My story "Seven Items In Jason Reynolds’ Jacket Pocket, Two Days After His Suicide, As Found By His Eight-Year-Old Brother, Grady" appears in the April issue of PANK. It was a finalist in PANK's very first 1,001 Awesome Words Contest. It's also a very special story for me in that it's the kind of story I've always really liked but could never place. So big thanks to everyone at PANK for giving this little story a home. I hope you all enjoy it, and when you're done, make sure to read the rest of the issue too.
Gimme Your Penultimate Paragraphs
Next week is Hint Fiction's birthday, so it makes some weird sense that my most recent publications are hint pieces (well, one is a hint piece, the other is slightly longer). "Terms and Conditions" (25 words) appears in issue 7 of The Los Angeles Review, alongside work by Benjamin Percy, Rick Bass, and a slew of other great writers. (My deepest thanks to Stefanie Freele for being kind enough to accept the story in the first place.)
"NSFW" (34 words) appears in the premiere issue of Sententia, alongside work by Roxane Gay, Adam Robinson, and a slew of other great writers. (My deepest thanks to Ryan W. Bradley for accepting the story in the first place.)
I'm thrilled to be included in both publications, and to show just how thrilled I am, I'm having another giveaway/contest, this one in honor of Holden McGroin.
You see, because Narrative didn't seem to want to hire Holden as an intern (I can't imagine why not), his Penultimate Paragraph Contest idea has not seen fruition. So I figured I'd help him out and host the very first Penultimate Paragraph Contest!
What do you need to do to enter? In the comments section simply post the penultimate paragraph of one of your short stories. The stories don't have to be published, but if they are published online, please provide a link so we can check out the rest of your story (note that if you do provide a link, my site might think it's spam and hold it for moderation, so if that does happen, don't fret, it will appear shortly).
Deadline is Friday midnight eastern time, with winners announced at some point during the weekend. This giveaway/contest will have two winners: one person whose penultimate paragraph I'll pick as my favorite, and another person selected randomly. (Note that if you're reading this on Facebook and want to enter, please do so at the main website.)
Come on, people, this will be fun. Get crack-a-lackin!
Summer of '84
If March has been a great month, it's because Laura Ellen Scott was the guest editor at Everyday Genius (and if you don't think March has been a great month, blame the Octomom). Every story and poem published there, they were because of her (Laura, not the Octomom). Like today, my story "Summer of '84" appears there. It's a flash told in hints (each section is no more than 25 words). LES and I are happy with the result. We hope you are too.
Beggars Can Be Choosers
I'm pleased to announce my novelette "Through the Guts of a Beggar" is now available for download. From the introduction:
In high school I’d written a horror short story called “In the Tall Grass.” As is the case with almost all of my early work, it evolved through the years and was expanded into a 10,000-word novelette called “Through the Guts of a Beggar.” It was eventually accepted for the pulpy monster horror anthology Tooth & Claw, edited by J. F. Gonzalez and Garrett Peck. The response to the anthology was greater than the editors had at first anticipated, and so they decided to split the anthology into two volumes. The first was released in 2002, with the idea that the second volume—containing my novelette—would be released the next year.
Unfortunately, the publisher folded before the second volume could be released. At the time there was talk the second volume might see the light of day elsewhere, but then more years passed and it became clear my novelette was now homeless. And as I was working on other projects and placed the novelette on a backburner, it remained homeless until now, where I’m presenting it as a free e-book.
With recent talks of enhanced e-books, I wanted to try something different with this project. The original story by itself is available for free download at Smashwords on almost every format imaginable. There is also a special edition, which contains an alternate ending (3,000 words), as well as two bonus short stories: "Dead Weight," which originally appeared in Fifty-Two Stitches, and "Castle Hybrid," which originally appeared in Allen K's Inhuman Magazine, and which is the author's preferred version. Both combined makes about 5,000 words, meaning the special edition includes the original 10,000-word novelette, as well as nearly 8,000 more words. This special edition can be downloaded at Smashwords and at the Kindle Store for 99 cents.
Here's the simple description of the novelette:
Josh wakes up one morning to find his ten-year-old brother filling in a grave in the backyard. From there, the day just gets worse.
Basically, if you like pulpy monster horror, this might be your thing. If you don't like pulpy monster horror, this might not be your thing. But as they say, you won't know until you try it. So go ahead and try it.
The Express Lane Is Now Open
David Erlewine is a madman. I say that with the utmost respect. The man works a full-time government job, has a family, and is active all over the Internet at different writing sites. Not only that, he's constantly producing work. Don't believe me? Sign onto Facebook in the middle of the night, you're apt to see him online. I swear, the man never sleeps.
In case you didn't know, Dave is also the flash fiction editor at jmww. Their most recent issue (which just happened to launch today) is a special flash issue edited solely by Dave. It's stocked full of some really great writers. You've got Matt Bell, Erin Fitzgerald, Roxane Gay, Scott Garson, Ben Loory, and a slew of other names you no doubt recognize. Dave was thoughtful enough to want to represent hint fiction in the mix, so you'll also find my story "10 Items or Less." It is, as usual, a rather dark tiny piece.