originally published in Revolution John

To the Citizens of Central City,

The red glare who shoved you to the sidewalk microseconds before a taxi crushed you, the streak who caught you before you hit the ground when you jumped to end it all, the stoplight smear of motion who raced every child out of a house fire, can’t take living his life in slow motion. This is a world for human turtles. I’m not built to pace.

Imagine you’re stuck in traffic with every off-ramp closed. You’re late for a meeting, and bursting to pee. Every car in your way rolls in centimeters. You’re trapped, left to repeat Patience. Patience. Patience. This is every second of my life.

This life is designed for those who read menus one letter at a time, who amble with their eyes on their phones at the rate of sloths filled with Nyquil. There’s no hope you’ll ever hurry. Tonight I’ll rush to save another dragging soul, and as a gun flashes and bullets dart toward an innocent nameless you, I’ll brake in the line of fire. One of you will be spared when I refuse to bolt toward salvation. I will barely twitch, be more statue than flesh and bone— one of you.

The Flash

Romance for Delinquents is now available as an ebook via Amazon.

Spent most of the last year or more trying to stay steady, stay sane, and failed as much as I rallied.

Still working on the novel I thought I’d finish in months. Still fighting.

Two novels under consideration out in the ether, and I pray they find homes.

I’ve written  11 poems in the last seven days for no reason I can explain, first time writing poems and years, but I sent them out too. We’re all left to reaching the second we hit the last keystroke.

Hours spent tonight recording my reading a story for a podcast interview nine hours from now. Sure I stumbled over too many words, my mouth too dry or wet, but it’s done.

Half a slipstream story done; a half dozen others started or imagined.

I have to make sense tomorrow, but no idea how to talk my process or work. When people ask how I write, why I write, I always shrug, turn away, and answer, “I spend a lot of time alone.”

Tomorrow, the next day, grace I can’t ask for, or fresh disasters to reconcile without lessons worth learning. Only the words, and always the words.

2015 was a long, difficult year for myself and my writing, but like all hard times it’s coming to an end. In the last few days I’ve been asked to do two readings, had a nice email exchange with my agent, and am hard at work on my newest novel which I hope to finish early this year. Outside it’s dark and raining, but there is a sun on the other side of the world, and its inching my way. I’m looking forward to 2016. I’m alive. I can start again.

I’ve been buried for months now with another round of rewrites and all the work that came with putting together my first tenure folder, but I’m gradually getting back to the world as frozen as it might be currently.

Tonight I submitted what I hope will be the final version of my new novel to my agent, and all that’s left to do is wait to hear if it’s ready to send to market. While I wait for the word I’ve started a new outline for my next novel, which I abandoned after 135 pages last fall when the latest cycle of revisions began. I hope to have a draft of it done by the end of summer. I’ve also recently outlined a short story for what may someday be part of a larger collection, but only time will tell.

For now I’m spending these long, cold days reading and trying to get back to good. I hope you’re all staying warm, and that the skies will break sunny soon.

This past October was a blur of teaching, committee work, and fourteen hour long grading sessions for me. I love what I do, and this semester I’ve been blessed with wonderfully curious and talented students, but my responsibilities at the college during the past month left no time for my creative work. Now that October is behind me I’m eager to get back to the words.

I did have the opportunity to share my work last month in a few venues. On the 11th I was a featured author at Cincinnati’s largest literary event Books by the Banks. From the wine and cheese social the night before to the well-attended book expo, It was a great time and I look forward to the chance to share my work with readers there again in the future.

My review of Carol Matos’ new poetry collection The Hush Before the Animals Attack was featured in Fjords Review last month. You can read it by clicking on the link above. I’m currently in the process of reviewing to other books for the journal to be published at a later date.

At present I’m in the process of doing final edits of my new novel for my agent, and hope to have them finished within the next week or so. The writing, re-writing, and editing of this novel have dominated my work for the last year, and I’m eager to see it done. Regardless of what happens once I complete this book, I’ll walk away knowing that I’ve done good work and with the satisfaction that I’ve gained new insights into both storytelling and tackling an extended writing project.

November is here, and while I’m too busy and involved with other writing projects to take on the challenge of National Novel Writing Month I do look forward to having the time to read all the books I’ve bought lately. Reading while the leaves fall outside is one of the most singularly blissful moments during the fall, and I miss those hours of quiet contemplation with my fellow authors who’ve gutted out the hard work of sitting down in front of a computer alone and trying to say something compelling and worthwhile.

Next Saturday (October 11th) I’ll be selling and signing copies of my novella Roller Girls Love Bobby Knight (Winner of the 2013 Deerbird Novella Prize) at CIncinnati’s largest literary event Books by the Banks. The event will be held at The Duke Energy center with doors open to the public at 10 AM. A complete list of authors and events can be found here. I hope to see you all there!