i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
it’s may and it’s short story month. i have to ask myself, what is the best short story i’ve read this year. i need to think more about what goes on that particular list. that “i fucking love this story and want to steal something from it” list. re-reading is a big deal for me, … Read more
last night, i watched the movie it’s a kind of funny story. the movie is adapted from the novel by Ned Vizzini, and the story is inspired by Ned’s personal struggle with depression/suicidal ideation that landed him in a psych ward in 2004. there’s a scene in the movie that takes me back to my days working … Read more
i’ve got a thing for reduplicatives. there, i said it. i cannot decide if it’s the repetition or the silliness but i love them. i use them in my writing when i can and, when it works, i’m happy. in my collection of short stories set in Hong Kong, the use of reduplicatives is a … Read more
this is a sabbatical. repeat, this is a sabbatical. thank you and good night.
it’s summer. there’s a cool drink waiting for me on a lanai.
everything Anne Enright says in this Guardian piece is the fucking best. everything. and i’m printing it off, laminating it, and hanging it on my fridge because it’s fucking true. here’s a section: I have no problem with failure – it is success that makes me sad. Failure is easy. I do it every day, … Read more
the girl with Tourette’s is on a roll and can’t stop, pressing her tight lips together. “fuckfuckshitfuck,” she says and apologizes. spitting swear words, sounds, she’s scratching a record uniquely her own. she’s got copropraxic rhythm. marie is her name and she’s small. she moves in short, long, short. like she’s shoving through a crowd at a … Read more
i’ll admit i’m quite curious about writer Jesus Hardwell who published a slim book of shorts called “Easy Living”. it’s wonderful writing. i’ve read it three fucking times. jesus’s a character writer and a little trippy so if you like Dennis Johnson, you’ll love Jesus Hardwell. they may even be the same person, karmically, if … Read more
i’ve been fucking around on twitter and shortlisted for a CBC challenge “lawmakers & lawbreakers”. here’s my tweet story, a bite-sized excerpt from a noir-styled story i wrote a couple of years ago titled ‘Dent’. it’s contained within a fabulous anthology titled ‘Stampede Queens’ that we’re trying to publish. he deserved it, says Phil. i … Read more
i read a book recently that is lingering. THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES by Edmund De Waal is a family memoir that traces the secret lives of tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke through his family history. historically, it’s significant. yet there’s something fascinating about De Waal’s obsession with the object that’s captured … Read more