Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Q and A at Julie Morrigan's Blog
She's also got some other Q and A's with writers and creative types like Paul D. Brazill, Chris Rhatigan, Charlie Wade, and Iain Rowan that you can check out.
Friday, December 2, 2011
More Updates About Pushcart Prizes (and Literary Whatnot)
For the second time in less than two weeks I’m honored, flattered, and humbled by a Pushcart prize nomination….
I’ve just been notified by Kate Pilarcik (publisher of "At the Bijou"), that my short story WHO’S GOT THE ACTION has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize in literature (You can read it here).
What makes this one special and fun is that some of my fellow nominees are not only friends, but writers whose work I greatly admire like Joseph Grant, Anthony Venutolo, Eric Beetner, and Sean Patrick Reardon. It’s great to share the stage with them.
Some times you just run out of words…..I’m truly honored and flattered.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Fisticuffs, Palookas, and Noir
You can read BEFORE THEY FALL right here.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Pushcart Prize
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
November Noir Update
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November Noir
And you can read my story here
Be sure to check back all month At The Bijou for some great stories.......
Monday, October 31, 2011
Adopt An Indie
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Fiction Daily
My story "CANDY'S SMILE" from A Twist Of Noir was featured in yesterday's Fiction Daily in the genre section (thanks to Paul D. Brazill for flagging that for me). If you haven't yet checked it out, you can find this story as well as some other great fiction at:
http://fictiondaily.org/
Friday, September 30, 2011
COMING SOON - Nine In The Morning
Monday, September 26, 2011
Candy's Smile
http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/2011/09/twist-of-noir-683-kevin-michaels.html
There are also some excellent stories from Christopher Grant, Matthew McBride, Richard Godwin, and Albert Tucher to check out while you're there.
Friday, September 16, 2011
New Reviews For Lost Exit
Friday, September 9, 2011
10-60
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
MY HOLOCAUST
I could never erase the longing.
The emptiness lasted a lifetime.
I wish I could explain to my own children why I left their mother, but those words never come out right.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
SOUVENIRS
http://cavalcadeofstars.wordpress.com/
Thanks to Jeanette and her readers for debuting this story.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Times They Are A-Changin'
http://slidingdowntherazorsedge.blogspot.com
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Lost Exit Climbing The Amazon Best Seller Charts
Sunday, June 19, 2011
SLIDING DOWN THE RAZOR"S EDGE
Monday, June 6, 2011
THE LONG WALK HOME
We were in the fourth grade the first time I walked you home that cold, rainy October day after one of the neighborhood kids had picked on you, and I promised to always be there to protect you. By the time high school rolled around I walked you home from the bus stop every afternoon, pretending I needed help with my homework, looking for reasons to talk while working up the courage to admit I wanted to be more than friends. During a summer break from college, I walked you home that same day the doctors said there was nothing more they could do for your mom; I held your hand and let the tears fall, remembering the promise I had made that afternoon in grammar school. And for years, after long, hard days at work I walked you home to the house we shared, unsure how we would pay all the bills yet still have something left in the bank to build a future, but certain about the depth of our love with the strength only the young or the foolish possess. We raised five kids, filling our house with love, laughter, and many more good times than bad, and each night after dinner when we walked up and down the neighborhood streets before turning for home, it felt as good as that first time I walked you home. Now an emptiness surrounds me with each step I take on those same streets filled with memories of our conversations, and an overwhelming loneliness comes over me while I hold you close in my heart and walk home alone.
Thanks for checking it out-
Monday, May 30, 2011
GRACE
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
NO SUCH THING
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Six Sixes at Six Sentences
http://sixsentences.ning.com/
A little gritty, but two of my favorite characters Twist (Catching Paradise) and Bone (The Steps You Take) have shown up in other stories here and there, and are part of my novel: STILL BLACK REMAINS.
A big debt of gratitude to Rob McEvily over at 6S - about three years ago he was one of the first to take a chance on a little known writer, and since then, Six Sentences has been a great place for me to test my skills, try out new ideas, push the envelope, and have a lot of fun as a writer.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Guest Post - No Such Thing
Head on over there and check out my story NO SUCH THING, which is being featured at:
http://pdbrazill.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Monday, April 11, 2011
New Things To Check Out
First, Matt Hilton makes his AT THE BIJOU DEBUT with a RatPack inspired piece abut Bobby Darin. You can read it (as well as some other great stories) at:
http://at-the-bijou.blogspot.com/
Then, there's been some great commentary as well as more follow up dialogue on social networking and its use in promoting writers' work at both Angel Zapata's blog: A RAGE OF ANGEL and Anne R. Allen's. Check each out at the following links:
http://annerallen.blogspot.com/
http://arageofangel.blogspot.com/
Thursday, March 24, 2011
5 X 5 Fiction
Take the time to check it out at:
http://5x5fiction.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
NEW INTERVIEW - KINDLE AUTHOR
Saturday, March 12, 2011
NEW COVER - LOST EXIT
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
WHO'S GOT THE ACTION (featured - At The Bijou)
Friday, February 25, 2011
NO TEARS FOR CRYING (published in A Twist Of Noir)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
BUY THIS BOOK OR I'LL SHOOT THE DOG
With the release of LOST EXIT last week, I’ve taken the next step in a long journey. In some ways, writing the book was the easy part – the hard work of growing an audience, building demand, and increasing sales for that book starts now. The next few weeks will be consumed with book reviews, ARC’s, blog posts, and press releases (while waiting for Oprah to call….). While all that is going on I will still be writing – moving forward with three or four short stories that I’ve committed to writing and plunging into my third book. Time was never a friend but for years we maintained an uneasy balancing act and tenuous alliance. Going the independent publishing route has changed that dynamic but I’m okay with that.
As always, there are critics. I’ve been told that I’m going to lose focus, worse, that my artistic vision will suffer.
Artistic vision and voice are very important as a writer, but exposure is equally critical. Writers write but we also want to get our words and stories in front of as many readers as possible. You can’t rely on somebody else to do it for you. You need to make it happen yourself – take every opportunity to find that audience and get every reader’s attention by any means possible. Every one of us who writes is confident people will fall in love with our words once they read them, but first you have to convince someone to pick up the book and shell out their cash to read those words. That means doing what you have to do to create a buzz, find an audience, and sell your books.
Writing is a business. Plain and simple. Always has been and always will be.
You can’t change the world if nobody hears you.
Friday, January 21, 2011
BOOK STORES ARE DEAD AND I KILLED THEM.....
Recently I decided to go the indie route with the release of my first novel (LOST EXIT). It wasn’t an easy decision, especially since I consider myself a traditionalist – I love book stores, enjoy the feel of an old hard cover in my hands, and get tremendous pleasure browsing the aisles or discovering a previously unknown author. As a writer I followed the path millions had taken over the years: querying agents, submitting manuscripts, looking for connections, waiting months for a response (if one even came), and trying to beat the odds to get published. But like many other writers, I have realized that this business model is dead and no longer works. The future is e-publishing. Aside from the ease at getting books into print and the benefits of making more money, e-publishing allows writers to get their stories to market much faster (and isn’t that the goal of every writer: to get what we’ve written in front of readers…).
A few days ago while wandering the aisles of a nearby bookstore I struck up a conversation with another customer. Before long it came out that I was a writer, and within minutes the conversation veered towards the topic of e-publishing. I listened to her condemnation of Kindles, Nooks, Ipads, etc. but offered my opinion that as a writer I believe it is a viable and realistic option. Her expression of horror was followed by one of outrage then indignation. She loudly proclaimed to everyone that it was my fault that bookstores as big as Borders and as small as the independent store on Main Street were crashing and burning…….
I never knew I had that kind of power.
Time to face the future: the same way that the music business has gone from vinyl to cassettes to CDs to downloadable songs….and the same way we have transitioned from quill pens/ink wells to ball point pens to typewriters and then laptops, publishing has to change and evolve. I don’t see too many people driving 1957 Chevy Bel-Airs any more, and the cars on the road today have better features than what our parents and grandparents drove -writing, like transportation, is all about going from one place to the other faster, quicker, and more efficiently. The publishing industry has to move forward, and I’m ready to be a part of that evolution.
So yes, I’m the one who killed book stores……I only wish I had done it sooner.