My Ninth Storyville Column is Up: Balancing Life and Writing
Posted on July 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
My ninth Storyville column is up as well. It’s all about how to balance your life and your writing, how to find time to be creative and also be a father, a husband, a friend.
Storyville Column Eight is Up: Writing Horror Stories
Posted on July 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
My eighth Storyville column has been up for a little bit now. It’s all about how to write a horror story, all of the elements that go into creating tension, scaring your audience, and caring about characters in distress. Enjoy!
My review of Cataclysm Baby by Matt Bell is now live at The Nervous Breakdown.
Posted on July 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
I can’t remember the last time I read such a compelling work of fiction. I’ve been a long time fan of Matt Bell, but Cataclysm Baby (Mudluscious Press) may be some of his best work to date. Maybe it’s the fact that these stories were scattered far and wide across the literary landscape, and now that they are all contained in this one collection, they are larger than the sum of its parts. All I can say is that these depictions of life in the post-apocalypse are dark, touching, and haunting. Do yourself a favor and pick this up today. Read the full review at The Nervous Breakdown for all of the details.
In addition, Matt is one of the nicest guys out there in the literary world, doing great work at Dzanc Books, one of my favorite independent presses, one of the best, as well as running The Collagist. So, some extra reasons to support his writing.
Interview: Richard Thomas at Slit Your Wrists
Posted on May 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Laurance Kitts did an excellent job of interviewing me over at Slit Your Wrists Magazine. Yeah, they’re not for the faint of heart, but they do good work. They published one of my stories, “Vision Quest” in their sister publication, Surreal Grotesque, and did a beautiful job of layout and design. We talked about my next book, Disintegration, as well as upcoming short story collections with Kraken Press and Snubnose Press, my influences, what made me decide to write in the first place, my first book, Transubstantiate, the bonus chapter about Madison in the signed/limited edition, and much more. And Laurance is an excellent writer himself, keep an eye out for his work, as well.
Interview: Richard Thomas—Chin Wag at the Slaughterhouse
Posted on May 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Richard Gowin did an excellent job of interviewing me over at his blog, The Slaughterhouse. We talked about publishing, ebooks, influences, my second book Disintegration, identity, sadism, reality, schizophrenia, and much more. I had a great time. Richard is also a fantastic author himself, be sure to check out his work.
Storyville Column Seven is Up: Dissecting a Story.
Posted on May 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
And, now my seventh column is live up at Lit Reactor. It’s about the process of writing, what I go through when writing, editing and finishing a story. I dissect my Pushcart nominated story “Twenty Reasons to Stay and One to Leave” which was originally published at Metazen. Hope you enjoy it.
I’ve finally landed a literary agent! Paula Munier at Talcott Notch.
Posted on April 27, 2012 3 Comments
I’m thrilled to announce that I have finally secured a literary agent—Paula Munier at Talcott Notch Literary Agency. Paula has over twenty years of experience in the business and has been a real pleasure to talk to as we discussed my second novel, the neo-noir, transgressive thriller Disintegration.
I can’t explain how exciting it is to talk to an agent who understands my work—my voice, the settings, the plot—and can see a place for this novel (and other projects down the road) at major publishing houses. So not only do we want to land a big press, but we have also been talking about film rights and foreign book sales as well.
Keep your eyes and ears open, and I hope to have more great news for you all real soon. Thank you all for your support, everyone who has read and critiqued and supported this book, Disintegration, as well as all of my writer friends who have been so instrumental in helping me to get my work published. My success is contingent of a tight-knit community of writers, friends and family, and I’m happy to welcome Paula into my literary family.
Curbside Splendor #3 is available for order now, out soon, with my story “Divining”!
Posted on April 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Look, I made the cover! Looks like Chicago’s own Curbside Splendor #3 is now up for ordering. My story “Divining” is in here. It involves tarot cards and bad women. I’ve been trying to get more involved with local artists, and this is one place I wanted to publish. Thanks, Victor David Giron for the support. Out soon.
Terror Scribes (Dog Horn Publishing) is out, with my story “Transmogrify” inside.
Posted on April 11, 2012 Leave a Comment
My story “Transmogrify” is in Terror Scribes, a collection of stories from Dog Horn Publishing. Love that cover art. And if you’ve read any of their previous collections, novels, or magazines, you know that DHP does great work.
My review of Wild by Cheryl Strayed is live at The Nervous Breakdown.
Posted on April 11, 2012 Leave a Comment
My review of Wild (Knopf) by Cheryl Strayed is now live at The Nervous Breakdown. This is a fantastic memoir, one that takes out into the wilderness, so that we can hear the song and pain that emanates from her broken heart. A mother that dies too soon, a life that is falling apart, and one hell of a long trail to hike. The old Boy Scout in me loved the outdoors, and the poet that lives in a little chamber of my chest sat with her observations and listened to them hum.
- Richard Thomas - 