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Craig Wallwork, author of the aptly titled Craig Wallwork blog, takes over with this stop, letting me rest for a day. But lucky for you, you beautiful groupie, Craig's post may just be better than all of mine combined. At least my ego thinks so. Click over to Craig's blog to read a stunning review of Charactered Pieces. This thing make me blush every time I read it (and I read it more this is probably healthy). Here's a taste (read the whole thing at Craig's blog to know what he means with the swimming analogy): It is a great achievement for any writer to see their work in print, but to produce a piece that could, given time, be a significant bit of storytelling of our age, is awe-inspiring. For personal reasons I am indebted to Caleb for allowing me to read his work. Like the boy of twelve…

Today is a special day in the Blog Orgy Tour. Not only is this the first stop of the new decade, but it's a unique stop in that I have a brand new story to offer. The story, "Legs Unwilling," is one of the most disturbing stories I've ever written. And between this story and an older story, "Petty Injuries," I might have the makings of a collection of stories built around mentally disabled children. How's that for a feel-good read? I'm quite glad to have Rotten Leaves post this story. The editors, Axel Taiari and Christopher Dwyer are fantastic writers themselves. Stick around the site and check out the other offered fiction. The Blog Orgy Tour is winding down. But damn good things are still to come. See the dates, here.

Today is another double-header, sending me from the literary and artistic haven for poets, writers and artists known as Troubadour21 to the subterranean bloke's room populated by Bukowski, Kerouac, Carver, and Waits known as Bukowski's Basement (I think Bukowski contributes more than is 1/4 of the rent to get his name on the sign). At Troubadour21, a full story from Charactered Pieces is posted. This one called "Refill," which originally appeared in the now defunct Green Muse Review. This story is a personal one, semi-autobiographical, yet despite what that description implies, it isn't boring. Over in Bukowski's Basement, I talk a bit about my secret dream of being a barstool stereotype. It's not secret anymore. The post also acts as the final installment of my Author Notes, this one about the non-fiction piece, "A Chinese Gemini." Fitting, the piece spends some time in a bar. The Blog Orgy Tour is…

Today, I stop at Nicholas Karpuk's blog, which consists of a series of posts tagged "Cartoon Hell," that comment on a cartoon DVD from a $5 collection called “150 Cartoon Classics." You have no idea how much this idea excited me when I first heard about it. So, to be able to add a bit of cartoon talk to his blog is an honor. There, I talk about how Ren & Stimpy inspired the cover design for Charactered Pieces. And just for fun, check out this playlist featuring Tex Avery's most well-known cartoons. As a child, I absorbed Looney Tunes cartoons. Avery's "[Blank] of Tomorrow" newsreel satires were my favorite (as evidenced by an earlier post here).

Lists are all the rage for some reason. Some say the end of the year and/or decade has something to do with it. I blame scare tactics perpetrated by a pencil, paper, and bullet point-funded media. Today, I provide a few lists, my top five books, blogs, and cigars of oh9, over at Chris Deal's blog. Note, these are items that I discovered in 2009; they are were not necessarily published, started, rolled in 2009. See all the other Blog Orgy Tour dates, here. And as always, if you'd like to have me drop by, just let me know. I demand fuchsia colored M&Ms. So help me if there is a single purple M among them.

Writers enjoy solitude, sure. But even a cat has to sniff around in a different bag every once-in-a-while. Terrible metaphor aside, stop #9 on the Blog Orgy Tour is at Richard Thomas's What Does Not Kill Me blog, where I discuss what a writer's physical setting can do for his work. See all the other Blog Orgy Tour dates, here. And as always, if you'd like to have me drop by, just let me know. Operators are standing by.

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