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Things need to change. I need to blog more. I need to have interesting things to say. Yes, that is the correct order for those last two items. Blogs, generally, are dumb. So many of them tend to be self-infatuated messes. The argument that this egotism is their exact purpose stands, true. So perhaps my contempt is like me at an orgy: so many people doing it must mean it’s fun, but every time I try one, I leave with a bad taste in my mouth. Gross. I read plenty of industry blogs, which I see as more an evolution of the commercial print world (magazines, trades, etc.) than as an evolution of the private world (diaries, journals, bathroom stalls). So, maybe I am meant simply to avoid the diaries and try to make this blog more about the industry. Problem: I don’t know much about “the industry.” I don’t even know what industry that would be. Publishing? Authoring? Is drinking an industry? [pullshow]I want to be useful. I want to provide valuable content to my 2.5 readers (I call them nuclear readers; when they comment on my posts, I call them nuclear reactors…get it…anyone…). A Platform is becoming an increasingly important part of a writer’s business arsenal. Think of a platform as a retarded term for group of buyers. Essentially, publishers want writers to have a market before a book is even contracted. Strange, I know. If I already had an audience, I would print and sell the book myself. (Already, I’ve stream-of-conscious-ing this thing; next step: decorate with Lisa Frank stickers and catch my older sister reading it). [pullthis]So my question is, what is useful? What is my unique knowledge?[/pullthis] Or if not that, what is the unique perspective I can offer? Here’s a list of possibilities:

  • I edit the OWC site, so I know some about small presses and “outsider” authors
  • I write fiction, so I know about lying
  • I have a lot of concepts for niche products, so I could give away million-dollar product ideas for free
  • I’m really good at eating pop-tarts. The trick is to turn them upside-down before eating, so that the icing touches your taste buds directly. Shit, there goes that blog post.
  • I know a little about podcasting
  • I once helped nurse a bird back to health after nearly hitting it with a lawn mower (yes, “nearly.” The bird was emotionally traumatized)
  • I marketed my debut story collection, Charactered Pieces, with a zero-dollar budget, so I know how to spend a lot of time not writing constructive fiction. Related: I blog
Any of these sound good. Why do you, dear reader, come back to a blog? What would bring you back to me?

So, I'm back, after four short days of writing-related debauchery. All-in-all, a great time. The highlight, of course, was the OW Press The Velvet reading, which took place on Friday, April 9th at Leela European Cafe. Fourteen readers came together to read current works, works-in-progress, or never-to-be-published works. A damn fine time. I managed to meet a lot of people I've only communicated with over the Internet, which made the trip both surreal and important. Also, I posted about the AWP Conference as it was happening, over at the Denver AWP blog that I set up. Myself, along with a few other writers, posted about our experiences as they were happening. I'm sure more updates will trickle in over the coming days, as hangovers and jet-lag wear off.

A very special Episode #003 of The Velvet Podcast just went live a few hours ago. I interview one of my very favorite authors, Brian Evenson about his upcoming AWP Conference panel, Crime, Horror, Sci‐Fi, and Fantasy… Seriously.Extract below: (Anthony Smith, Brian Evenson, Stephen Graham Jones, Tod Goldberg, Mark Smith, Seth Harwood) Six writers of genre fiction who also teach and/or have graduated from university creative writing programs discuss how they approach genre fiction as a serious literary pursuit rather than as a lesser form of fiction. In addition, they discuss attitudes towards genre fiction in the university and how those attitudes have changed over the years. I want to personally thank Mr. Brian Evenson for taking time out of his day to chat with me. He has made this fanboy quite happy. Be sure to visit his website for details about this amazing author. Please, give it a listen.…

Episode #002 of The Velvet Podcastjust went live a few hours ago. Me, Chris Deal, Bob Pastorella, and Chris Bodenstein talk about: Why the disparity between genre fiction and literary fiction? Why are these two modes so often thought of as mutually exclusive? Though genre fiction (the big ones: mystery, sci-fi, horror) are taught at the university level, there is a palatable disinterest among much of academia. In this episode, four The Velvet members discuss these questions and more. I look forward to the future of this podcast. Please, give it a listen. Subscribe via Feedburner, Podcast Alley, RSS, or iTunes.

Professional Orange Alert kind gent, Jason Behrends, invited me to contribute to his weekly arts and literature podcast. I've been dabbling in podcasting lately (contributing to The Velvet Podcast and getting things in line for next week's AWP Conference, where I'll have an audio feed to document the event), so to have this additional swath of experience is nice. For this week's episode, I read my story "Our Guy" which originally appeared at Word Riot. I'm really happy to be a part of this thing. Thanks to Mr. Behrends for having me. And be sure to check out past episodes for some great songs and readings. Scott McClanahan reading "The Rainelle Story" and Hosho McCreesh reading "Another Kind of Life" on episode 2 for starters. Click over to the Orange Alert Podcast post to listen.

Someone needs to murder Pablo D'Stair. He's making all of us, who for so long have relied on passion as a vehicle for discussing literature, look like asses. I've never met a person more in love with books (possibly more in love with the idea of- and the ideas within- books than the books themselves). This guy makes me imagine a beautiful world of quiet dive bars and smokey conversation. He recently asked me to be a part of the re-emergence of his literary journal, Predicate. What he's done here is amazing. He invited seven authors to wax ever-so eloquently about literature. Sounds boring, I know. But these are not simple Q&A sessions. These are in-depth examinations of the meaning of literature. Okay, still sounds boring. But trust me, it's not. Despite what my description above may imply about my ability to be entertaining, I'm quite proud of my contribution.…

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