The Molotov Cocktail issue 11 volume 10 is out – and it contains my 777-word short “A Shotgun and a Shovel” for your reading enjoyment.
Click HERE to read the piece – and the only honest Author Bio I ever write.
Much thanks to Josh at the Molotov for putting this up.
I have always really enjoyed the Molotov Cocktail’s pulp-fiction-esque cover art.
Believe it or not, I don’t actually like being interviewed. I am never sure what to say, and I am pretty sure I come across as being about as smart as a hamster. Contrary to popular belief, writing and intelligence to not go hand-in-hand. Like any who ever wrote I’d like to say just read the stories man, everything that’s anything is there on the page.
That said, interviews are very necessary in promoting one’s work and it’s also a way of paying a debt of gratitude to the publication for putting my work out there in the first place. To quote Rabelais “I owe much, I have nothing, the rest I bequeath to the poor” – or in this case, sure, sure I’ll interview.
The two I did this year were with JMWW for their “Origins” series and with The Forge after they’d published a story of mine. The JMWW Origins piece offers some insight into the story “Shrine” published by JMWW on August 14, 2019. You can the Origins piece here and look at this nice historical photograph of Custer, Bloody Knife, US Calvary Trooper John Noonan (?) and US Army Surveyor Col. Ludlow while you read it. Why did I include it in the interview? There is a bear in the story – and a whole lotta death.
Prior to that Forge Lit Mag had published my Story “The Rooster” and publisher John Haggerty interviewed me in conjunction with the release of the piece. You can read that piece here – and for sure follow the links to the story if you haven’t already read it, which you probably haven’t. The story came with a picture of it’s own – a fox – and although a fox does not figure in the story a coyote does and this is a nice pic.
So one again thanks to JMWW and The Forge … and this is me, shutting up.
The I’ll Show You Mine: A Sex Writing Symposium came out of a desire to have a conversation about the role of sex and sexuality in contemporary literature.
The publishers funded and ran a contest – my short fiction piece “Animal Spirits” was lucky enough to have made the “Highly Commended” category which endowed me with publication and some of those sweet, sweet British Pounds everyone talks about.
You can pre-order the anthology HERE at the Symposium’s Website.
The contributor list looks excellent, and I can’t wait to read ’em all.
I have a book of short fiction – many of them of the “flash” variety and some that could be called “prose-poetry” coming out shortly with Secret History Books.
The collection is titled “Cemetery Blackbirds” – and it’s comprised of 33 pieces of Demi-, Semi-, and Hemi-Fiction all of which have been previously published in print or online in various indie ‘zines over the past few years.
Here’s the cover, designed and illustrated by the fantastic Calgary-area artist Naomi Reinhart.
It has been great privilege to work with Naomi on this design and a graphic novel project about which more information will become available in 2020. I am also very grateful to the publisher, Secret History Books, because it is very rare that the author has any say in regards to design/format/art etc. on their books and in this case Mike at Secret History was positively benevolent in allowing Naomi and I to do whatever we wanted.
We are still a few weeks away from an actual launch – and t-shirts. There will be Cemetery Blackbirds cover t-shirts. Stay tuned for actual book release information/an amazon link etc. etc.
I have a short piece up at the Rye Whiskey Review today. It’s called “Underneath the Bleachers” and you can read it here. If you ever thought 7-Up slurpees should be livened up with a little Southern Comfort to get you through the day this is for you.
Much thanks to John Patrick Robbins @ the Rye for publishing this piece. There will be second piece up at the Rye in a few days and I’ll post the link when it goes live.
Mike LaFontaine at Secret History Books has been kind enough to put up a trio of short prose/prosedy/poems/whatever kind of writing you want to call it on the Secret History site. They are, respectively:
Alone on the Couch With a Gun in My mouth
The Prophet of Regret #10: How Many Sisters in the Pleiades
Revolution
You can click here to read them and to look at an over-sized pic of my ugly mug.
Once again, a big thank-you to Mike – I could not have done it without you buddy. Secret History will publish an anthology of mine called Cemetery Blackbirds before the end of the year and for that I am very grateful.
Speaking of writing in the the low mimetic, Coffin Hop Press has released their crime anthology “Knucklehead Noir”.
You can order it here from Amazon
I have a piece in it titled Johnny Money, wherein a couple of room-temperature IQ hoods discuss their capo’s search for his wayward brother. Bad decisions are made, consequences are rendered, and a Russian debt collector rides a Harley in a viking helmet. If that’s your brand o’ low-mimetic, check out Johnny Money.
The anthology features a stellar – and I do mean stellar – selection of authors – and I love the cover art by Tom Bagely.
Much thanks to Sarah, Rob, and Axel at Coffin Hop for including “Johnny Money.” You can check out Coffin Hop’s other award-winning titles at their website
Rock on,
