Complaints / Half-Baked Decisions

How’s the Book Going: p. 477

On deadline while I was supposed to be on vacation, 2018. Every submission experience I’ve ever had was defined by the two or three (or five) nights before the deadline. I would spend days camped at a coffee shop, drinking drip light roast out of the largest container they had, taking cigarette breaks every hour…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 477

How’s the Book Going: p. 329

Listening to a podcast in which two under-employed actors from Los Angeles narrate the life of Dolly Parton from a saccharine script. Eating a lemon-flavored protein bar that tastes like Pine Sol. Two beverages: one iced coffee, one water, both out. My manuscript is two months late, and my editor finally broke her silence. Something…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 329

How’s the Book Going: p. 247

What did I say I would write about today? That’s right, the emotions of writing emotions. I may not write about that. I’m feeling pretty good at the moment—I’ve just eaten leftover spaghetti—and I don’t feel like cracking that particular patch of ice. Maybe in a bit. The book is a romance. Romantic love drives…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 247

How’s the Book Going: p. 239

Finally, 239 pages in, I would like to answer your queries about the new book. So, here it is: The new book is about a woman who learns how to open herself up to the world after a great personal tragedy. This is the first book under my name for adults. If I finish on…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 239

Shelter in Playlist: “Dang!”

This summer and fall, I’m going to make playlists and write about them. This is the fourth entry in a series called “Chaos.” If you’d like to read from the beginning of the playlist, start here. Hope you enjoy. Note: If you are easily offended by sexually explicit lyrics, use discretion when listening to “Dang!.”…… Continue reading Shelter in Playlist: “Dang!”

Things I’ll Miss: An Updating List

Among the list of Questionable Habits I have been chipping away at for the past few years is the tendency to stage a dramatic breakup with the places I call home. A few months or weeks before I’m set for departure, I will begin cataloging perceived flaws of my living situation, incompatibilities with the city…… Continue reading Things I’ll Miss: An Updating List

The Rules

I’m typing this with one hand because I jammed my left pinkie during an intramural basketball game. We got beat so badly the refs invoked the “mercy” rule. There were only five of us from the English department, and only one of us under 30. Our team name is ‘As I Lay Dunking.’ Last week…… Continue reading The Rules

Art and the Market

This is adapted from an email I recently sent to an old friend. I had an incredible workshop leader a couple years back that was a bit precious about his approach to writing. He was all about guarding his time with his “craft” at all costs, protecting it from the demands of the market, insisting…… Continue reading Art and the Market