New work appearing today in FEED

My piece "After a Period of Heavy Rains and Thaw" is included in FEED's new issue today. There's some other pieces in there too from some talented authors. I'm grateful to editors Jessica Spruill and Allison Pugh for seeing something they liked enough to share with their readers.

"Night of the 3-D Creature published today at Openwork Magazine. Thanks Grace Pulliam!

Grace Pulliam, EIC of the online journal Openwork Magazine, published a creative nonfiction piece of mine called "Night of the 3-D Creature" today.

She sent me by far and away the best acceptance letter I've ever received. Just know that it made my day. 

The piece is beautifully featured there now, and I would love if you went and read it. And read as much as you'd like while there. Openwork is doing it the right way. Reward them with your readership.

Here's my piece:

NIGHT OF THE 3-D CREATURE

Three poems published in Cody Sexton's A Thin Slice of Anxiety

There's a journal that has blown my mind for its vision and design and, most of all, its content. A Thin Slice of Anxiety is not only a beautifully - I mean beautifully - designed journal but also full of great fiction, poetry, interviews, and other features. It's a well thought out mix that has something for every reader. 

Editor, publisher, and founder Cody Sexton's note from the editor is remarkably humble for all he's put into the journal. 

Yesterday he published three of my poems - "Another Cure for Boredom," "Sad Love," and "I Want to Be Like Shirley." I'd love if you'd read the journal and my pieces. And let Cody know what a good job he's doing.

"Free Baseball" published at Stymie, a journal of sport, games, & literature

 

I'm so truly thankful to Erik Smetana, founding editor and publisher of Stymie, for publishing my piece "Free Baseball" yesterday. I've always liked what Erik and the others are doing there at the journal for sport, games, and literature. There's also a really good piece in there by DS Levy, author of A Binary Heart from Finishing Line Press.

But check out all the good pieces there at Stymie, and thanks again, Erik!

"Free Baseball"

"Feint of Heart" by DS Levy

Short story "In a Meditation" published in Everyone Quarterly

So Joe Young's online journal Everyone Quarterly just put out a second issue focusing on architecture. It's a beautiful issue and has a great lineup. I have a story in there called "In a Meditation" and my friend Barrett Warner has a memoir piece called "I Had Been Feeding Leeches for a Month." Joe really has put together a fantastic journal. Go read it. 

7:05 p.m.

I've been putting in several hours a day writing just like every day. It's the same thing all of us do. Work, work, work, and keeping working. Make sentences, tell stories, build something memorable with our craft. All the things we all know. 

So work.

I received a submission today from a writer who stated in his bio that he had had more than fifty pieces published. Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. The website he linked to for himself only had an About page. I'm not trying to be a prick. Really, I'm not. If he's working hard every day to improve then I'm all for that. If he's not it's his business. But I rejected his story. 

Cliché. Worn out language. You have to get rid of that immediately before phrases become sentences and they breed and before you know it every paragraph is generally something somebody else said before you. 

In his first paragraph there were four of these - an ill-fitting suit, beads of sweat dancing, broken dreams, and the other I can't remember. 

He could have sent me something shitty, something from his bottom drawer, something he knew wasn't good hoping I would just publish it because I can't help but to publish any and all submissions sent my way. I don't know. And I just don't know. I only thought I'd mention this. I wanted to write him and offer some feedback but couldn't figure out a way to do it without seeming like a prick. So I'm sharing it here because I had to get rid of it from my mind. 

Sometimes this place is a dump station. I'm sorry about that.

Adam Van Winkle's THE RED KNIFE PLAYS adapts my fiction to the stage

 

He did it. And it's fantastic.