Review of My Only Wife up at Nouspique

David Allan Barker kindly reviewed My Only Wife at his blog Nouspique.

A particularly generous highlight:

"My Only Wife is a sneaky book. It guiles the reader with clean prose and apparent simplicity into believing that it’s a novel about the narrator’s only wife. It may be about many things – about absence, emptiness, and loss – but it really isn’t about the narrator’s only wife. It’s more like an empty glass from the cupboard, an abstraction, a form, and it invites us to fill it with particulars from our own experience.”

My Only Wife Reviewed/Talked about at HTMLGiant

Christopher Higgs had some incredibly thoughtful things to say about My Only Wife at  HTMLGiant.

Are you aware of Two Serious Ladies?  It is a new magazine named after the wonder Jane Bowles novel from Ms. Lauren Spohrer who is neat and doing neat things.  A tiny excerpt of this novel I've been working on for a few months is up here today: http://www.twoseriousladies.org/author/jac/

While you're there, you should read the likes of Roxane Gay, Heidi Julavits and an amazing story called "Vagina" by Kayla Blatchley, among others. Get serious.

Rejection 280

Robert Lopez was kind enough to ask for a submission for his blog No News Today.  I'm going to be doing a reading at AWP with him that's propaganda-themed, so I sent him the piece I've worked out for that, but he wasn't keen on it for the blog, which is fair.  The propaganda is different than what I usually write by a mile, though I had fun researching the hideous Felony Murder Rule.

I have been working away at novel here in Vermont for the past 3 weeks!  I have about 160 pages so far!  I feel great!

Also finished editing a story collection today, and am wondering what  I want to do with it.

We're finally getting snow here today and it is wild and woolly and I love it. I've been waiting all month.

Rejection 279

Another attempt at American Short Fiction: failed.

Oh well!

I have an essay in the new issue of Hobart available here: http://www.hobartpulp.com/print/index.html

The issue is overwhelmingly awesome with work from Amy Butcher, Brian Allen Carr, Jimmy Chen, Amelia Gray, Adam Levin, Sean Lovelace, Shya Scanlon and a host of others.

I have new poetry in the second issue of Anobium available here: http://anobium.bigcartel.com/product/anobium-volume-2-winter-2012-preorder

This issue is also mind-blowing, containing work from the likes of Roxane Gay, Patrick Sommerville, Jesse Ball, and tons of others whose work I wasn't previously familiar with

Anyway, I'm going to Vermont for a month now to write and catch up with some things. See you at AWP. Byeeeeeeeeeeee.

Grant Rejection

You know who's a treasure?  Jackie Corley over at Word Riot.  I applied for their travel grant, but wasn't lucky enough to get it. Jackie sent a kind personal note though, and I'm thankful for that.  Congratulations to Karolina Waclawiak.  have an amazing time where ever you are headed!

Ack! i forgot to promote my story in Make Magazine!

Go get your copy here: http://makemag.com/!  

You can read stuff by Betsy Crane, Dylan Nice, Laura Goldstein, and tons of other folks!

Rejection 278

Marian at American Short Fiction  is a treasure, and asked me to submit.  I sent her the one story I have right now, and it wasn't her cup of tea.  I don't have any other stories right now, because I am working on something longer, and just trying to add it all up.  I should try to write something short to give myself a break and then sent it to Marian.  I might do that this week.

And with that, I'm pretty sure I only have one lonely submission out right now, to Octopus, and I think that might have been sent to them when I misunderstood their submission guidelines, so who knows if that even counts?  I feel okay about this. Also, I got an Illinois Arts Council Professional Development Grant, so that's encouraging, while I work on this new, big thing.

Also, I'm reading web submissions for Hobart for the rest of December, so send work over there, puh-lease.

Rejection 277

Post Road politely declined my story, "Bent Back."

I applied for a grant today.

I'm still making steady progress on this new novel-ish project, which makes me happy.

I'm going to be killed in the backwoods of Wisconsin this weekend, if all goes according to plan.

Rejection 275 and 276, 2 stories, and a book

Ensemble Jourine wrote asking for a submission, and I sent them some poem parts, and they asked for a poem that was more like 10-30 pages, which seemed eye-widening to me.  The thing is, I do not ever have poems that long, and I don't think I could just make one on cue, and I am working on a new novel thinger, so there's no hope.  BUT, Anobium wrote a few days later accepting all those poem parts, so they have a home, and I couldn't be happier.

Rejection 276 came from the kindly Mike Czyzniejewski at Mid-American who didn't think the story I sent was right for them, but was super nice and friendly in his letter. Thanks, Mike!

I forgot to announce formally on here that I had a story in the new issue of Ping Pong, the journal out of the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, but their site appears to be down right now, so I won't provide a link.

I had a story up in Necessary Fiction thanks to Jess Stoner!

Finally, my book appears to be available for preorder on Amazon which is a strange feeling, being that I couldn't be more pro-small bookstore, and I urge you to wait and order it from Dzanc or get it at your local bookshop or come to Chicago in April to celebrate and get a copy at the party!  That is all.