Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Indy Literary Pub Crawl on Saturday!
Purchase tickets to the crawl here: http://www.indyliterarypubcrawl.com/
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Goodreads Giveaway!
To celebrate the
audiobook release of TRIP THROUGH YOUR WIRES, enter to win a prize pack
that includes a signed paperback of the novel, an Audible.com code for
the audiobook, and a souvenir.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Ten things I found while searching for the mean postcard from a famous priest*
1. A box of journals I chose not to open, because THAR BE WORMS, MATEY, in that thar can. Ain't got time for worms tonight.
2. An article for a news writing class, covering campus reaction to the O.J. Simpson verdict in 1995. I included a quote in which one student called the trial "a fucking farce," because college. Glaring error: I didn't use Nicole's last name on first reference.
3. Grades for the library science classes I took while trying to find a path, post-college. Books, yes, but not as a librarian. Solid A- Library Science student, what what.
4. A printed email conversation with my dear friend, following my rejection from an MFA program, with the subject line: YOU ARE ACCEPTED. I'd also written her with my mother's comment about the form letter rejection: "You'd think a creative writing program could come up with something a little more creative!"
5. A piece of writing for a class in undergrad, with the following line: "As a teenager, I was too uncomfortable with myself to allow others to be comfortable with me." That seems insightful for that time in my life.
6. Black and white photos I took for a community college photography class, while trying to figure out my path. My baby-faced husband, working at his desk with a pencil behind one ear. My sister with her ex. Two teenage boys in hoodies on the back of a park bench, on a freezing Syracuse night, who said "Sure," when I asked to take their photo.
7. A rather snide reference to a band I was (favorably) reviewing for the campus magazine, calling them "a bunch of middle-aged men from Ohio." Let the record show that even though I was trying to say the band really WAS cool, this now-middle-aged woman from Indiana is mortified.
8. Several pieces of writing that repeat the same thought: I want to write books. I want to write things that matter to people. I don't want to exist without leaving something behind.
9. Short stories I scarcely remember, which were my first attempts at writing fiction. They are simultaneously terrible and not that bad, as things can sometimes be.
10. A binder full of instruction sheets from line dancing class, which I signed up for while trying to figure out my path. Kick-ball-change, kick-ball-change. It's a path, of sorts. Keep moving: sometimes backward, sometimes sideways, and sometimes, when the steps line up right, forward.
*It was a Berrigan. I'm not sure which one. I read about Daniel Berrigan's death and went looking for the postcard. One of the Berrigans -- more than likely Jerry, who lived in Syracuse -- took issue with an article I'd written for The Post-Standard. I'm not sure which article. And probably the postcard wasn't mean but critical, and potentially educative. But when you are 23? Well. I hope I find the postcard. I'll read it objectively after almost twenty years, and many, many writing critiques.
2. An article for a news writing class, covering campus reaction to the O.J. Simpson verdict in 1995. I included a quote in which one student called the trial "a fucking farce," because college. Glaring error: I didn't use Nicole's last name on first reference.
3. Grades for the library science classes I took while trying to find a path, post-college. Books, yes, but not as a librarian. Solid A- Library Science student, what what.
4. A printed email conversation with my dear friend, following my rejection from an MFA program, with the subject line: YOU ARE ACCEPTED. I'd also written her with my mother's comment about the form letter rejection: "You'd think a creative writing program could come up with something a little more creative!"
5. A piece of writing for a class in undergrad, with the following line: "As a teenager, I was too uncomfortable with myself to allow others to be comfortable with me." That seems insightful for that time in my life.
6. Black and white photos I took for a community college photography class, while trying to figure out my path. My baby-faced husband, working at his desk with a pencil behind one ear. My sister with her ex. Two teenage boys in hoodies on the back of a park bench, on a freezing Syracuse night, who said "Sure," when I asked to take their photo.
7. A rather snide reference to a band I was (favorably) reviewing for the campus magazine, calling them "a bunch of middle-aged men from Ohio." Let the record show that even though I was trying to say the band really WAS cool, this now-middle-aged woman from Indiana is mortified.
8. Several pieces of writing that repeat the same thought: I want to write books. I want to write things that matter to people. I don't want to exist without leaving something behind.
9. Short stories I scarcely remember, which were my first attempts at writing fiction. They are simultaneously terrible and not that bad, as things can sometimes be.
10. A binder full of instruction sheets from line dancing class, which I signed up for while trying to figure out my path. Kick-ball-change, kick-ball-change. It's a path, of sorts. Keep moving: sometimes backward, sometimes sideways, and sometimes, when the steps line up right, forward.
*It was a Berrigan. I'm not sure which one. I read about Daniel Berrigan's death and went looking for the postcard. One of the Berrigans -- more than likely Jerry, who lived in Syracuse -- took issue with an article I'd written for The Post-Standard. I'm not sure which article. And probably the postcard wasn't mean but critical, and potentially educative. But when you are 23? Well. I hope I find the postcard. I'll read it objectively after almost twenty years, and many, many writing critiques.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Mythic Indy
Cool thing in the world: You can support Second Story with the Mythic Indy anthology, a fantastic collection created by Corey Michael Dalton. Thrilled to have a story included! The launch party is tomorrow, Feb. 5, in Fountain Square for First Friday.
More details on this fine looking book, which come from the mythmakers themselves, and more specifically, from Clint Smith's website. (Thanks, Clint!)
“Mythic Indy is an anthology of weird stories set in Indianapolis that will benefit the programs of Second Story to introduce Indianapolis-area kids to creative writing. We have the stories. We have the kids. Now we need your help.
The 33 Mythic Indy stories were originally compiled by former Saturday Evening Post associate editor Corey Michael Dalton and published at Punchnels.com. Some are hilarious. Some are frightening. Some are moving. Each is written by one of Indiana’s top contemporaries writers, including:
More details on this fine looking book, which come from the mythmakers themselves, and more specifically, from Clint Smith's website. (Thanks, Clint!)
“Mythic Indy is an anthology of weird stories set in Indianapolis that will benefit the programs of Second Story to introduce Indianapolis-area kids to creative writing. We have the stories. We have the kids. Now we need your help.
The 33 Mythic Indy stories were originally compiled by former Saturday Evening Post associate editor Corey Michael Dalton and published at Punchnels.com. Some are hilarious. Some are frightening. Some are moving. Each is written by one of Indiana’s top contemporaries writers, including:
- Ben H. Winters, the author of several New York Times best-selling novels including Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and The Last Policeman trilogy.
- Maurice Broaddus, who wrote an original story set in the world of his Knights of Breton Court novels specifically for the anthology.
- Sarah Layden, whose debut novel Trip Through Your Wires is currently receiving rave reviews from outlets like The Chicago Tribune.
- Clint Smith, author of Ghouljaw and Other Stories, whose short story “Dirt on Vicky” is slated for inclusion in the Best New Horror No. 26 anthology.
- Eliza Tudor, whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in Hobart, PANK, Annalemma, specs, Weave, and Paper Darts.
- Laura VanArendonk Baugh, best-selling and award-winning author of numerous stories and books including Kitsune-Tsuki, Smoke and Fears, and So to Honor Him.
- Annie Sullivan, a graduate of Butler’s MFA program whose novel manuscript, Goldilocks, won the Luminis Books Award at the Midwest Writers Workshop.
- Alex Mattingly, whose work has been published in numerous journals including PANK, Annalemma, Midwestern Gothic, and Flywheel.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
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