...I have a new story, "The Wages of Hunger" up at decomP and here under "Words in Print." Jason Jordan does a wonderful job at decomP and the journal attracts some of the best writers around.

...This morning I got a story accepted at The Smoking Poet. I love that lit mag and am really excited to be a part of it.

...The other night our power went out. Living in the country, that happens a lot. We still have telephone poles sagging like jump ropes with thick electrical cords. Then toss in dead, leaning-tower-of-Pisa trees and you have outages galore. Anyway, I was in the mood to write so I did an Abe Lincoln--sort of--and wrote longhand, by lamplight, while swilling a glass of wine. It felt so odd to write with a pen. You should try it to see what I mean. (Unfortunately, when I read it all back the next day, it was mostly garbage--though that's not the point I was trying to make.)

...I'm trying to decide whether to go to AWP in February. AWP is a writer's conference primarily focused on short fiction akin to what I've got posted here under "Words in Print." It would make sense for me to go. I didn't last year because I felt I hadn't made my bones yet in the genre and I really regretted not going. Now that I've had some success, I could go and not feel totally alien yet it's wierd to meet people you only know online or virtually. What do you think? "Should I stay or should I go?"

...Today will be a productive day, I know it. The skies have broken open, soupy and dripping, like a bucket of mud turned upside down, and it's raining hard and insistent. Perfect writing weather. Perfect for listening to Nick Drake or Jeff Buckley.

..."I want to live other lives. I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances." -- Anne Tyler