Last Enty of 2006 -- I think

Well, thanks to everyone who has stopped by the site through the year. I just have a couple pieces of news to close out the year.

First, I just learned that chapters 24 and 25 of my novella, Threatened Species, have been accepted as a stand-alone piece entitled "Still Life: Motel, Father, and Son". The acceptance was from Parting Gifts magazine.

Second, and last, I reached a recent goal that I set for myself. I had hoped to sell 150 copies of my novel Into the Desperate Country by January 1st. As it turns out, I've sold 153. Selling 500 copies by June of 2008 still seems unlikely, but I'm going to keep trying.

Well, Happy Holidays to all!

A Different Book About Writing (Literary) Short Stories

When my father passed away, my mother let me have his books. Among them, I found Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular, written by editor Rust Hills -- famed for making the literary short story prominent in Esquire. As I read around in the book, I thought, "Man, this guy is really saying some things that go beyond the typical advice for short story writers." I really think that anyone who is writing short stories should read this book. It's received good reviews on amazon for the most part, and the reviewers seem to be appreciating what I appreciated -- that Hills is succinct and yet has something of substance to say about the literary short story. It looks like the book has been updated from the 1984 version that I have. Might be one to add to your library.

Upcoming Reading

I know this is short notice, but maybe someone will be able to make it.

I will be doing a reading on the Flint campus of the University of Michigan this Thursday (December 7) starting at 11:15 in 456 French Hall.

Hope you can stop by. The public is welcome.