...and the Ugly

My broken ankle looks swollen and ugly. I can't wait till I can walk straight again.

Meantime, (just to make the world a little less ugly) I've had a few acceptances. One from a print magazine in Australia I submitted to over a year ago! (More details later)

And my little tale "Traveller" up this week in A-Minor magazine.

The Good and the Bad

The bad news is - it's been a godawful summer during which I crashed my car and broke my ankle.

The good news is - my story "Sparrow" has been shortlisted for the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition Prize. You can see the shortlist here. 22 stories out of the 849 entries for the competition have been shortlisted, and I'm so happy mine has been selected. Congratulations, all!

The Republic of Love

So here it is. I am thrilled to announce the publication of my first micro novel "THE REPUBLIC OF LOVE".

Micro novels are hand-made books that fit in an airmail envelope. Their size and page count is defined by standard airmail format and weight: 24 pages, Din A6.

"The Republic of Love" is one of two micro novels published by Blueprintpress this summer, the other one being "My Apartment" by Michael K. White. Both micro novels are offered as signed author copies, hand-made limited editions. They will arrive at your doorstep with international air mail, and are available as single volumes, or as bundle. See order details here.

And here is the "blurb":
In flashbacks and dream-like sequences, parts of a woman's life unravel before us, but we are never certain what is real and what is not in "The Republic of Love "... details, author info, excerpt.

YAY!!

I Write Like ...

... Chuck Palahniuk.

To be honest, I have never been interested in him and never read any of his books. So, out of curiosity I googled him and found his official site. One of the writing tips he gives is the following:

"...Use writing as your excuse to throw a party each week - even if you call that party a "workshop." Any time you can spend time among other people who value and support writing, that will balance those hours you spend alone, writing. Even if someday you sell your work, no amount of money will compensate you for your time spent alone. So, take your "paycheck" up front, make writing an excuse to be around people. When you reach the end of your life - trust me, you won't look back and savor the moments you spent alone..."

I thought about this: The Loneliness of the Short Story Writer. Writing full time must be a dreadfully lonely business. I don't write full time, but every time I really get stuck into it, I have an awful feeling that I'm becoming anti-social.

I got a long e-mail earlier today from a dear friend who is starting out a new job in South East Asia. She wrote she's finding it difficult that she can't communicate with the locals because she does not speak their language. Makes it even more difficult for her "a person like me who considers communication the essence of existence, the most valuable component of life and the best present one can get."

I wondered what different people would consider the "best present" - and what that would be for a writer.

Over the Wall - and Over the Moon

I recently went to Berlin to read poetry at the brilliant Literaturwerkstatt. Some of my poems were translated into German by Christa Schuenke, I was introduced to the German public by Ron Winkler and Brigitte Oleschinski. I felt honoured and humbled.

I walked through a hole in remnants of die Mauer, took photos, was inspired. I could hardly recognise any of the streets or buildings... Berlin changes, moves on, all the time, it seems to me.

A few weeks after my return (yesterday, to be exact) I found out that Dorothee Lang of BluePrintPress has chosen my micro-novel "The Republic of Love" for publication this summer!

Now I am totally over the moon.

Some details here.

And more details to follow...

It's been too long...

Oh, my poor little blog. I haven't visited you for a while. I hope you don't hold it against me. I've been so busy having fun - and sometimes not having fun.

Here are some of the fun things I've done since I last wrote here:

I've been to Stockholm.
I've written a short story which has been accepted in a "Best of..." anthology, but more about that later.
I've appeared in BluePrintReview.
Three haiku-esque poems have appeared in UnFold:
Seagulls, Untitled and Swallow.
I've been interviewed by FictionDaily.
Thanks to the editors of the above: Dorothee Lang, Rose Auslander and David Backer!

Hope to be back soon.

OH.MY.GOD.

Those are the very words I typed in response to the best, sweetest, most unexpected acceptance e-mail I've had in years. I typed other things too, in my rush of excitement, I had no idea what I was saying, I was just so elated that my story was one of SIX (yes, six) out of 100+ submissions to be selected.

Among other lovely things, the editor of "Southword" wrote: "...I just wanted you to know that your story blew me away, and this is the first acceptance I am sending out. I love it!"

I am doubly pleased that the editor of this issue happens to be somebody I admire both as a person and a writer: none other than the wonderful Tania Hershman, who really knows how to encourage writers, and fully deserves the success she enjoys in the writing world. I don't just mean this acceptance-- Tania is one of the kindest, most generous, and least snobbish of writers. I was fortunate enough to meet her through her short story site "The Short Review" a couple of years ago. My admiration for her and her work has inspired me to read, to write, to rewrite, to submit, and above all... not to give up, even when it feels like I'm not really getting anywhere with all this writing...

Thank you, Tania! I'm so looking forward to the next issue of "Southword".