The Cafe Irreal

Issue 22 of The Cafe Irreal went live a few days ago, so if you are a fan of irrealism and literature in translation and are not familiar with the journal, check it out. 21 issues in the archives.

Props to Andrew S. Taylor for his "A Word From Our Sponsors," which is a clever bit of faux copy writing: whimsical, yet with a cynical and serrated edge. Fun stuff.

12 Hot Stories Redux

Be sure to checkout the audio blog that accompanies this post: Listen to the mp3 (7:25 mins, 5.1 mb) or grab the RSS feed.

First, a nod, high fives, and big ups to some fellow bloggers who are promoting short stories this month in their blogs. The awesome Dan Wickett, founder and major domo of the Emerging Writer's Network, who's declared May short story month. Dan is aiming to promote at least two stories/collections a day.

Strength bro, much strength, to you in that mission!

Also joining Dan in short story month are Jeff Bryant and Cliff Garstang. Jeff's blog is Syntax of Things and Cliff's is Perpetual Folly. I'm excited to see the stories and collections that Dan, Jeff, and Cliff choose to showcase in their blogs. Check them out—you won't be disappointed.

Of course, here at Storyglossia, every month is short story month . . .

If you haven't taken a look at STORYGLOSSIA Issue 19, which was released on April 22nd, what are you waiting for?

I posted these notes on the issue's stories last week, but now I've recorded them for the audio blog, so here once again is the scoop on why I selected the stories in Issue 19.

Stephanie Dickinson's "First Love West Side Highway" drew me in with its dense descriptive texture and sensory language; plus the dual characterization/POV was spot on and juiced the tension in the storyline. This is a dangerous story and you'll be holding your breath in places.

James A. W Shaw's "The Clown Beneath" is a fantastic rendering of man plummeting toward the bottom. Also has its dangerous moments, as if you are blowing up a balloon and watching it stretch and stretch . . .

Jill Stegman's "Touch" reminds us that the aftereffects of war— in this case Vietnam—linger long after the war is over. It's the coping mechanisms in this one that elevate the danger. How does one dissolve old wounds when they still hurt?

Darby Harn's "Keeping Up Disappearances" is exactly the kind of story I hoped to see when I put out the request for more stories experimenting with form. It starts with a transcript from a TV show and where it goes from there you'll have to read on to find out.

Patricia DeLois' "Penguins in Amsterdam" continues her exploration of Sophie, the character we met in "The Venus Game" from Issue 17. This story is adapted from the opening chapters of her novel and hooked me right from the opening scene —notice how character and plot converge— and the ending left me wanting more . . . if you like this one, let me know and I'll persuade Patricia to give us another excerpt for a future issue.

Shellie Zacharia's "Vibe" is a sweet bit of metafiction. It's subtle, but the use of third-person here makes the difference, gives the writer the distance she needs to keep from slipping into solipsism, the mistake so many metafiction pieces make.

Christopher Battle's "The Bureaucrat" impressed me because it takes a form I frequently reject—non-scenic narration—and kept me locked in the story despite my bias. Notice the precise details, the controlled language; a writer who knows what he's doing. Great ending, too.

Virginia Reeves' "Sorry Kid" hooked me with its noir-ish setting and then surprised as it shifted effortlessly into its true emotional terrain. Great scenic depiction in this one, which has short-film potential.

Susan Buttenwieser's "The Shift" uses a resident's daily grind—portrayed both scenically and with concrete descriptions—as the foreground for another set of changes in his life. This story is a great example of two-tracking, of not letting a story be about just one thing.

Julia LaSalle's "26 Miles" is a beautifully intimate mood piece that captivated me with its emotional flow. Mixing scenes and asides, the emotional texture is built towards that . . .. well, I won't say, you'll have to go there yourself.

Justin Benton's "Up" is just whacked and I loved the out-of-control nature of this story. Fresh and raw and unlike anything else I've read all year. Savor.

Simon A. Smith's "The Only Reasonable Explanation" is the only flash-length piece in this issue. Good opening hook, strong arc, both blunt and nuanced emotional texture, and the agonizingly precise description of the wound. The dialogue was a complete surprise and the clincher.

Be sure to check out the contributor's notes. These are accomplished writers and the contributor notes are great place to start looking for where you can check out more of their work.

Winter of Different Directions in Print

For those of you not listening to the podcast, Winter of Different Directions is now available on Amazon . . .





If you support independent book stores, the ISBN for ordering is: 978-0615142807.

Delisted

Episode 17: Delisted of the Winter of Different Directions podcast is now available . . . Listen, if you haven't already . . . it's a long one, clocking in at 65 minutes, perfect listening for those brutal commutes.

This episode features two guest readers: The anonymous Storyglossia staffer returns, along with Seth Harwood. Big ups to both of them for helping add some texture to the voices on this episode!

The Story Behind the Story of "Delisted" is that I wrote this story in an attempt to dramatize things I saw while working in high-tech during the bubble years. It's a mashup of a lot of different scenarios, and combined with two other stories in the collection "My Summer Vacation" and "Risk Factors," provides an insider portrait of stuff that goes down in that world. The themes of success and failure and how do you know the difference are not new in american literature, but I wanted to capture how it felt during a unique cultural moment.

In the early drafts I experimented with different structures, but ended up going with a nearly linear progression. The first section is a flash forward designed as a hook. After that, though, the scenes march along chronologically.

When I started the story I was torn between whether it should be a novel or a screenplay, and this short story version has a bit of both elements in it. Many of the sections are structured as they would be in a screenplay, adhering to the principle of entering the scene at the last possible moment and exiting at the earliest possible moment. The prose in those sections is also leaner and focused on the dialogue. Other sections reflect the pace and depth of a novelistic approach with more interiority, more back story, and more descriptive passages.

At 7800 words, this version is quite long for a short story , but I think the mix of styles makes it read shorter, and the fast-paced, screenplay-style sections provide energia. I still haven't decided whether the longer version will be a novel or a screenplay, but am trying to work that out in a sequel story.

Well, that's a wrap for the Winter of Different Directions podcast. I have a bunch of other stories and some longer projects in work and will bring those to you in podcast format later in the year. In the meantime, be on the lookout for the audio versions of the blog.

Thanks for listening and reading!

Storyglossia Audio Blog

With today's post I'm introducing a new feature: an accompanying audio blog.

Click to listen to the mp3 (5:44 mins 3.9 mb).

The occasion is the wrapping up of the podcast of my short story collection Winter of Different Directions. The final encore episode—"Delisted"—will be available for download tomorrow. "Delisted" is a story about the rise and fall of a bubble-era internet CEO who struggles to understand success and failure.

I'm super pleased to have frequent STORYGLOSSIA contributor—and the author of the podcast-only novel Jack Wakes Up and the soon to be released sequel Jack Palms II: This is Life—as a special guest reader for this episode. Yes. Seth Harwood visits the Panic Room—at least virtually.

For all you STORYGLOSSIA readers who have enjoyed Seth's story "Tattooed People" from Issue 18, he has put up a special page on his website where you can listen to him reading "Tattooed People." So check that out.

Over on his podcast you can also hear him read "What Happened to Everything" from Issue 13, which is included in his short story collection A Long Way From Disney.

Seth does a great job reading multiple parts in "Delisted," so catch that tomorrow in the final episode of my Winter of Different Directions podcast over on www.stevenmcdermott.com.

Be sure to listen to the audio blog to hear all the promos. I'll be bringing you more audio blogs in the coming months as I ramp this blog back up with more story analysis, reviews, and general discussion of writing craft, podcasting, and other things literary.