Some of you remember my former band, Molly’s Crush: a regional ’80s tribute act (in which I was the guitarist) with Shannon Lipps on the mic. Winebox reunites the two of us musically. As exciting as the ‘Crush era was, we said the next time we convened, we wanted to strip things down, simplify, and frankly … just play the kind of music we wanted to hear ourselves.

The result is a mix of our favorite tunes from the last 30-odd years, much of it singer-songwriter material—and all of it soulful—with classic/modern rock, torch songs, and some jangly stuff. It’s acoustic, after all. Shannon handles the vocals and percussion, and I’ll be on guitar, piano, and harmonies. Listen for us to rock some originals in the same musical vein as well, with backing band tracks recorded in my home studio for a fuller sound.

Visit our official Winebox page on Facebook for the show calendar, pics, videos, etc. And of course, please “like” us, so we can keep you in the loop about news and events. Meanwhile, here are some brand new demos to tide you over, plus a few promo shots. If you lose track of this post, you can always find the same info up there under the Music menu. We’ll probably start off with some smaller shows and shared bills in late April or early May here in Kansas City, and we can’t wait to see everyone out there soon!

Barton Hollow (The Civil Wars)
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
Shadowboxer (Fiona Apple)
Toasted (Last Call)
Stale Air

An expatriate Australian journalist who’s written/edited for Mixmag, Impact (UK), and Anime Insider (among others), Andrez Bergen has been entrenched in Tokyo for the past 10 years, where he also “hacks together” electronic/techno music under the moniker Little Nobody.

Read the entire interview at Welcome to The Velvet.

Also check out Booked Podcast’s Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat review episode.

My first AWP was Denver, now two years in the rearview, and I had a memorable time, even if no photographic evidence exists to confirm this. Sure, there were dozens of panels hosted by writers I respected (including my word-hero Michael Chabon), and just as many where the informative content trumped the unknowns presenting it. But let’s be honest: it’s really an excuse to get silly for four days and nights with my extended online family of writers who workshop together, support one another’s writerly trajectories (hopefully ascending), and conspire to commit all sorts of questionable acts that will ultimately shave years off our lives. Some have never met in person before, and others cross international waters to participate. It’s also an excuse to buy more indie books than will fit on my Goodreads shelf. To pawn a few of my own fictions. To feign enjoyment at listening to authors read their work aloud. To chat up fishnetted, becorseted, raccoon-eyed authors of amputee erotica in dark corners over a glass of absinthe. Though we all know such gals are usually costumed more like thrift-store managers, and prefer wine coolers to wormwood. I love them all the same.

Last time, I burnt myself out with too many back-to-back panels, and am taking more of a relaxed approach this year: just a few per day. After all, this is my so-called “vacation.” No secret benefactor is footing my bill; I’ve no obligation to present or perform anywhere (that I know of. . .). I’ll sleep in if I please. See the sights. Indulge. Endure an hour-long line for a gourmet hot dog, goddammit!

But the real reason for this post isn’t to regale you with tales of literary conquests past, of syndicated television viewed in different time zones. It’s an invitation for you to come say hello, to let you buy me a pint, slip me a free copy of your book (paperback, please), or indulge me in droning on solipsistically about my own works-in-progress. Below is a preliminary list of the panels and events I may attend (unless something shiny or lacy distracts me) for those organizing their own stalking-and-accosting itineraries. I’ll be staying Wednesday through Saturday night (2/29 – 3/3) with my three ninja bodyguard/roommates at the Hampton Inn Majestic, right around the corner from the Palmer House (where most of the panels I care about are held, and where many attendees are staying). Gimme a shout in advance if you like.


Wednesday, 2/29
8:00 pm   Kick-Off Party @ The Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western Ave.)


Thursday, 3/1
9:00 am    R121. Atypical Points of View in Fiction Narration
12:00 pm  R170. Villains and Killers and Criminals, Oh My: Representing Evildoers in Lit Fic
4:30 pm    R233. The Renaissance of Midwestern Literature
8:30 pm    Margaret Atwood keynote

8:00 pm    The Wrong Kind of Reading @ The Galway Arms (2442 N. Clark St.)
9:00 pm    Karaoke Idol @ Beauty Bar (1444 W. Chicago)


Friday, 3/2
9:00 am   F119. Literature and the Internet in 2012
12:00 pm  F169. The Place at the Heart of Story
1:30 pm   F178. Natl Book Critics Circle Celebrates Award-Winning Authors

7:00 pm   Beautiful, Words @ Beauty Bar (1444 W. Chicago)


Saturday, 3/3
9:00 am   S104. Midwest Gothic: Dark Fiction of the Heartland
12:00 pm  S165. Mine Is Clouds: Revisiting the Life and Work of Richard Brautigan
3:00 pm   S215. Men from Venus, Women from Mars: Writing the Opposite Sex

6:00 pm   Ear Eater #13: The Impossible, The Extraordinary @ Beef & Brandy (127 S. State St.)

First up is this event at the end of the month in St. Louis, MO where I’ll be reading . . . um, something . . . alongside noir authors Caleb J Ross (I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin), Mark Tiedemann (Remains), and Kevin Lynn Helmick (Sebastian Cross). It’s at a coffee shop in the Delmar Loop near Washington University, part of a semi-regular local series hosted by Jedidiah Ayres and Scott Phillips. This is a road-trip stop for Caleb and me on our way to the AWP conference in Chicago the next day.


Noir at the Bar
Feb. 28, 2012
7:00 – 10 pm

Meshuggah Café
6269 Delmar Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63130



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My short story “Fry Girl” (my personal favorite of those I’ve written) appears in …In Search of a City: Los Angeles in 1,000 Words, the first fiction collection from ThunderDome Press, now available in full-color paperback at ThundaDome.com/LA1K (where you can find instructions for a discount code) as well as through Amazon. Be sure to add it on Goodreads as well.

Editor Michael Gonzalez challenged each of the 26 contributors to write a 1,000-word story (no more, no less) with a California theme, based on their selection of a photo from a gallery of Hipstamatic shots he took with his iPhone around the Los Angeles area. The result is quintessential L.A.: dreams, drugs, hallucinations, romance, life and death, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and redemption. This one below was mine, the billboard, which inspired a story about a middle-aged former child model reflecting on her rivalry with her best friend.

Full contributor list:

Ryan Wilson – “American Trash”
Stuart Gibbel – “Break on Through”
Craig Clevenger – “Obsolescence”
Nik Korpon – “South of Thirteen”
Dennis Cruz – “Smile Now, Cry Later”
Pela Via – “Bathhouse”
Stephen Conley – “Don’t Feed the Animals”
Grigori Black – “This Was Heaven”
Doc O’Donnell – “Your Personal Apocalypse”
Nikki Guerlain – “Sick Ticket”
Patrick Verhagen – “Swim”
Craig Wallwork – “El Bordello Alexandra”
Nicholas Merlin Karpuk – “Ahm’s Bay”
Nik Houser – “Subtitles for a Silent Film”
H.R. Tardiff – “Walls in the Sand”
Richard Thomas – “The Jenny Store”
Bob Pastorella – “Alexandra”
Simon West-Bulford – “Project Asmodeus”
Jay Slayton-Joslin – “The Fantasy of California vs. The Reality of London”
Amanda Gowin – “Gilded Bones”
Chris Deal – “Padre Nuestro”
Boden Steiner – “Here”
Gordon Highland – “Fry Girl”
edward j rathke – “All the Dreams You Dreamt Retold”
Michael Paul Gonzalez – “Tidal”
Victor Bengtsson – “Venice, Forever”

A great deal of care was put into these e-book editions, and you’ll find a wealth of bonus content, including:

• Afterword by Jesse Lawrence
• Final Thoughts by Livius Nedin and Robb Olson
• Warmed and Bound: Up Close by Phil Jourdan
• Interview with Pela Via by Phil Jourdan
• The Multiple Voices Inside Your Book by Jay Slayton-Joslin
• Booked Podcast: Warmed and Bound Sessions
• Transcripts of Booked Interviews with: Craig Clevenger, Brian Evenson, Stephen Graham Jones, and Pela Via
• Photography by Charles King
• The Fuse

With 38 stories (from authors united by their love of dark fiction), plus all the new stuff above, this thing is a beast. But navigation is easy thanks to all the linked cross-references, both within the collection, as well as to external ones for more information. We want you to learn more about these emerging and established authors.

If you like what you read, please help us get the word out, and we’d love for you to post a review at the usual places like Amazon or Goodreads, even if it’s a short one.

Visit the official site for updated news:  http://warmedandbound.com

ISBN: 1613641621

ASIN: B005J3UAK8

Listen here.

UPDATE:  I’d say that’s some pretty good company. . .  (click to embiggen)

This project has been a labor of love, born out of a reading/writing community called The Velvet (where I’m a moderator), who are united by their love of dark, visceral fiction exemplified in the works of authors Will Christopher Baer, Craig Clevenger, and Stephen Graham Jones. Many other published authors and emerging writers make up the talent pool as well, and when the time finally came to assemble a collection of their work, our editor Pela Via and admin Logan Rapp led the charge. With participation from Clevenger, Jones, and the regulars, we reached outside our community to a number of authors with similar sensibilities we respect like Brian Evenson, Craig Davidson, Matt Bell, Blake Butler, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Paul Tremblay, Vincent Louis Carrella, and others, and were delighted with their response. There’s even a short foreword by Steve Erickson, whose work is praised within our walls nearly as often as that of our founders.

Here’s a peek at the cover. Click for larger versions and to see the full list of contributors.

Visit the official Warmed and Bound site for more info and updates, be sure to “like” its Facebook page, add it to your Goodreads shelf, and I’ll be posting some related media here in the upcoming weeks.