i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
i received a great rejection letter today in which not only one, but two people gave me feedback in the letter. i have to say that i enjoy this level of rejection, if that makes any sense, and it probably doesn’t, but what the hell. it’s just that lately i’ve been thinking about submitting in … Read more
if i were to create a diorama of the story i’m editing, it would contain: a flip up cityscape of Hong Kong two plainclothes policemen lurking around a corner a camera and a TV set a bowl of noodles and a couple bottles of Tsing Tao beer a copy of Rashomon, Kurasawa’s movie about relative … Read more
dear alice, we need to talk about sex. you wrote this sexy bit in the story “Differently” (Selected Stories) that deals with sex in a frank way, so much so that i’ve often reflected on your writerly stance. here’s a sample: And Georgia, herself, watching her children on the roundabout, or feeling the excellent shape … Read more
i’m obsessed with shoes.
i’m a lucky woman to find a first edition of WP Kinsella’s collection SHOELESS JOE JACKSON COMES TO IOWA in the bin at Fair’s Fair Books, a lucky woman. here’s an excerpt: My father said he saw him years later playing in a tenth-rate commercial league in a textile town in Carolina, wearing shoes and … Read more
“writing is defiance,” says John Vigna, short story genius. defiance is defined as “the act or instance of defying: challenge” by Merriam-Webster Dictionary. i’ve been thinking on this one and trying to figure out who or what a writer defies and i think i’ve figured it out. it’s your self. it’s a challenge to not … Read more
there’s a door that opens with a whoosh and big cushy library chairs to sink your brain into. a cadaver’s leg, puckered yellow, astringent. i’m fascinated by his toenails. a difficult woman is my guide, her breasts removed, one by one, until she’s standing beside an IV pole, demanding attention. my slip is showing and … Read more
When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would. Don’t “romanticize your vocation”. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. … Read more
spammed by louis vuitton knock-offs. there is irony in this. i’ve written a series of stories set in Hong Kong, the mecca of knock-offs, and in one particular story an authentic Louis Vuitton handbag stands out. here’s an excerpt: I admit that when I first saw her, I wondered why she was wearing a Shanghai … Read more
a giant eyeball washes ashore in Florida and i’m printing out the story and adding it to my file marked “stranger than fiction”. here’s the link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/oct/14/eyeball-florida-beach-swordfish-video?newsfeed=true you’re welcome.