...I have a new story, "Consumation" up at 52/250 A YEAR OF FLASH and "Reflective" @ HOUSEFIRE. Both are also here under "Words in Print."

...AWP is going on. AWP stands for "Association of Writers and Writing Programs." (It should probably--correctly--be called AWWP.) I am here. It is a little daunting for a rookie virgin novice newbie. It would definitely be better to have someone here to pal around with.
Last night I went to a reading at an Irish Pub. Most everyone in the online literati was there. It was fantastic. If I hadn't met them earlier in the day, then I got to meet them that night, all of these fabulous writers that I am fans of--Roxane Gay, xTx (yes! she's real. she's blonde. she's sweet and shy), Brandi Wells, Molly Gaudry, Steve Himmer, Amber Sparks, Mel Bosworth (what a sweet guy), Heather Fowler, Bonnie Zobell, Aubrey Hirsch, Nicolo Manoghan, Jen Michalski, Elizabeth Ellen, Kewin Watson, Dan Wickett, Matt Bell...
I am a thin gray minnow here. I don't really belong. I do belong but I don't. I am not really connected directly to anyone or any group so I swim solor and flit here and there. It reminds me of my most shy years in junior high and early high school.
It's hard to exagerate how massive this conference is--over 7,000 attendees, and that doesn't count most presenters. There are warehouse and warehouse of tables/booths set up with every small and major writing press in the country, from college presses (Univeristy of Pittsburg) to online houses (Hobart), they're all here.
The different panels/presentations are a little hit and miss, but I did go to two that were great and I got to meet two of the agents (Alex Glass, Julie Barer) that I sent query letters to. I'd love to have either one of them representing my novel. They are fantastic. It just feels so grubby, standing in line with 75 other panting writers, to meet them.
The message we kept hearing from the panels was--once you have the craft down, it is all about showing up and being able to put your work out there.
That's what I'm doing. That's why I'm here.