Halloween Reading

Thought I'd brush aside some cobwebs on the blog and post this video of me reading for a horror/flash fiction-themed edition of There Will Be Words.

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The Gentlest of Bends

 Photo by Jan Tribe

"A cluster of afternoon traffic rose up from the distance where the road was a shimmering black sea. Perkin hotboxed his cigarette and flicked loose the cherry in a burst of orange embers that ashed the sidewalk, tucked the un-smoked portion into the front pocket of his t-shirt. He eyed the still roost of overhead stoplights and readied his Need Work, Hungry sign." - From The Gentlest of Bends

My story The Gentlest of Bends is up over at Burrow Press as part of their 15 Views of Orlando project. You can read the story here. It's part 5 (of 15), so be sure to check out the previous and forthcoming stories.

A big thanks to Ryan Rivas and Nathan Holic for giving me the chance to participate in such a fantastic project!

15 Views of Orlando

15 Views of Orlando is a series of (loosely) linked stories that all take place in the Metro Orlando area. There's an impressive list of participating authors including Philip Deaver (Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction), Lindsay Hunter, Susan Hubbard, and others.

The first story is "Tunneling," by Gene Albamonte. It's an excellent story to kick off the series, so check it out and grab the RSS for the weekly updates.

Thanks to Ryan Rivas at Burrow Press and Nathan Holic of UCF for putting this together and giving me the chance to participate alongside such a talented group of writers.

Annalemma

I recently renewed my subscription to Annalemma as part of their subscription drive, and to help spread the word about this fantastic literary magazine, I'm doing a giveaway of a brand-spanking-new-still-shrink-wrapped copy of Annalemma Issue Seven. All you need to do to participate is leave a comment (before June 1) with a link to a website or email address where I can contact you for mailing address particulars should you win. Sometime during the first week of June, I'll draw a random name from the comments and update this post and reach out to the lucky winner for their mailing address.

If you're familiar with the magazine, then you know about the great fiction, art, and photographs that grace its pages. If you aren't familiar, check out their website and a couple of excellent samples from their online archives:

The Dictator is Drinking Alone, by Amber Sparks (Named one of Wigleaf's Top 50 [Very] Short Fictions of 2010)

Missing the Next Inch, by Brad Green (Named to Wigleaf's Long List)


Again, just leave a comment on this post to enter yourself in the Issue Seven give away. Of course, you can guarantee your victory right now by heading over and grabbing an annual subscription that will include issues seven and eight.

Update: Letisia is the big winner. Thanks to everyone for playing.

Ten Rejected (Fictional) Morrissey Song Titles

1.    Gap-toothed Gertrude
2.    The Fop Has Touched Me
3.    Narcoleptic Nigel
4.    Grave Tomorrow
5.    All My Friends Have Passed
6.    I See Them Laughing (At Me)
7.    Pretend I’m a Pretty Girl
8.    I Used to Love You (Now You Make Me Nauseous)
9.    It Always Rains on Your Birthday
10.  The Same Kind of Snowflake

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The Smiths and Morrissey were very much my go-to music when I was younger, so when I ran across a few fictional Morrissey song titles in the comments section of an Awl article on the 85 best Morrissey songs, I thought I'd lift the idea and try a few of my own.

In the coming days, I plan to do an Annalemma Issue 7 giveaway on the blog. I'll probably do an easy contest or pick a random name from the comments and mail it out to the winner (in the US and Canada). It's a beautiful magazine. If you like short fiction and art/photography, keep an eye out for my next post, or head over there now to check out their website and subscribe.

decomP OnE

The very good folks at decomP have a Kickstarter campaign to fund an upcoming print issue. Check out the excellent video featuring past work. The skinny on the campaign is below. Consider becoming a backer. It's good karma.

"Since 2004, decomP has been publishing new prose, poetry, art, and book reviews as a monthly online magazine at www.decompmagazine.com. Now we want to venture into print. decomP onE will be a paperback that, like our online component, features great writing. Everyone who donates will have the option of listing their name and one URL in the issue. Submission details to be announced."

The One That Got Away

Dear Former Follower,

I look back on our time together with an almost irrational fondness. I remember the first time you stopped by and looked around. Everything was so shiny and new back then. We were on our best behavior, and the world was all possibilities.

You read a post or two. You thought it strange that the blog was such a hodgepodge. You wondered if you could ever truly enjoy a blog with no discernable unifying theme, but somehow something resonated with you. I even thought I heard you giggle once.

Your cursor lingered over the follow button, teasing and caressing it, promising untold ecstasy. Then we consummated our relationship with the click of a mouse. We were officially an item.

And leaves returned to barren branches.

We were so good together those first few days. But then you stopped even checking to see what words I’d crafted for you. You went from mildly amused lurker to apathetic ignorer. I felt the distance between us grow, your celestial orbit breaking free of gravity. So I wrote for you. It was meager food, but all that I had was yours to consume.

I heard that you were reading and commenting on other blogs at the same time that you were following me. And I wanted to crawl under my bed and hide. You may not have ever commented and said it, but I knew we really had something special.

You left me anyway!

Those other blogs won’t love you the way I do. They won’t know how to do that thing you liked. You know the one. Believe me, you’ll be sorry. But it’ll be too late. When you come crawling back, I won’t be here waiting. It’s your loss!

Please come back. I miss you. Maybe if we tried to spice things up? Maybe role-play? I could blog like a sexy cop. Or you could wear a blonde wig while you read. We could both follow a blog that’s been tagged for adult content. If we just tried a little harder, we could make this thing work.

What’s that? No, you say?

I thought you might react that way. But I hope you understand that I’ve gotten used to a certain number of followers. Nobody forced you to click that follow button. And I’m not giving up the lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed. You philanderer!

I’m sorry. I promised myself that I’d keep my emotions in check, but I guess it’s okay, since it’s factually accurate to call you a philanderer.

I want half of your online empire. You’ll be hearing from my unfollow attorney soon.

In the meantime, I’ll be following your best blogger friend. And we’re going to follow so hard that you’ll miss what the two of us once had.

I love you. I hate you. I’m so confused.

Sincerely,
Hunter

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This is a re-post from over a year ago. I believe that in internet time that makes it new again.

Anyway, I'm not surprised to see the follower numbers dip off. Even the original post was tongue in cheek. That said, I did spruce the place up some, so that's something.

Hope everyone is doing well. It's springtime, so get outside and play.