Here it is! She’s a beaut, eh? The artwork comes from the illustrious brush of Boden Steiner. He said the concept originated in my song “Costumes,” which is a nostalgic tune that’s partly about kids auditioning different personalities (“trying on costumes”) and figuring out what kind of people they want to become. The album’s larger themes are probably obvious from the title and his bold step into what surely will be flight, yeah?
My lack of recent updates is because historically most of them have been literary, and I’m on hiatus from that world for a bit. (I will, however, be hanging in Minneapolis during AWP, eager to let you buy me drinks.) My stack of unread books grows monthly, as I’ve barely cracked a spine since last summer. But if you figure I’ve gone dormant, perish those thoughts.
This is our first topic on a new must-listen podcast: Important Question? where we explore and debate such taboos with the profundity and absurdity and hilarity they warrant. Ensuing episodes will examine other grey areas soaking in our collective grey matter, like, I dunno … ruining a child’s Christmas(?) or taking a bullet for a stranger(?).
Alongside myself, the devil’s original advocate (author, BookTuber, marketer) Caleb J Ross brings his perverse wit and flexible morality (and web hosting) to the dialogue. Will it end in aural fisticuffs or virtual high-fives? Who knows. Either way, you’ll come away with the requisite ammunition to argue these topics later with your racist grandmother.
This anthology contains my short story “‘Burgatory” originally published at Solarcide a few years ago, but which has been offline for a while. It’s about a life-insurance salesman facing his mortality as planes of the multiverse collide.
From the publisher:
Visions, plagues, angels. A different view of the miracle of birth. Bestiality farms, departing souls, talking cold sores, and of course, elder gods. All of this and more. Edited by Martin Garrity and Nathan Pettigrew, this is a collection of some of the darkest and most peculiar words ever published by Solarcide. The long-awaited return of some of the craziest, funniest, and most brutal fiction that was featured during the first couple of years of the site’s operations. Featuring an introduction by neo-noir road warrior, RichardThomas, and boasting stories from wonderful folk such as Ben Tanzer, Gordon Highland, Brandon Tietz, Rebecca Jones-Howe, and Garrett Cook. Wicked words are contained within.
You may have noticed that I read a lot of four- and five-star books. That’s not me being generous with my ratings, it’s because most were prequalified recommendations from those whose tastes I trust. Neo-noir, crime fiction, southern gothic, literary fiction: these are my preferred genres. I have little interest right now in young adult, sci-fi, fantasy, bizarro, alt-lit, or most of the speculative fictions involving creatures. Exceptions exist, and have certainly provided some eyebrow-raising reads, especially those which transcend or subvert their genre’s prescriptions. But with so many excellent purchased books lying in wait, well … hopefully I’ll live to see retirement (and my eyesight holds up) so that I may partake in new genre adventures.
Remember my debut novel from back in 2009? Ever wanted to cut out the eyeball middlemen and have the author’s voice streaming between your ears handsfree?
The rise of self-publishing means more authors are taking on unfamiliar roles, with mixed results. To put it kindly. I’ll leave the marketing/promotion advice to others, but one aspect I can speak to with some authority is design. I’ve designed all three of my own books, assisted with several others, and worked on a ton of print jobs in a (miserable) former agency life. My first novel interior was created in Microsoft Word—which I don’t recommend—with decent results. Everything since, I’ve used Adobe InDesign, and Photoshop for any imported raster images.
While I strongly encourage enlisting a pro for design work (cover art at the very least), if you’ve got the tools, a little knowledge, eagle eyes, and a masochistic streak, interior book layout isn’t terribly difficult these days. What follows is far from comprehensive, merely addressing common errors I see in amateur typesetting. As my readers might expect, we’ll begin in the gutter.
I managed to consume 32 books this year. Most came from small presses, and were quite good. Plenty has already been said about the big titles, so I focus on reviewing the underserved authors worthy of your attention. Because I’m lucky to get my book recommendations from readers with similar tastes (and because my to-read pile numbers in the hundreds, allowing little patience for lousy reads), it’s time well-spent, with a high signal:noise ratio. These are the books that got me talking this year—yes, many of them written by people I know.
I’m the focus of this month’s Community Spotlight over at the excellent LitReactor, profiled by Jessica Taylor. The main topic is Submission Windows, my shorts collection, but the interview also delves into the art of sequencing compilations, poetry, and the differences between writing for the short versus long form.
LitReactor is one of the most popular book/writing sites out there, with columns, interviews, online courses, and an enormous community forum (I’ve been active since day one), whose members Jessica has taken the initiative to feature. Recent Spotlights have profiled Chris Lewis Carter, Pantheon Magazine, Solarcide, David Buglass, and Jonathan Riley. Jessica also co-hosts Books and Booze, a weekly podcast featuring author interviews and discussion.
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Author of the Dead series and Zomblog series, TW Brown also contributed a story to The Booked. Anthology, having been a fellow former guest of the podcast. I answered some writerly questions on his blog, wherein I managed to insult my philistine friends, skewer traditional publishing models, and share my method for producing one entire page of fiction per day.
Prison bars. Stained church glass. Deadlines precursing rejection. These are Submission Windows: vantage points for peeking in on—or out from—surgeons, killers, priests, perverts, inmates, athletes, musicians, and more than a few celebrities past their prime. Most clinging to frayed ropes of their own making, desperate for redemption, love, or merely an enduring pulse. For others, it’s their ambition on display, destined for humility.
A couple of years ago, I read Andrez Bergen’s excellent post-apocalyptic sci-noir novel Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, and began a correspondence with the author, interviewing him for The Velvet and keeping in touch all friendly-like, as we do. A few books later, he re-approached Goat‘s publisher, Another Sky Press, about releasing an anthology of stories by other authors that he compiled (along with co-editor Guy Salvidge), all set within the well-developed universe of that first novel. I immediately jumped on board as a contributor, taking it as a challenge to write my very first story in that genre.
That’s right, having just celebrated their first anniversary as a podcast, the Books and Booze crew is throwing down with a shindig on June 22. Readings, dinner, drinks, debauchery, and inevitable hijinks. Cicero’s is a great location, right in the University City Loop area of St. Louis, MO, near Washington University. Joining me in providing literary entertainment will be authors:
Please use the Facebook event page to RSVP, so they can get an accurate head count, because we’ve got our own area in the bar. The event itself is free, but not whatever comestibles you shove or pour down your gullet. It makes me proud to see people are driving and flying in from all over the country, as it’s not just about the authors, but a gathering of the literati and attendant book nerds. Sexy, sexy nerds.
First of all, if you’ve never listened to Booked. Podcast before, I’ll wait while you get clicky and download some eps. Or stream it—whatever—just get it in you by any means. Odds are good they’ve reviewed something you’re thinking about reading, or talked to your favorite authors, and dropped some knowledge and smack and hilarity. They do so weekly, with nearly 160 archived episodes to keep you busy. As a guest, friend of the show, and fan, I was of course stoked to pen a new short story for them when word came down that hosts Robb Olson and Livius Nedin were assembling The Booked. Anthology, now available from Amazon or B&N in paperback or Kindle.
Got a new (flash fiction) short story for you, called “Ephemeralia,” which Black Heart Magazine deemed fit for publication. Stick around and read some other tales of literary rebellion while you’re there. [Note: the site is assuredly not porn, though it may get filtered as NSFW.]
I used to get ethereal and ephemeral mixed up. Both are transitory descriptions: things that don’t last. The title came first, meant to be a play on memorabilia (or maybe paraphernalia), which conjured an image of a public figure selling off bits of his life in the classifieds. But nothing tangible, nothing buyers could resell or even prove, only experiences. That same day, I happened to find myself buried hours-deep in a web site called Bill Murray Stories, wherein fans submit tales of bizarre encounters with the actor. Combine an assholic actor with the quote below, motivate him with terminal illness, and one’s legacy becomes invaluable.
“For what is a man profit, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his own soul?” ~Matthew 16:25
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