Andy Cox, editor of Black Static, emailed me to point out a very positive review of “The Hodag” from Peter Tennant to counter the lukewarm one I linked to yesterday. Happily, Tennant’s remarks highlight the things I as the author was hoping readers would experience. I can’t help but quote the whole thing:

The Hodag

One of my favourite stories in the issue. It’s told from the perspective of an elderly man looking back on an incident in childhood, when the backwoods community of which his family was part found itself prey for a monstrous beast. The backdrop to the story is the Great Depression and, although it’s never made implicit, you get the idea that the beast of the title is an outward manifestation of the inner tensions wrecking the town. On the more obvious level, we get a compelling and absorbing tale of people and prey, stalking by a monster, and of the virtue of having family, those who will cling to you no matter what. Hergenrader doesn’t put a word wrong, bringing the community to life on the page and making us believe in the relationship between the narrator and his friend Whitey. The wind of despair is blowing through this narrative, the feeling that there are things you just can’t fight against, all you can do is stay true to the virtues and people you believe in and hope to survive.

Happily, a blog commenter also says that my story was one his favourites (’u’ included). But don’t take my word for it: click here to see it yourself.

I agree with the earlier review that if you read it “just” as a monster story, it might be a bit predictable. However, I hope that other readers will see some of the things that Tennant saw. Of course, as the writer I have the last say in what the story is “about” rather than the first say, but it is always gratifying when a reader connects with what I was trying to do.

Current Mood: Very, Very Pleased |

Well, three maybe doesn’t make a mania, but it’s two big thumbs up for my story “Of Silver Bullets and Golden Teeth” and a luke-warm response to “The Hodag.”

* The Book Smugglers’ review of The Beast Within anthology calls OSBAGT “probably one the best written of the bunch” and that yours truly “definitely knows how to tell a story.” Two compliments I will take to the bank anytime. Click here for the full review.

* Specusphere calls OSBAGT “gripping” and a “real cliff-hanger.” Click here for the full review.

* And on a more sobering note, The Barking Dog found “The Hodag” in Black Static #7 to be “a competently written piece that keeps the reader’s interest” but is ultimately “a little generic.” Can’t win ‘em all and besides, this isn’t even a bad review, just a blah one. Click here for the full review.

Ah, I remember what it was like when I used to write fiction…

Current Mood: How Many Weeks to Winter Break? |

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So, Spurs ditched the magic Juande in favor of ‘Arry Redknapp. I think axing Ramos was the right move because he clearly did not command the respect of the players, winning a grand total of four league games while in charge. In one game, ‘Arry accumulated more points than Ramos did in eight. And as most sensible people realized, Spurs are now three points (one more win) from pulling out of the drop zone—provided other teams keep losing. I think three out of Bolton, Fulham, Stoke, and West Brom will get relegated. It’s early days, but I can see Newcastle and Spurs muscling out enough points over the long haul to get to the comfort zone before spring. (Speaking of which, can you believe Hull? You’d have to think 40 points would keep you safe, and they’re already half-way there in just 9 games with 29 more to play.)

I’m pretty excited about Liverpool beating Chelski today, and hope to high heaven that they’ll still be contenders come January. A certain Ars* lead the table for long periods last fall before falling apart in the New Year, so early results do not guarantee late returns. Still, it’s better to win than lose…

Back to ‘Arry Redknapp for a second, it’s an appointment that seems solid but doesn’t get the heart racing. He generally has had a galvanizing effect for the teams he’s managed, but he’s also been dodgy in the transfer market. Spurs savior? Not hardly. At least he should keep them up. Emphasis on should.

In good news, last weekend Man City United spanked the opposition 8-2 on a lovely, sunny afternoon. Yesterday however, we lost 1-0 on a cold, windy day on an abomination of a field that had a serious slant to it and a huge patch of mud in the center of the park. The conditions were almost unplayable and I figured it would either be 0-0 or someone would score on a fluke or mistake, and unfortunately that’s what happened. Our keeper slipped throwing the ball into play and it landed at the feet of one of their strikers, who popped it into the empty net and then celebrated like he’d actually done something incredible. We went on to miss about three chances that were nearly as easy, only to see our strikers get in each others way (twice) and blaze over the bar from a ridiculous position.

Worst of all, I rolled my ankle getting shoved over in a mud patch and will be hobbled for a week or so. (sigh) Titanium breakaway ankles…

You can say what you want about MLS’ two-conference system and the playoffs (I often say they’re dumb) but it does set the stage for some pretty good late-season drama. Colorado vs. Real Salt Lake was a perfect example. Because Amy trumped me on the remote, we ended up watching some real estate shows and, during the commercials, I’d seen that the Rapids went up 1-0. I figured that while we were watching Trading Spaces, two things would happen: either Colorado would score another goal and ice the game, or they wouldn’t. Turns out they wouldn’t, which led to frenetic last ten minutes that I did get to watch, including RSL’s dramatic and late, late equalizer that saw them go through to the playoffs for their very first time. Good stuff.

On the writing front, I was boosted by the news that a friend of mine who has a boatload of sales to highly respected literary mags says he sends out his stories to about twenty markets at the same time. In the same conversation, he said he was amazed that I had the publications I did from sending out my stories one at a time, due to the restriction most f/sf markets have on not accepting simultaneous subs.

This is certainly good news and helps me get my head around how to succeed in the lit mag world. I typically get very cordial, personal rejections from the f/sf mags I submit to and rarely, if ever, get so much as a hand-written “thanks” on the form rejections I get from lit mags. Rather than taking this personally, I’m guessing I just need to cast nets a little farther and a little wider.

Who has time for reading books in grad school? My reading list is way down this semester for a variety of reasons, mostly because my time is devoured by teaching and my admin position, and my reading time is dedicated to articles, not books. In a word, this sucks. I have a long list of stuff I want to read but it will have to wait.

Current Mood: Bleh |
Currently Listening To - The Hold Steady - “Almost Killed Me”

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I found out yesterday that my story “Black Jack Davy,” which appeared in April’s Realms of Fantasy, received an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 2008: The 21st Annual Collection, and that’s pretty exciting.

Better yet, Ellen Datlow mentions my story in her year’s summation: Realms of Fantasy, edited by Shawna McCarthy, sometimes publishes dark fantasy and even horror. The best darker stories appearing during 2007 were by Christopher Barzak, Stephen Chambers, Noreen Doyle, Euan Harvey, Samantha Henderson, Trent Hergenrader, M.K. Hobson, Devon Monk, Richard Parks and Josh Roundtree.

Short of actually having the story reprinted in the collection itself, this is pretty much the next best thing.

Current Mood: Elated By a Much-Needed Boost |

Google alerts has just informed me that Black Static #7 has gone to press, and it will be featuring my story “The Hodag.” Not to be a complete suck up, but the covers for Black Static have been unbelievable, and check out this creepy little number gracing the cover of issue #7:

Erm…can we say cool?

Current Mood: Quite Pleased |

Hey! The new Graveside Tales anthology entitled The Beast Within is coming out soon, and it’s already gotten a few positive reviews from early reviewers. Happily, Stephen Studach of HorrorScope mentions my story “Of Silver Bullets and Golden Teeth” under the heading “stories that make this assemblage worthy.”

And that’s always good.

Current Mood: Pleased |
Currently Listening To - Bob Dylan - “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”

Whew. Two eight-hour days of straight TA orientation is fairly brutal. We have the weekend to recuperate (with homework of course) followed by two more days next week, plus an extra-special bonus session on Wednesday. And I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that even with all of this training, you just have to stumble into teaching composition and learn a lot by trial and error. So it goes.

The Egyptian striker Mido has revealed that Wigan want to sign him on loan. From Spurs to Boro to Wigan? There’s a trajectory there son, and it sure as hell ain’t up. Next stop: Millwall.

My fiction group critiqued my novel Thursday night and I got a ton of valuable feedback. The things I thought were problems and I could quickly paper over? Still glaring problems. The parts I thought were the best part of the book? Yeah, they liked those the best. All without me really saying a word.

Sadly, the novel needs more work than I would have hoped. Happily, thanks to these friends, I have a much, much better idea of where and how to start fixing. Having good critical readers is invaluable. What I really learned is what themes or parts to ramp up a bit and what parts to suppress. And I found it oddly liberating to laugh along with them at the parts that just didn’t work. Like I said, far better for us to laugh so I can cut them than have potential agents and editors laughing at them as they seal up my pink slip.

Current Mood: Sleeping While Typing |

Is it comment spam season? I’ve been getting absolutely hammered by comment spam both here and over at the cream city review website and the usually spot-on filters have been letting quite a bit through. And this is on the heels of a bunch of user registration spam on this site. Death to spammers, huh?

UWM classes officially start September 2nd but school more or less starts for me on Thursday. I had university-wide orientation on Monday that was largely not time well spent, and that’s followed by eight solid hours of TA orientation this Thursday, Friday, next Monday and Tuesday. And I was notified today that there’s a bonus (though mandatory) two-hour session on Wednesday. And there’s homework, too. Boo.

Actually, I’m happy to get detailed instruction on how to teach Intro to College Composition since I know a lot of people say their programs just threw them in front of a class without any preparation, hardly even a syllabus. The assigned readings have been interesting and thought-provoking, so I’m hoping for the best.

I finished another story today, this one entitled “Rogerio’s Library.” It actually names Borges not once but twice, which might be akin to whacking someone over the head with a hammer to get their attention. I like the idea and voice very much but it’s a slippery story and one that will need some rearranging before it leaves the nest.

US vs. Guatemala in World Cup qualifying tomorrow, 9:00 CT on ESPN2. Don’t miss it.

Current Mood: Bushed |
Currently Listening To - Bob Dylan - “The Bootleg Series, Vols 1-3 (Disc Two)”

Oh. My. Word. I do love to play the beautiful game oh so much but some day they’re going to have to bring a spatula and scrape me off the pitch. Not too many fellas out today but it was a good, fast-paced game and I didn’t play half bad. The ground is a bit of a nightmare though, being rock hard and covered with scrubby grass, which makes cleats necessary since without them you slide, but they don’t dig into the turf so it’s hard to stop your momentum. Lots of clashes today, all in good spirit.

I got my toes stomped and the bottom of my left foot kicked hard, but the worst one was the whack I got across my ankle. I also almost scored on a diving header that would have made me happy for years (zipped just wide) but I paid a heavy price—I have a strawberry on my hip and the bruise from impact is already starting to show beneath. Amy of course asks why I would do such a silly thing and I have to say, “But it was a perfect ball…”

I did stomp on someone’s toes by accident too, but that’s just that way it goes. If you’re steaming in going for a 50/50 ball, one guy is going to get the ball and the other guy is going to get…foot. That’s just the way it works. I’ve also been invited to play in an over-30 league this fall, so it will be interesting to see if I can survive in a non-pickup environment. I haven’t played in a league since, shesh, 1998 or so. I am quite looking forward to it.

The LA derby tonight, the Galaxy vs. Chivas USA at 9:30 CT on ESPN2. As I’ve mentioned before, this game is always tasty but the Galaxy just lost their GM and their coach on the heels of a massive skid that’s seen them fall out of play-off contention and the teams are separated by a single point in the league table. All that adds a little more heat to an always spicy affair.

In writing news, I temporarily abandoned rewrites to write something new and boy, did I have a good time. The original title was The Dream Engine based off a series of six poems I wrote for a seminar last fall, entitled Engine Six. The latest title is From Twisted Fork to Langmire and may grow to From Twisted Fork to Langmire By Way of Desolation Pass or Twisted Fork to Langmire By Way of the Parliament Mountains. Opinions on a postcard please.

I followed the golden rule in this one: when in doubt, throw in either a bear or a wolf. I threw in a wolf.

Current Mood: Beat, but Great |
Currently Listening To - The Hold Steady - “Separation Sunday”

Before school starts up again, I really want(ed) to write some new stories and perhaps give a face lift to some old ones that have been shopped around some and haven’t yet struck gold. Writing new ones simply hasn’t happened, and the revisions…well, those have been a lot of sweat without much to show for it. Yet, at least.

I mentioned awhile back that if I was going to try and write stories that don’t fit neatly into any genre, and if they’re deliberately not going to be neat and tidy, I need to focus on the language. As I go back and look at these stories I’m revising with eyes that haven’t seen the words on the page for awhile, I realize that just looking at language isn’t enough. You need to do all the other stuff right too. I went through one story with thesaurus and red pen in hand and ramped up the language across the board and thought, “Yep, some of those sentences sure are purtier now.”

The story in question has received a lot of favorable rejections of the “the writing here is nice but I just don’t get it” stripe, which has happened a lot lately. I didn’t really want to explain anything, because there’s nothing to explain. It’s just supposed to be sort of a weird, surreal story. I realize now, though, that a clearer explanation of events is probably not what these rejections are recommending whether they know it or not.

The problem (at least as I see it today, 8/12/08) is that the warped, surreal part of the story is fine. What needs to happen is that the more mundane parts of the story need to be improved. You know, the classic workshop stuff: what is at stake for the characters? and there needs to be more tension, etc. Looking back, that’s kind of what my critique group originally mentioned but at that time I couldn’t really see it. Now I think I do.

And I also think that all of the upgraded language in the world is not, in and of itself, going to fix the problem. It doesn’t hurt. But what I’ve been mulling over the past week is whether that question of language, high versus low diction, might be incorporated into the story itself as a source of tension. Right now I have a farmer who reads poetry and is a bit of a dreamer, and that fact goes unnoticed by just about everyone. But what if that makes him a bit of an outsider? And what if his wife, who currently is just a little crabby with him, is really frustrated with his inability to take charge of the impossible situation they find themselves in?

I’m not 100% sure that these are the changes the story needs to come together. But they definitely would add tension and make the story feel bigger than “just” the surrealist part, which I think might have been the real criticism all along, even though no one said that in so many words.

I don’t even want to think about how much time I’ve put into this one 4000-word story; let’s just say it’s a lot. But unlike other stories that get their ration of rejections and go into the trunk, I still like this one. I feel like it’s a balancing act at this point, that if I get everything just so then it should work. So I keep coming back to it and tinkering. And who knows? Maybe in another six months I’ll realize something else about it, or maybe at that point I’ll get frustrated and trunk it after all. But I don’t think so.

I’ve said this before, but writing is not only a lot of work, it’s also a lot of guesswork, and it’s not always fun. I stopped working on revising this particular story when it dawned on me that the changes I was planning weren’t the real solution. That means a lot of that editing time is down the drain—not wasted, because it helped me come to a conclusion that I’m more comfortable with and hopefully will improve the end product. Yet should (or perhaps when to be more positive) this story sells, no one will know how long the road was to get there.

That’s all fine and good, but only underscores the fact that writing is quite often a pain in the ass, and quite often I can’t believe I’ve managed to sell anything at all.

Current Mood: Neutral |