I’ve been terrible about posting lately, but that’s mainly because I feel like I’m finally coming down the home stretch of the novel I’ve been laboring over for almost five years now and have been loathe to give up any time I might spend working on it. But there’s a couple of cool things in the works, so I wanted to take a moment to get them up here.
First, I just received notice a few days ago that Gargoyle Magazine will be publishing a new story of mine in an upcoming issue. It’s still a little up in the air over which issue it will be–either the next one or the one after that–but either way, I’m tremendously psyched. I’ve been a fan of Gargoyle for years, and Richard Peabody, its very long-time editor, is someone whose opinion and influence I hold in great regard. I can’t wait to see my work appear there.
I’ve also decided to apply for a fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). The current deadline for a residency taking place between February and May of 2012 is September 15, so what I’m thinking is that if I continue at the pace I’m currently keeping, I’ll have a good, solid, workable draft of the novel finished by then. So if I get accepted (and I’ll just keep my fingers crossed), I’d be able to seclude myself in southern Virginia, well away from all my normal distractions, and spend maybe two or three weeks focusing on nothing but a thorough revision. We’ll see how that goes.
To help with that, I’ve also decided to apply for a grant being sponsored by the Virginia Commission for the Arts. They’re doing fellowships in fiction this year, and the reward is a pretty hefty $5,000. Which would make disappearing for a few weeks (and paying the suggested donation VCCA requests of its fellows) all the easier. The competition is apparently fierce for this thing, but I figure it can’t hurt to try. And who knows…maybe I’ll finish this year on a glorious roll.
Also wanted to throw out some good words about two books I’ve recently read, both of them by workshop leaders who were at Positano. First, The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti. Hannah was my workshop leader, and her insights on a story of mine that I’ve been working on, submitting, and having rejected (good rejections, though) for years were invaluable. The Good Thief is her first novel (she’s also published a short-story collection, Animal Crackers), and it’s a great read. You’ll see the word “Dickensian” used in a lot of reviews of it, and I think that’s a very appropriate description. The characters are fun, memorable, and jump off the page at you, and the story will keep you interested. Pick it up if you’re looking for a good summer book.
The second, a short-story collection by Jim Shepard entitled you think that’s bad, is another animal altogether. It’s hard to really put a single descriptor to this collection–the stories are all over the place, but they’re all fantastic, and they’ll leave you somehow heartbroken, horrified, amazed, and overjoyed all at the same time. He spoke in Positano about how important it is for an author to really know his material, to be able to write about his subject as if it’s an integral part of his own life, and this collection could serve as a textbook for that very principle. It’s not “light” reading by any means–I don’t know that I’d recommend it for the beach, in other words–but my God, it’s great reading.
I’ll also say that one of my favorite singer/songwriters in the world, Josh Ritter, has just released his first novel. It’s called Bright’s Passage, but I haven’t picked it up yet. Soon, though…maybe in time for my next post. But if you haven’t heard Josh’s music, you really need to. You don’t know what you’re missing. Here, I’ll leave with a link to one of his great ones (he did this one on Letterman last time he was on): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4aBD0z0iaY&feature=relmfu.
Enjoy!