other writers Archives » Page 16 of 21

Not a loud lesbian nor a story of masturbation; how will I succeed?

February 26, 2010

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be one of a great group of writers to read at Leela European Café on April 9th in Denver. I’ve done a few readings in the past, despite the live aspect being something writers don’t often get to experience. I’ve been lucky, I guess. I am perhaps more excited to see and meet these people more than I am to actually read some of my own work. That’s natural. I’m humble by nature. Humble and handsome. The unwritten rule is that writers should read from something either freshly published or contracted for publication. For me, that would be my story collection, Charactered Pieces. But another, perhaps not entirely unwritten rule, is that when crowds and drinks are involved, the best type of material to read is work both funny and short. Charactered Pieces, though it contains elements of each, doesn’t contain any…

Otherworld Publications makes a couple smart moves

February 25, 2010

I probably don’t do enough promoting other writers here. I don’t know why. Perhaps I fear that any writers I mention will feel obligated to reciprocate kind words, while not necessarily having justification for such. So, for all the writers I mention here, you are free to slander my name without fear of any hostilities on my part. Richard Thomas, throbbing heart heart throb and master of duct tape Though too early really to benefit my good man Richard Thomas as far as direct sales go, it’s never too early to push a friend’s work. In June, Richard’s novel, Transubstantiate, will be the debut novel from Otherworld Publications. They’ve got a good seed with this one; I’ve had the pleasure of reading an early version of the novel. From the official press release: About Transubstantiate: “They say Jimmy made it out. But the postcards we get, well, they don’t seem...real."…

De Kameel uit Marokko door Caleb J Ross (en vertaald door Mlaz Corbier)

February 12, 2010

Mlaz Corbier, well-read crazy man and all-around glorious inbastard, offered to translate my story, "The Camel of Morocco," into Dutch (mainly for a university class, but I like to pretend my work is so captivating that it demands translation). I don't read Dutch, so it is entirely possible that Mlaz may have turned this story into a space operatic porn, and if so, I would be equally as impressed and grateful. And considering Mr. Corbier's reputation, one of wise-crackery, I am actually certain of such. My hat is off to this good man. He took time out of his day to open one of my stories up to an entirely new audience. De Kameel uit Marokko door Caleb J Ross (en vertaald door Mlaz Corbier) Abel luistert. De wind blaast een echo van alleen klinkers door het gruis tot er een steen vanuit het gemankeerde trappenhuis valt en botst en…

One for the good guys…right? Lauren Conrad reads Clevenger

February 6, 2010

Lauren Conrad, of The Hills fame, is reading Craig Clevenger’s The Contortionist’s Handbook. Let me repeat…no, just read that sentence again; this is text, not audio, you lazy bastard. What does this mean to those of us who have long been in the know about Clevenger’s amazing writing? The optimist in me says, “great, maybe good literature will catch on to the reality TV addicted masses.” The pessimist in me, one admittedly self-interested, says, “there goes my dirty little hipster secret.” This forces the question: are some books considered good, simply because they aren’t so widely accepted? Think of the hipster elitist who will parade his love of fifteen obscure films before admitting his having read even one best-seller. The logic is always that the blockbuster shit is crap. For the most part, I would agree (Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is one recent best-seller that I would defend to the…

Blog Orgy Tour: a hangover post with Monkeywright

January 20, 2010

Though the official Blog Orgy Tour has sadly passed, I'm still shaking off the effects. Today, I introduce the hangover post, a guest post that could have been part of the Blog Orgy Tour if only I weren't so busy with groupies and drugs (truth: books and dominoes). Today, at Michael Paul Gonzalez's blog, I talk a bit about the true purpose of a blog. My post acts as a ribbon-cutting ceremony of sorts, as this is the first post in Michael's revamped blog. I'm honored. And if you still want, all of the past Blog Orgy Tour posts are still available, here.

Yeah, I wrote a vampire story…I’d be embarrassed if it wasn’t so good.

January 19, 2010

Disclaimer: I've never read/seen any part of the Twilight franchise. The last vampire movie I saw was The Lost Boys. I'm not a fan of the vampire genre and probably never will be. So, why the hell did I write a vampire story for the new Eternal Night: a Vampire Anthology? Two reasons: 1) the concept of the anthology is to combat traditional vampire cliches, and 2) I was asked to by a friend to contribute, and it seemed like a fun challenge. To my surprise, my story "Born Again Michael," is probably one of the better things I have ever written (at least from what I remember of the story; I wrote in in the middle of 2009). I cannot downplay the level of talent included here: Axel Taiari, Chris Deal, Tony Schaab, Kelly M. Hudson, Simon West-Bulford, Jessy Marie Roberts, Christopher Dwyer, Anthony Giangregorio, Richard Thomas, Spencer Wendleton,…

Five questions for Black Coffee Press, Scott C. Rogers

January 14, 2010

Today, as one of the final stops on my Blog Orgy Tour, my 3AM Magazine Buzzwords blog takeover continues, this time with a short, five question series for Black Coffee Press founder, Scott C. Rogers. I ask him, among other things, why he started this press and why people should care. This is hard-hitting journalism.