I first noticed the wolf in East Africa. Heard of brothers fighting and killing each other outside Makamba, daughters poisoning fathers in Goma, laughing while their houses burned, and everywhere the ritual of suffering enacted with a kind of desperate abandon. So I knew it had come around to this once again: an axe age,… Continue reading The Catherine Wheel
Tag: publication
Ex Inferis
Astrid went up the spiral stair and, keeping her knees bent, made her way to the back corner of the deserted observation deck where her mother sat knitting and frowning at Nebraska. “This state is endless,” her mother said, an expression of abject disgust in the turned-down corners of her mouth. “And boring. I have… Continue reading Ex Inferis
Ghetto Fabulous
On the second day of the third week of the fifth month of her marriage, she already wanted to kill him. It was after the pills, after the night cab to the airport, after the restaurant fit. He didn’t give a damn. It was November. She bought a whip. She started smoking. She changed her… Continue reading Ghetto Fabulous
The Forbidden City
Oh no. She’d send you there, wouldn’t she? She’d transport you there just so she could feel your pain and write about it. But you’re not going. You’re never going back to Texas. Not for fame. Not for money. Not for the glory of Victoria Volt. Not for that article she wants you to outline.… Continue reading The Forbidden City
Some Go Dancing
It got dark and they fell in. The water was cold. They turned together under the surface, Janelle’s hair twisting like smoke, her eyes closed. Blaine could barely see her face in the dim moonglow through the high gym windows. He thought again about his own death, how easy it would be to drown, to… Continue reading Some Go Dancing
Far Tortuga
In the morning, I watch the sun come up from the bottom of the empty swimming pool, lying on my back in dead palm fronds. In the afternoon, Faye calls to tell me she’s going to kill herself. In the evening, I buy a bottle of port wine at a grocery store in town and… Continue reading Far Tortuga
Kill the Beta Reader
I'm sitting in a cafe in downtown London with a show tune version of the Doors' “People are Strange” playing overhead. At some point, some focus group, some collection of sample listeners employed by a marketing concern or polled through a survey, decided that this schmaltzy cover was better than the original. Based on their… Continue reading Kill the Beta Reader
Problems and Solutions, Part 2: This is Why You Fail
Here are some random thoughts on getting creative work done with a minimum of grief. Basic Artistic Needs. In order to write, I need, at minimum: 1. Quiet. 2. Solitude. 3. Minimal levels of discomfort - i.e. not feeling feverish and sick (including being hung over, exhausted, or otherwise ill), the heater not turned all… Continue reading Problems and Solutions, Part 2: This is Why You Fail
Art is Your Right
Don’t buy into the romantic assumption that being a creative artist is easy for those who are truly talented and meant to do it. This is a materialistic commercial lie. Something I believe: art is part of being human and must therefore be available to everyone. And those who do it right never find it… Continue reading Art is Your Right
New story–magazine publication forthcoming.
Good times. My story, "Ghetto Fabulous" is forthcoming in the Atticus Review. I will post more information when I know the particular issue. Whee!