixty was something else. Sixty could even be pretty, in the right light. Sixty
wasn’t front porch rocking material. That night, sixty was horny.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">And, for Abeline, when Slow Bear
suggests a couple more nights together, her reaction says it all.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p><i> </i></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><i>She nuzzled in. ‘Honey, I’m up for more of this if
you are. Not like anything in this house is worth stealing. So why don’t you
tell me the real reason you’re on the road.’</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Though they both are, as my granny
said, smitten with each other, they’ve not yet given up their own selfishness
or suspicion. So once the two have had their first burst of hard and mutually enjoyable
sex, it’s clear that they have a connection, one that will soon be tested in
high-stake fashion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">But we have first met Abeline in
flashback. In the present, at the beginning of the book, Slow Bear finds himself
the temporary guardian of two young girls kidnapped by one Gerardo, a Ukrainian
sex-trader, who Slow Bear quickly dispatches early on. The two girls were
hell-bound toward a sex trade industry swap, both “brown-skinned, but the older
was Latino and the younger Sioux.” As he rescues the two teenagers, the older
one lets him know there’s more to the situation and the plot, as they say, thickens.
Slow Bear then beats a dead-heat dash back to Abeline’s place, having few other
options he can think of at that exact moment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Neil’s mastery at building
characters is then turned next level when Slow Bear arrives and presents her
with far more than she ever bargained for from a one-night stand, no matter how
enjoyable it might have been.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Once the four of them strike out
to find the people responsible, the novel, of course, follows the anticipated
path of bloodshed and gunpowder that Smith has formed his reputation on, but
these aspects quickly shifted to the background for me as I became truly enthralled
with Slow Bear and Abeline’s growing affection for one another. It’s his deft
ability to reveal that dynamic when Smith absolutely shines in this novel.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Don’t get me wrong, Slow Bear kicks
plenty of ass (as does Abeline, in fact) and ultimately shows the true honor
and dignity the reader always knew was there at his core once all is said and
done. But those quiet moments in the book when Slow Bear reflects on Abeline in
ways that puts his hardened heart on display even as it begins to change and
soften are what I found myself most marveling at as a reader. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As this connection strengthens, Smith
then expertly draws this abiding affection of Slow Bear’s out into the open. We
see a man at the beginning of a real commitment showing grace, hard will, and even
happiness in panicked, life-and-death situations, a man who ultimately takes no
time whatsoever in making sacrifices for Abeline and the girls.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I went into <i>Slower Bear</i>
expecting to read a fine noir novel by a gifted author I respect. I got this in
spades. But what I didn’t expect was to come away with a renewed belief in the
power of new love to push through even the worst of circumstances, as Abeline’s
caring for the girls is also a dynamic we see form right before our very eyes. Smith
ultimately offers us a side dish with his crime novel: the formation of an unusual
family of four. I’ll take that with my shootouts every day of the week and twice
on Sunday.</span></p><span></span><a href="https://bentcountry.blogspot.com/2022/07/an-appreciation-of-anthony-neil-smiths.html#more">Read more »</a>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-80589902829740823742022-04-07T09:25:00.000-04:002022-04-07T09:25:03.091-04:00Tomorrow CJ Press will publish THE ORCHARD IS FULL OF SOUND!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GrVnStFMEOWikn32sDfOE7Lfk-mTZ6fpCwr0emtPYxiUTuh6yYaj0ZLvHNn7g1QJbxeEzKEh1iUULey3F7PrsCCHHPcUXwARcHRbkv0FuxvejA_mB6JNEavRzemTRqmnON7TPQd5B4_X3eYUb_-Rhee-lp13qIBPqqyZnDuuEWoIib4jaYmi8rvmUw/s499/wednesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GrVnStFMEOWikn32sDfOE7Lfk-mTZ6fpCwr0emtPYxiUTuh6yYaj0ZLvHNn7g1QJbxeEzKEh1iUULey3F7PrsCCHHPcUXwARcHRbkv0FuxvejA_mB6JNEavRzemTRqmnON7TPQd5B4_X3eYUb_-Rhee-lp13qIBPqqyZnDuuEWoIib4jaYmi8rvmUw/s320/wednesday.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br />I had been writing this book, <i>The Orchard Is Full of Sound</i>, for nearly four years. Now it's going to become real thanks to Adam Van Winkle and Cowboy Jamboree Press. <p></p><p>Published on the anniversary of Breece D'J Pancake's death in 1979, this is a memoir of mine that works to blend biographical elements of Breece's life, thoughts on his writing, and a search for answers long overdue.</p><p>Since discovering Breece in 2005 I've been captivated by his stories. But I have also kept a strong interest in his life, particularly why he shot and killed himself when he was 26 and in the middle of his emergence as an author.</p><p>I honestly do hope you all will buy some copies of this. I believe it'd interest you. Us writers mostly buy each others books or we wouldn't really have many sales. Writers: give it a go. Casual readers: I love you, whether you buy the book or not. But I'd rather you buy the book.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-37603809189534236352022-03-31T09:39:00.000-04:002022-03-31T09:39:15.679-04:00An Old Literature, a New Literature: Sara Rauch’s WHAT SHINES FROM IT<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7phT_yR3fUIEQP7gj75-1H9Gxtln6W0268tU6gTH9m3WfCx3YrclmW4WXRgdHjNMQKUP24FGRMTDC3ieiX3FRNZ7p5jMCpyvp6A43WTKx_MurkPgjmELB8MH_fapL2yw1siRY6zxw_tEOlSbcDtwnnuzWhKESoM4ZRX5A99njY3111eLeOcQ49JnaQ/s1558/shines%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="1558" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7phT_yR3fUIEQP7gj75-1H9Gxtln6W0268tU6gTH9m3WfCx3YrclmW4WXRgdHjNMQKUP24FGRMTDC3ieiX3FRNZ7p5jMCpyvp6A43WTKx_MurkPgjmELB8MH_fapL2yw1siRY6zxw_tEOlSbcDtwnnuzWhKESoM4ZRX5A99njY3111eLeOcQ49JnaQ/w400-h306/shines%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Sara Rauch takes on familiar territory in her short story collection <i>What Shines from It,</i> out now from Alternating Current Press, and also unfamiliar territory. </div><p></p><p>For the most part, Rauch’s stories exist in a realm like John Cheever’s—two people intimately involved in one another’s lives, the deep tension that can bring those two people at odds, and how both men and women handle these interactions.</p><p>What Rauch brings that is new is a view from more than just the husband and wife relationship. In her stories there are female couples who are trying to figure out where they stand on having a second child, there are complete strangers spending an afternoon trying like hell to connect to something, as well as a couple who are faced with a decision about a pregnancy that becomes just as complicated as those kinds of decisions can become.</p><p>Creating life, creating cohesion in life, connections, missed connections. It’s all here. And it’s handled with the deft hand of an author confident in her voice and what she has to say. </p><p>In “Addition,” a story that follows Alex and Rose as they deal with daily pressures while not dealing with a big decision: whether or not to have another child. Rose delivered their first and, due to circumstance, Alex would need to deliver their second. Alex’s failure to commit to one or the other becomes a point of contention. Through Rose, Rauch poses a question that speaks to anyone struggling to sync up to another human being as Rose, near her wit’s end, says, “At some point, not making a decision is a decision.”</p><p>And herein we have that familiar territory of domestic dynamics, and others explored during the heyday of kitchen sink realism, but with a contemporary and far, far more brightly concern and a richer, more elaborate landscape. Throughout <i>What Shines from It</i> Rauch expertly lays out this landscape with an incredibly cool confidence.</p><p>In another story, “Slice,” we have a front row seat for the slow dying of a relationship that had hardly had time to get started. Emmeline and Sebastian. The couple. The entire rise and fall of their strained relationship is on display. It is in this story that Rauch shows how well she can stir nuance to create a slow deterioration. During a phone call, we get an incredibly insightful moment in which Emmeline recognizes one of the first signs. She’s making plans with Sebastian. </p><p>“Can I come over? and I said, Of course, but I have to finish the buttons tonight, and he said, I won’t stay. What time? and I said, Seven. We hung up, and I stared at my phone, trying to remember when we’d last made such specific plans for no reason.”</p><p>The formality feels like the first tiny heartbreak on the road to a much more significant moment for both of them.</p><p><i>What Shines from It</i>, which borrows its title from a line in Anne Carson’s <i>The Beauty of the Husband</i>, is a collection of razor sharp stories from a writer with something important to say. And what she says certainly does shine.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ഹ</span></p><p>Buy <i>What Shines from It </i><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781946580115" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>Read more about Sara Rauch <a href="https://www.sararauch.com/" target="_blank">here</a></p><div>See Alternating Current Press's catalogue <a href="http://www.press.alternatingcurrentarts.com/2017/02/alternating-current-press-catalog.html" target="_blank">here</a></div>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-37726921649324476072021-12-17T19:01:00.000-05:002021-12-17T19:01:24.735-05:00New story "The Judas Steer" published this week at Cowboy Jamboree<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbuKaxAcPlTj-EbVc5_j37JlRoi4vBIpEjfhv3Q4oxXkC-IWExSTWU2JIPTFS9ul71rGWW-3WY_8e6zjzrfZhwV1OKotfrf05i5LTF9M8H5Zo5lZ58MIOkFedEBHkua5qWi1bbzb0Jx_ftLKKBcuyl4m-jOkTWKnQcy0L4HwwpXtiIFYvhz-xGx_40jQ=s680" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="680" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbuKaxAcPlTj-EbVc5_j37JlRoi4vBIpEjfhv3Q4oxXkC-IWExSTWU2JIPTFS9ul71rGWW-3WY_8e6zjzrfZhwV1OKotfrf05i5LTF9M8H5Zo5lZ58MIOkFedEBHkua5qWi1bbzb0Jx_ftLKKBcuyl4m-jOkTWKnQcy0L4HwwpXtiIFYvhz-xGx_40jQ=w320-h247" width="320" /></a></div><br />My new short story "The Judas Steer" was published this week at Cowboy Jamboree.<a href="http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/the-judas-steer.html" target="_blank"> I would sincerely love if you stopped by and read it</a>. <p></p><p><a href="http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/">And also check out everything there.</a> CJ Press publishes the best fiction and nonfiction across the literary landscape.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157657062270478731.post-52649721556501461302021-12-09T07:54:00.001-05:002021-12-09T07:54:42.065-05:00Let me clear my throat<p>There's been a lot going on over the past couple of weeks. A new book, <i>Runaways</i>, out from Alien Buddha Press, my <i>Collected Stories</i> out from Cowboy Jamboree Press, and a third book in the early stages of promotion and one I've worked on for the last three years, <i>The Orchard Is Full of Sound, </i>also coming out this spring from CJ Press.</p><p>During all this, I posted briefly about something I want to talk more about here this morning. </p><p>Cody Sexton, publisher and editor of <i>A Thin Slice of Anxiety</i>, nominated my poem "Another Cure for Boredom" for a Pushcart Prize. This is my first for poetry, so it's special to me. I have had good luck with these nominations, though, with seven now over the past decade.</p><p>I told my wife the day Cody announced his nominations that in the indie lit world the nomination <i>was </i>the win because the big swinging egos of the literary world at large were never going to include one of our pieces in the big book. Sadly, and stupidly, those people won't recognize <i>A Thin Slice of Anxiety</i> or <i>Cowboy Jamboree Magazine</i> or <i>Alien Buddha Press </i>or any of the other indie journals because they don't follow the old lines and the old ways and the old kinds of stories and poetry.</p><p>And thank god for that.</p>Shel Comptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570225996893625455noreply@blogger.com0