Scarlet Letters

It's been a while since we did one of these.... ME: Is my social media leader text too long? EDITOR: Yes, and too complicated. It has to be shorter and simpler. ME: Are you saying that people on Facebook cannot comprehend a compound sentence? EDITOR: Yes. Duh. ---- JIM: Hey, free books on the table. ME: Boooooks. JIM: "Writing Great Short Stories." "Steps to Writing Well." "Characters and Viewpoint." ME: Want. JIM: "Eats Shoots and Leaves." "How to Read Novels Like a Professor." You want all of them? They are free for the taking. ME: Yes. Any we don't add to the house collection can go to the Relay sale in the fall. JIM: "Rhetorical Analysis." ME: ... ugh. JIM: I got all the ones about writing. I'll put them in my book bag. ME: *bounce* JIM: There are two left but I don't think you want those. ME: What are they? JIM: "Business School Essays" and "A Practical Guide to Family T...

A Return to the Roots: A Hero for Today’s Readers and Times By Stephen Zimmer In general, there has been a turn toward anti-heroes within the stories told in today’s speculative fiction, a time where there has been a proliferation of subgenres in the realms of fantasy, science fiction, horror and other primary genres.    Cross-genre fiction has also seen a sharp rise during this time, blending elements of many various genres into unique blends that open some fresh new territory for readers. All of these developments in genres and kinds of characters are welcome and needed.   They expand the possibilities in storytelling and character development, in addition to encouraging writers to take chances with their fiction.   Nevertheless, I also see a rising need in today’s fiction for characters like Ragnar Stormbringer or Rayden Valkyrie in an increasingly complex and troubled world.   They are bonafide heroes who dwell within stories that fall in...

MAN: *excitedly hands me box of new electronic toy* ME: Yes dear. I will be setting it up shortly. MAN: *crestfallen* Shortly? Not now? ME: I am reading the directions. MAN: *puzzled look* ME: Yes, reading the directions. That's what we grownups do with complicated new devices. We read through the directions before we open the box. MAN: Pish tosh. ME: Go sit till I need you to help me with the cords. MAN: It may not take the same cables as the old one - ME: That's why I'm reading the directions. Shush. ------ Watching Alien 3 ... (quasi-spoilerrific) First two minutes. BOY: What the [bleep]! They killed them? (We're all with you, kiddo.) Halfway through. BOY: Wait, how you gonna get out of this one, Ripley? Ending. BOY: What! There's another movie to get through! ---- ME: Do you need a ride home tonight? BOY: Nah, I got a ride. We're going to stay for a while and help the girls' volleyball team. ME: *sporfle* How exactly are you...

In case you hadn't noticed, this blog is on semi-hiatus. Not that I don't enjoy sharing the menfolk's shenanigans and my latest rants, but there's a lot of things up in the air right now and I need to focus for a bit. However, the Fall Deathmarch must stomp on! Each year I say I'm not going to do this to myself, and each year I give in. Coming up: • St. Louis SPJ Student Boot Camp, Edwardsville, Ill. Sept. 23 (journalism) • Archon, Collinsville, Ill. Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (books and art/Literary Underworld) • Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky. Oct. 6-8  (books and art/Literary Underworld) • Leclaire Parkfest, Edwardsville, Ill. Oct. 15 (books and art) • journalismSTL, St. Louis, Mo. Oct. 23 (journalism) • Heartland Book Festival, Cape Girardeau, Mo. Oct. 28 (tent. - books) • St. Louis Indie Book Fair, St. Louis, Mo. Nov. 3-4 (books) • Contraception, Kansas City, Mo. Nov. 10-12  (books and art/Literary Underworld) • Edwardsville (Ill.) Winter Market, Dec. 2 (...

Announcement! The Kindle edition of Moonlight Sonata  is now available for $4.99! I named my pet raven Edgar. He's happy to meet you. Q: Wait, the book's been out a week. Why is the ebook just now - A: Because I'm not Beethoven. Q: What? A: Amazon got the ebook version of my new short story collection mixed up with the various renditions and publications of Ludwig's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor , which he called " Quasi una fantasia " and we call " Moonlight Sonata ." Q: That seems like a difficult mistake to make. A: Well, it's not like I didn't know it existed. In fact, I listened to the sonata several times in the playlist I developed while writing the stories in this book. Along with a significant portion of the soundtrack to Sons of Anarchy . It's that kind of book. Q: So that's why there hasn't been an ebook up until now? A: Yes. The little hamsters running in the wheels at Amazon got my short stor...

T-minus one week for the release of Moonlight Sonata,  and I couldn't be happier. This collection has been a long time coming, and I'm delighted that this macabre mix of old friends and new stories will finally see print. Some of the pieces have been previously published, but at least half have never before seen the light of day, and I hope you'll like them. Wanna see a cover? I love my creepy little crow. I think I'll name him Edgar. From the back cover: All that can kill you is what you carry with you. Imagine a haunted church, where the ground has turned sour and something walks in the shadows to the mournful hymns. A silent covered bridge that no one dares to cross. Angry spirits that cry out from beneath the ground of a cemetery that will not lie still. An ageless man bound in love to a mortal woman, forever moving, forever haunted. A police officer chasing a suspect into the woods - and suspects they are no longer alone. A woman preparing to leave her ...