Here’s an excerpt from my seasonally-appropriate short story, Beyond the Boneyard Gate. It is featured in the October issue of The Paperbook Collective.
“I open them on the inhale. Smoke laps against my prickly face. A bright orange dot glows from the statue like a pulsating beacon, growing and then receding with each pull of breath. His breath. Moonlight glances off of a face whose features are re-forming before me, as stone becomes flesh and sinew. I pant, voiceless, and do not scream again.”
The dust jacket cover of the 1922 edition of Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini. Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Dust Jacket Cover of Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini.
“It is not human to be wise,” said Blood. “It is much more human to err, though perhaps exceptional to err on the side of mercy.”-Captain Blood, Rafael Sabatini
Where laughter, learning, and literature meet.
James Thurber was born and raised in Columbus. He attended the Ohio State University and later worked for the main local newspaper. All in all, except for a brief stint with the American Embassy in Paris, he called Ohio’s capital home until his 31st year. Even then, he never really left. Thurber lived with his parents and brothers at 77 Jefferson Avenue during his college years, from 1913-1917. This is the building that houses the museum.
Thurber House and Museum. 77 Jefferson Avenue.
The first two floors are open for tours; the top floor is reserved for the current Writer-in-Residence.
Entryway chair. Go ahead and try it out, if you please.
The house is furnished and decorated in appropriate period style. Unlike typically uptight museums, at the Thurber House you are encouraged to make yourself right at home. You can touch (most) things, play the piano, even sit on chairs. Such intimate interaction makes the experience personal and human, even humorous. I think that James would approve. Thurber memorabilia is spread throughout, with the largest concentration displayed in an upstairs room.
You can sit down and play a tune here.
Come on, I know that you want to give No, No, Nanette a try.
Adorable Thurber dog.
James Thurber’s dog illustrations are iconic, in all their forms. There are several of these yellow fellows around the museum. I think they are cookie jars, but I do not really know. Continue reading
The newest issue ofThe Paperbook Collective came out yesterday. It is a wonderful on-line magazine/hard copy ‘zine out of Australia. My short story Beyond the Boneyard Gate is featured on pages forty-one and forty-two. I hope you can take a few minutes to check it, and the rest of the contents, out. It’s well worth your time, I promise!
FUN FACT: I was moved to write this story after seeing, and being thoroughly disturbed by, one of my blogging friend Jennifer’s photos. Her blog of fabulous photography is here.
Holy cats, I’m self-published.
(Blinks)
Oh, there’s a bunch of digital rigmarole [rigital digamarole] I’m still sorting out – such as the appearance of the actual Amazon page that features the book, getting the “LOOK INSIDE!” feature set up, and all that other none-too-challenging jazz to do. But then, I stop dealing with that (and the student reports I have to type up, and the Flash games I’ve been playing, and the constant Rifftrax Twilight vids I’ve been watching), and it hits me …
Holy cats. I’m a self-published author.
The book’s been available now since about lunch today (August 22, 2013). And yet, I’ve been a little hesitant to toot about, given that I want to make the amazon page and other associated webpages really sing. But for now, I can’t help but toot like crazy (or tweet, I guess they call it), because today, for the first time in my life, I have published a book. Two emotions hold sway over my mind right now. The first is thankfulness – to God, to my friends, my dear family, my awesome editor, my great collaborators, my inspiring students, my amazing illustrator, and the gallons and gallons of cola that fueled the whole ordeal. The other feeling I have is indescribable, so until more sophisticated language comes to mind for me to more adequately express myself, I shall simply have to settle for the following:
Holy cats.
EDIT: BTW, if you want to check out the fruits of my (and my illustrator’s) labor, you can find it here.
Elmore Leonard Dead: Famed American Novelist Dies At Age 87 [courtesy HUFF POST BOOKS]
Elmore Leonard, Who Refined the Crime Thriller, Dies at 87 [courtesy THE NEW YORK TIMES]
Elmore Leonard dies at 87; master of the hard-boiled crime novel [courtesy LOS ANGELES TIMES]
Cover of The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1922.
The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1922
It’s been a while since I’ve visited upon you, good reader, the plights of an aspiring writer trying to self-publish his first book. Admittedly, a large part of my absence has been due to the pronounced lack of such plights. Some delays were inevitable – waiting for illustrations to be finished, which my very talented artist finished at amazing speed.
There was the slightly panic-filled adventure where I found myself desperately trying to find and master an inexpensive (free) layout program after figuring the Word Starter bundled with my laptop wouldn’t do the trick. The problem was easily settled by changing my mind and using Word anyhow. Turns out it works pretty well. It’s not professional level layout software, but not being a professional layout artist, I wouldn’t know what to do with that kind of software anyway. So, everything worked out.
After a trip to a printer, I discovered to my pleasant surprise that what I feared would be some unruly monstrosity actually looked pretty good in the industry-standard pocket book size that I was aiming for. And, during another episode of You Don’t Know What You’ll Find on the ’Net until Needs Demand You Look, I also found some neat software for drawing maps. The Kingdom of Steragos and surrounding nations can now make an appearance in my book.
At times like this, I find myself dwelling on how many great resources I’ve had helping me make this mess. One of my dearest friends is a mother of three, and a fan of fantasy. Not only was I able to get her valuable input, but the input of her daughter as well. At eight years of age, she may not yet be in the target demographic, but she’s a smart kid with a lot to say. What’s more: she’ll grow.
I don’t know where I’d be in this project without the help of my dear friend Mae. If you hadn’t met her before, Mae’s the founder of this site, and can be recognized by her piercing blue eyes, physically visible love of punk music (there was this one time where she raised her left eyebrow, and the Edward-Scissorhands guy from the Clash just appeared right next to her. Man, he was baffled), and the massive supply of classical and modern literature being fed directly into her bloodstream via IV. She has been of inestimable help to me in this adventure, pointing out my gaffes (on my request!), serving as a fashion consultant (the book is set during a fictionalized 1920s period, a part of history Mae is fascinated by), and being a much-needed soundboard in many different ways. She’s been an awesome friend and consultant, and I value her counsel greatly.
Kurt and Tessa, my bosses and friends at my teaching gig, have put in a tremendous amount of helpful input, including the suggestion of putting a map of the fictional country I created in the book. This was something I’d have never thought of doing on my own, simply because I didn’t think myself capable of doing so. Never made a map before; how do I do one now? Well, as it turns out:
Now, I may not be the greatest cartographer ever, but I’m proud of this. I didn’t know I could make anything like this at all, and thus, didn’t think I could do it. It’s funny to think about how this project has presented me with seemingly daunting tasks which turned out to be skill-broadening challenges. If you’re going to write a book, you’re going to have to bring your A-game. I don’t know if I’ve done that, but I made a map anyhow.
Next time, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of print-on-demand. I’m going with Createspace this time; I’ve heard good things about them. I’ll be sure to hit you with all the details of any skull-bursting headaches if they come knocking.
’Til then.
The frontispiece from Gentle Julia by Booth Tarkington. 1922. Illustrated by: C. Allan Gilbert and Worth Brehm.
Frontispiece of Gentle Julia by Booth Tarkington
In my world, complex stories call for physical inspiration boards. The five-part short story I am writing has been in the planning stages for 3 years. In fact, the first part was written in January 2010. I’m finally ready to move ahead with the rest of the project (more details on that later). After completing it, I plan on adapting it into a play. Ambitious, much? Always! Before starting on the second segment, I decided it would be wise to pull together the disjointed bits of inspiration that have been living in my head for so many months. This collective of images lives on one of the glass blocks that divide my studio from the bedroom I share with The Chef. One glance to the left from where I type this, and ta-da!
I fancied up the photos so that you have a better idea of how things look inside my head!
Inspiration Board for Untitled Short Story
Yes, it is set in the 1920s. Why do you ask?
Inspiration Board, alternate treatment
I will add images to the board as needed.
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 