Two bits of good news

About a recent short story publication and an online interview

We interrupt this month of writing-focused activity to bring you a couple of happy updates from my weekend:

  1. My short story “Lower Strata” was published by the literary magazine Spillwords. This story, which went live Sunday (November 17, 2024), was something I’d written 25 years ago, probably, and shoved away after a few revisions. I reworked it over the summer a few times then sent it on to Spillwords, and last month they let me know they were going to publish it. This was one of those rare occasions in which the one and only litmag I’d submitted a story to accepted it. Like a lot of writers, especially unknowns like me, our stories encounter many rejections before they find a home. (It’s part of the gig. There are a lot of very good writers out there, and only so many places for our work.) So I guess this one hit a responsive chord with an editor or two there. I hope you also like it. I’d love for you to give it a read and share your thoughts. I’m always looking for ways to improve!
  2. I was “spotlighted” by another literary magazine, Bulb Culture Collective. This litmag specializes in republishing pieces that have been published previously by magazines that are no longer in operation. Such was the case with my flash fiction piece, “Baseball 1971,” which I’ve discussed here previously. BCC also selects writers for their “Shine a Light” series of features, and they reached out to me a couple of months ago inviting me to be a part of it. Their e-interview with me went live also Sunday, November 17, 2024.

So that’s the news from these-here parts. If you’re interested in reading some good stuff, I recommend you add Spillwords and Bulb Culture Collective to your reading list.

Image via Spillwords.

Works in progress

My venture into novel writing: ‘like driving a car at night’

When I rebooted this blog last January, along with my intent to get back into fiction writing, I had in the back of my mind the idea that I would work on a novel in November.

For many years now, I’ve had a couple of ideas for novels rolling around in my brain like loose marbles, and a few months ago I decided November would be the best time to start putting one of them down in writing. I’d written several short stories by then, had had a few published, and had gotten in the groove of thinking like a writer, so why not? Plus, November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and what better time to start than then, along with scores of other wannabe novelists who share my dreams and my pain?

Continue reading “Works in progress”