NaNoWriMo: Post-Crime Noir and A Bra Full of Bullets, Yo

Every year I try to do the National Novel Writing Month thang, aka NaNoWriMo, but I always get side-tracked.  Doing 50,000 words in 30 days is nothing, it’s a matter of not letting assignments, deadlines for late books, new book deals, and life get in the way.

It’s a good motiavtor.

So I decided my project this year will be this post-crime noir-y thang I’ve had in my head since summer that I shall call A Bra Full of Bullets (appropriated, apropos, from Hal Dresner’s The Man Who Wrote Dirty Books).

Essay on Vollmann’s Seven Dreams in New Critical Anthology

Continuing my literay scholarship in all things William T. Vollman Studies, my essay on Native America myths found in his Seven Dreams Series is included in the above anthology, published now by Mythopetic Press.

Victorian Hijinx: Fellowship of Amorous Gentlemen

A novella of Victorian-style romps, this Fellowship of Amorous Gentlemen, is now available in print from Borgo Press here.

Amazon here.

Black Lawrence Press Collection Up for Pre-Order!

Pictures of Houses with Water Damage (Black Lawrence Press, Summer 2010) is now up on Amazon here.

Carver Essay Accepted

My essay, “‘Will We Still Be Us?’ : Raymond Carver’s Short Plays” has been accepted for publication in issue 3 of The Raymond Carver Review, to be published in 2010.

I may also use it as a secondary chapter in my McFarland Carver crit book, not sure yet.

Raymond Federman is Gone

Raymond Federman, famed post-modernist surfictionist, creator of critifiction, died Tuesday, October 6.  He’d been fighting cancer for over a year.  He will be missed.

Oddly, this French citizen who had adopted America never found the kind of wide fame he enjoyed in Europe, where his books were hearlded in Italy, Germnay, Spain, France and England…in the US, he remained somewhat obscure, somewhat of a cult writer publishing with the small presses such as Fiction Collectice, Starcherone Books, and Sun and Moon Press…

He knew Samuel Beckett while in France and published extensively on Beckett. In his personal papers are Beckett manuscript never published.

I have been quite influenced by his theory of critifiction, and have published a number of critifictional works taking after the theory.

While he and I were not close friends — I was never a student of his — we ran in the same circles, crossed paths a lot over the years, emailed now and then, and I have read his work as it had come out…

RIP, Ray.

Two Articles in Forum: Qualitative Social Research

Have two articles in the new issue of the open access journal, Forum: Qualitative Social Research, the “Biography and Ethnicity” issue (Vol. 10, No.3):

“Anthropology of the Memorial: Observations and Reflections on American Cultural Rituals Associated with Death” Read here.

“Review of Cancer and Death: A Love Story in Two Voices” Read here.

The Round-Bed Chick

The Round-Bed Chick is a novella in the crime noir/sleazecore vein, published exclsuively as an e-book from Olympia Press.  One day I will expand it into a full novel (say 90K words), but that is down the line…for now, this section stands well on its own.

As Amazon Kindle, order here.

As Mobipocket ebook, order here.

From publisher, order here.

Story on Take the Handle

Take the Handle is a cool, well-designed e-zine.  My story, “Hold Me Please and Say This is Love” is featured in the new issue, seen here.

Paper Published

I have a research paper in the new issue of the Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education.

See and order here.