The Brooklyner, Valentine's Day

I found out last night that the magazine The Brooklyner has accepted my short story, "Late Winter", for publication. It came as quite a surprise because I originally wrote the story in October of 2011 and I submitted it to The Brooklyner in March of 2012, so that is quite a long response time. It's kind of cool seeing stories that I wrote so long ago being accepted for publication now.

I'm ready for summer. I can't stand the snow, can't stand the cold.  For the first time we had to have our driveway plowed this weekend because the snow was just so high, drifts up to five feet in front of our garage.  It's not as fun drinking beer on a cold winter night as it is on a hot summer  night, I know that. So I guess that's what it comes down to for me, what is the best time of year to drink beer.

I'm reading Rod Stewart's autobiography, "Rod", and it is one of the best autobiographies I've read. Much better than I expected. I've read a few lousy books in the past few months so it's nice to read one that I look forward to. I've been wanting to watch the movie "Better Off Dead" all week but instead I've been reading. Oh, and watching Frasier. Kind of going through a Frasier addiction, we are almost finished with Season 6 on Netflix.

I've been writing quite a bit in the past week if you don't include last night and tonight. Last night I read and then watched "Justified", the only current show that I watch. I'm not a big fan of the graphic violence, but the storylines are great. As for tonight, well, the night is still somewhat young so there is still time to get in a few hundred words. We'll see.

Valentines Day tomorrow. Michelle and I are the only couple I know who do not celebrate it. We do absolutely  nothing. No flowers, no cards, nothing. We feel that it is ridiculous for people to spend money on each other so companies can get rich. If you don't show your love for each other every day, why is one day a year going to change things? We'd rather celebrate our anniversary and things like that.  I have, however, written her a couple of dirty valentine's day poems in the past. It's just the romantic in me, I guess.

Karate, Better Off Dead

Samuel started Karate last week, American Kenpo. It's taught at Curtis Lake Church and it is not the most disciplined, organized class, but it is good for a beginner and Sam really likes it. Plus, it's only $10 a month which is a great price. As long as he uses his powers for good instead of evil, I'm all for it.

I've been working all week on a query letter for The Auctioneer. Why does it take longer to write a one page letter than an entire novel? And really, it's the one or two paragraphs describing the manuscript that make it so difficult. I almost have it the way I want it and I will begin sending a few out to agents next week. I'm sure they can't wait.

I saw "Silence Of The Lambs" last night at Smitty's Cinema. I love Wayback Wednesdays. However, I don't think I would go see that particular movie again. There are enough horrible, twisted people in the world, I don't need to see it onscreen.  It was a very good movie but I'd rather watch a good comedy. Unfortunately, they don't really make good comedies anymore. I guess that's what Wayback Wednesday is for. Speeking of comedy, I went to the library today and took out the movie "Better Off Dead". That is a movie I used to love, it was my favorite comedy for years. I'm wondering if I will still like it or just think it is ridiculous. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, if only in a nostalgic way. But I think I'll probably crack up like I always did. I pretty certain I haven't matured too much to enjoy it.

Writer's Market, Super Bowl, Rod Stewart

I have 2 or 3 short stories I'd like to submit for publication but I'm not sure where to send them. This thing with duotrope.com costing money really stinks. It was so easy to look up different online and print magazines on there. I suppose I could use the poets & writers website. They offer a pretty good list, not nearly as long as duotrope's and not as simple to use, but I guess it's better than nothing. Unless I want to spend $5, which I really don't. That's like sending in stories to magazines that charge reading fees. I can't imagine paying someone to read my stories.  Are they really so bad that I have to pay someone to read them?

I bought the new Writer's Market book from amazon.com, it came in the mail today. It's not really new, I bought the 2012 version because it was only $3 for a new copy. I haven't looked at it yet, I've had a couple of the older copies a few years back and I remember that there really isn't much in there as far as fiction markets. Better than nothing, though, and they do have a good list of book publishers. It's better than paying $5 to that damn duotrope.com!!

Okay, that felt good. So, the Super Bowl. Apparently Jesus loves Ray Lewis and the Ravens a little more than he loves the 49ers. That's too bad. Not that I like the 49ers, but I really don't like Ray Lewis. If he goes to work for ESPN, I wonder if he will wear that ridiculous-looking black paint  all over his face while commentating. That will make quite a mess if he bursts into tears like he is prone to doing. Ah, well, we can only hope.

I am currently reading "Pontoon" by Garrison Keillor. Man, that guy is funny. My next book after that is "Rod", about Rod Stewart. I wonder if his real name is Rod (guess I'll find out when I read the book) and if his parents realized the phallic symbolism involved. I mean, if he'd been a plumber named Rod, you'd think of a snake going down a shitty drain pipe to unclog it. Not the sexiest thing in the world. But a rock star named Rod, well, line up, girls!

I was going to continue on with the rock star novel I started last spring (and I still could) but I've begun writing another novel. I have 1 1/2 paragraphs written. I'm nothing if not prolific.

Writing, writing, writing. And cold

So I read The Auctioneer the other night, and you know what? It's pretty damn good. I think I'll keep it just the way it is. I'm going to write a query letter for agents this weekend. That letter will be more difficult to write than the novel. It's difficult to summarize a novel in one or two paragraphs while advertising yourself at the same time. But I will do it, or at least attempt to.

I do need to change one thing about the story, and this is a big one. Not about the story, actually, but how it is written. Ever since I took a typing class during my junior year of high school, I've double spaced after periods. That must be how we were taught. Unfortunately, it doesn't look good at all in a manuscript and if I decide to self-publish the book it will mess up the formatting. So I need to go to the beginning of every sentence in the story and backspace once, so that there is only one space after each period instead of two. Yes, that's correct, every sentence. Do you know how many sentences there are in a 90,000-word novel? I don't, but I can verify that there are a lot. I started this afternoon and I've already corrected up to page 36. Yay.

Cold. Very cold. According to my truck thermometer, it was 2 degrees around noon today. Cold.

After I finish with my little sentence-backspace-period project, I'm going to start on another novel. I began writing one at the same time I started The Auctioneer and I have about 30 pages so far. That was in Febuary of 2012 and I haven't read it over since, but I remember that it was about a former rock star who moves to Maine to escape fame. Nobody knows he was once a rock star, not even his girlfriend, until he's discovered 30 years by a reporter. I'm not sure where the story goes from there. You'd think I would, since I'm the one who has to write it, but nope. No clue. More exciting that way, I think.

A Lucid Moment, Theodore Rex, Stereophonics, New England Patriots

My most recently published short story, "A Lucid Moment", is now available for viewing online at http://www.fictionandverse.com/a-lucid-moment/ . It's a good story, one of the better ones I've written. I wrote it over a year ago but it is just being published now, which is usually how it goes.

I'm reading Theodore Rex, about Theodore Roosevelt. I've been reading it for over 2 weeks and I'm just past halfway through. Looks like it will take me the entire month of January to read one book. It seems like a textbook at times, and it is certainly not for everyone, but I'm enjoying it.

I've been listening to a lot of Stereophonics lately, hoping it will inspire me to write. It has, I just finished writing my first short story in a long time. I'll send it out to a few places this week. Unfortunately, Duotrope.com, the site where I find the magazines to send my stories to, is no longer free. I'm really ticked off about that. It is only $5 a month but I'm refusing to pay. Until I can't find the magazines I'm looking for, of course. Then I'll probably pay.

Speaking of Stereophonics, they have a new album coming out in April, I think, but I'm sure I won't be able to get it here in the U.S.  I had to wait over a year to buy their last cd. I could have bought it when it first came out, but it was an import and would have cost me over $30. I'm always amazed at the difference between popular music here and in the UK. The difference is that ours is crap.

Tonight I'm either going to start another short story or begin my rewrite of The Auctioneer. But first I'm going to watch the Patriots game with some friends. I really hope they lose. The greatest thing in football is a Steelers win, and the next best thing is a Patriots loss. Since we are in Maine and everyone is a Patriots fan, this should be an interesting afternoon.

Lettahs To Celebrities available on Amazon.com

The new phone book's  here! The new phone book's here! Just channeling Steve Martin. The real news is that "Lettahs To Celebrities (anothah Lettahs From Maine book) is now available as an ebook and in print on Amazon.com. I'm excited about it, I hope people enjoy it.

Now to write a couple of short stories. I spent two hours writing one paragraph this morning. It's going to take some time to get back into it, I'm afraid. But I have a couple of good ideas for stories, so once I get back into the groove they should turn out well.

This morning Sam asked me how to spell punch, which I didn't think much of until he taped a "Punch Me" sign on my back as I walked past. My son the comedian.

Lettahs, Kringles, Jack Reacher

Last night I finished writing 'Lettahs To Celebrities'. I have to go over it one more time to check for spelling errors, which means I have to make sure I didn't spell anything right. I like the book, but I'm not sure it's as good as the other two Lettahs From Maine books. It's a little different, I think. So today and tomorrow I will work on a cover and getting the story ready, and hopefully it will be for sale on Amazon within a week.

I actually didn't listen to much music while I wrote it. I listened to Led Zeppelin a few times, and I think that's about it. I think I've been listening to Kids Bop in my truck more than anything. I don't listen to it by myself, though, so I'm not a total geek.

After the new Lettahs book is published, I'm going to write a couple of short stories, then go back to work on The Auctioneer. I really want to see how that one turns out.

Hopefully going to see Jack Reacher tomorrow night. I read the first book, didn't care for the writing style all that much, but I read the movie is pretty good. So we'll see.

Sam thinks that Pringles potato chips are called Kringles. We heard something on the radio about Kris Kringle before Christmas and Sam said, "Say, speaking of Kringle, can we get some Kringles at the grocery store?" It was difficult not to laugh at that one.