Poetry Quarterly

Whoo, what a dry spell I've been under. It seems like forever since I've had something published. Leave it to Poetry Quarterly to break the spell. I've had quite a few poems published here. Little steep of a price for the collection, but if you've got the dough, please consider supporting some great struggling artists like myself who can't even afford to see their own stuff in print.

Pif Magazine

Hearing a lot of Gene Loves Jezebel on the radio the past couple days...odd...


...anyway...


My poem, "Humdrum", has been published in Pif Magazine. This is the second time I've been published in this well-established 'zine. Please check it out.


In other news, the Graham Chapman essay is looking sweet. Can you believe I've written eleven drafts, though? Never, never satisfied. It looks like it's starting to flow now, unless that's the gin talking...

Trysts of Fate

My poem, "Remember When" is the featured poem (!) in the new issue of Trysts of Fate, which is another publication released by Alban Lake.


Read this little blurb that was on their blog"


Edited by the scrumptious yet occasionally spooky Lee Ann Story Sikora, Trysts of Fate for August 2014 features paranormal romance tales that will galvanize, cauterize, synthesize, and supersize you [though not necessarily in that order]. “@Echo Off” by Lorraine Pinelli Brown will win over even readers who believe, albeit mistakenly, that paranormal romance tales have nothing for them. Then there’s “The Whorehouse Ghosts” by James David Park; “The Facebook Account of So Young Paik” by Timothy E. Nolan; “Roses In December” by Jackie Neel, and much more. The featured poem, “Remember When” by Stephanie Smith, alone is worth the price of admission. :)

Monty Python Live (Mostly)

Went and saw the cinema (re)broadcast of the final Monty Python show last night that was held on Sunday.


To me, the evening was bittersweet.


The show was lovely. Well put together. Beautiful sets and costumes. I love how everything blended together in true Pythonesque fashion. The guys were better than I expected. Truly, I thought I was going to see a bunch of old men making fools of themselves. On the contrary. Sure, they are old men, but they tried. Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, I thought, were especially in top form. Still quite energetic for their age. Michael Palin as well. Now, John Cleese, I thought, was fine, but he sure sounded like there was an elephant sitting on his chest. I thought he was going to keel over during the Anne Elk sketch. And Terry Jones just seemed tired. Understandably so. I loved how they were able to laugh at themselves when they got sidetracked at some points (like during the Parrot Sketch or when Eric's mustache was falling off during Nudge Nudge). I admit, they've become such lovable old men. Hah hah.


So for all the laughs, how was it I left feeling empty and depressed??


All the glitter and comedic reverie seemed only to mask a void. An unfairness that Graham wasn't there. He wasn't there to shout "BURMA!". Wasn't there to sing "Christmas in Heaven". Or to cry he didn't like Spam. Or to dress all spiffy in a white tux and say his goodbyes along with the rest of them. It just didn't seem fair at all. So I don't know if anyone else in the (rather small) audience saw me crying during the "Christmas in Heaven" number right into "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". I frankly don't care. I imagined him up there. Wondered what he would have been like at 73 years old.


So, Graham, I will drink a gin to you, my favorite Python. Too special for this world. Bit the dust too soon.

The Horror Zine and other ramblings

The Horror Zine has recently released its first print issue and features poems of mine that were in a recent online issue.


So, anyway, I am terrible at blogging, I've come to realize. Okay. Maybe not terrible, but I don't like doing it. It's easy to post links and say "here you go, read this". I don't feel comfortable telling strangers the details of my private life. I can barely write about...writing.


Of course, I've been juggling a lot. The novel. Poems. Short story. Article. And it all seems a struggle. I've tried setting a goal with the novel of 1000 words a day and most days I can't seem to even get to a quarter of that goal. I'm tired of not having a desk, of my back hurting after a half hour of sitting on the floor, hunched over the coffee table (I write longhand). That's the truth. I don't blame this fully for my lack of goal achievement, but it's a factor. Too many distractions. Not knowing where to go next with the story. Stressing about the day. It's all there....See, this is why I don't like to blog...


I worked more on my Graham Chapman article tonight. See, the problem I have with this one is, everytime I work on it I wish it can be longer, that I can write a book on it. But how do you write a book on someone you never met and died when you were a kid? How do you write a book on someone that's been written about before? I mean, there's no fresh info. He's not going to talk to me from the Great Beyond and tell me secrets never told. I have too much info for an article, yet not nearly enough for a book. So there. But I've found it's something I ever-increasingly enjoy writing about. Oh well.

The Clockwise Cat

About a week late with this posting, but I have two new poems up at The Clockwise Cat .


This past month has been rather crappy, I must admit, but I suppose if I am ever going to get out of this seemingly lifelong rut, I must get my ass in gear. I need to write more short stories. I need to set a goal of at least (for now) a thousand words a day on the novel. I need to read more. Prisoners break out of prison all the time. And that I must. Sounds trite, but I wish there were more hours in the day (nor night, rather haha).

Disturbed Digest

I have a poem in a magazine called Disturbed Digest . Didn't even have to submit to it. I was lucky enough to have my poem picked for it because the original place (by the same publisher) I sent it to was filled up for that 'zine so they were nice enough to forward that (along with another poem to another 'zine, which I believe will be available in August) to Disturbed.


In other news, finally off meds after weeks of antibiotics, Benadryl (developed some rash from who-knows-what), Vicodin, more antibiotics. Ugh. Still rather fatigued.

The Horror Zine

Haven't been my regular self lately. Having oral surgery on Friday after an infection rendered me in excruciating pain. Now, I am left with an awful rash on my torso. Don't feel like doing much of anything.


But The Horror Zine has posted its June issue and features four poems by me.

Literary Hatchet

So here it is: my very first paid publication for a short story and you can download it free! It's in The Literary Hatchet and is a story called "Sculpture" that I've been trying to get published for quite some time. :)

Yellow Mama

New poem online in the April issue of Yellow Mama. Did you know this 'zine is one of the first online places I've ever been published in? I would say, maybe five years ago. Yes, I'm a little late to the internet world.

Well I did it. I gathered up the courage to send my novella out to its first potential publisher. A somewhat popular place called Dark Regions Press. Really, it's the best place at the moment I can find that accepts unsolicited submissions (which they most recently opened to). They provide an advance and decent royalties. The only thing that turned me off initially was their use of crowdfunding and a Kickstarter campaign. While I have no problem with Kickstarter, I am nervous about having to produce a short video. For many reasons. I don't like to appear in public. It may cost money (which I have absolutely none of) to make a video. And I don't even know how to make a video. In the tone of Bones: "I'm a writer not a cinematographer!"


Oooooh, in other news I just ordered the complete set of Monty Python's Flying Circus! Can't wait until it arrives. And Graham Chapman's autobiography for some inspiration.


Even horror enthusiasts need a good comedy every once in a while.

It's Hard Work!

I have a new poem in the Winter 2014 issue of Third Wednesday. Always nice to publish there because of the free copy. I can't begin to name the poems I've had published in places that I have never even gotten to see. I can't afford to see my own work published, how's that for ironic?


Anyway, I have realized that my novel should be formatted in Times New Roman 12 and now it is taking me forever to reformat it. What a pain. Why didn't I type it like that in the first place (well, frankly, the font is too tiny for my bad eyes)? I'm looking into (if I ever get this done) submitting it to Dark Regions Press. Maybe. They also want a short synopsis. That has been some hard work as well.


When all of this is done maybe I can get my writing life back to normal.


Another project I'm thinking about working on is an article (?) on the late Graham Chapman from Monty Python. I don't know why. But that's how it is. I don't know where to begin with that. The last biographical essay I did was on T. S. Eliot back in high school. At least it got high praise. Hah. More details on this later (if I don't slack off).

Goings-On

Since I have officially completed my very first novella (yeah, it didn't quite get to novel status, but what's done is done) and have also had my first paid acceptance for a short story (in a publication called The Literary Hatchet .), I felt compelled to post again since I feel I little more professional (hah).


Unfortunately, what folks say about post novel depression is quite too. I had found myself not knowing what to do. I started working on some short stories I had put aside. Started the new novel I had been eager to start for over a year. Yet, it all leads me back to the novella. It's like ending a relationship, really. The fun stuff is over with it and now it's marketing time. So, if anyone knows where I can professionally (or at least semi-professionally) publish an unagented novella, please let me know. I am not interested in self-publishing. My poor POD chapbook never earned me much money. I couldn't afford to buy my own copies to promote myself. Royalties are crap. And I basically got no royalties at all because the e-book was so cheap it only paid me a penny here and there.


This first book has been a part of my life even before it was even a book. Just an idea. An imagining. I was young and not even really writing yet. It's been through many changes. The characters, especially the title character, is so real to me. Maybe it's not the best story in the world, but I want to see the book taken care of properly.