Every Day Fiction's December Calendar

December begins tomorrow bringing with it a fair amount of chaos.  However, remember when you need a short break  Every Day Fiction provides flash fiction that can be read during a coffee break.  

Table of Contents

Dec 1	Joyce Statton	Tidings
Dec 2	J.D. Rice	Questions
Dec 3	JR Hume	Dust on the Sun
Dec 4	Susan Kaempfer	How to Embarrass Mum and Dad
Dec 5	Ken Liu	The Letter
Dec 6	Joe Alan Artz	Knott Travel
Dec 7	Kurt Kirchmeier	Clicks and Whirs
Dec 8	A. F. McKeating	Listening
Dec 9	Randall Brown	Just Like Earth Girls
Dec 10	Karen Laine	Taking Chances
Dec 11	Brittany Michelson	Truth In Lemonade Stands
Dec 12	Alex Fleetwood	The Meaning of Hard Work
Dec 13	John Impey	Refrigerator Sphinx
Dec 14	Mark Wolf	Koggie and the Autonomous House
Dec 15	Omenka Helen Uchendu	If Only God Were Watching
Dec 16	Kaolin Imago Fire	It Comes Down to This
Dec 17	Elizabeth	Your Smile
Dec 18	Howard Cincotta	Silent Velcro
Dec 19	Mary J. Daley	Ready or Not
Dec 20	Richard Lamb	Making Merry
Dec 21	H.P. Mandrake	Long Goat
Dec 22	Ben Carey	The Girl with the Red Ribbon in Her Hair
Dec 23	Wanda Morrow-Clevenger	Roses and Peppermint Candy
Dec 24	Digby Beaumont	Who Knew More than Karen Carpenter About a Broken Heart?
Dec 25	Kip	Kringle
Dec 26	Heather Holland Wheaton	Coats
Dec 27	Patrick S. Tomlinson	Earth Girls are Hard
Dec 28	Elizabeth Perfect	The Night the Planes Stopped Flying
Dec 29	Dee Turbon	One Kiss
Dec 30	Sandra Crook	The Old Ways
Dec 31	P. Djeli Clark	The Machine

FFC Listed as one of BEST Online Consumer Mag Markets!

Terrific news came this morning. And I should have figured it out for myself!  EDF's Camille and Jordan sent congrats on Flash Fiction Chronicles  being listed in the Nov/Dec Writers Digest   as one of the 25 Best Online Consumer Magazine Markets!!! Who knew?! Not me! I knew EDF and 10 Flash were listed and SmokeLong Quarterly mentioned too, but it never occurred to me that FFC made one of the lists!!! Yippee!!

A Story for Veteran's Day

Dawn's Early Light


The morning he was to leave, I slipped into his room. Pale light through  curtains lined-up like soldiers, tall, straight, at attention.  I had to admit it looked a little glorious, but then I turned back to my boy. The quilt my own mama made was pulled right up to his chin, his mouth was open, his breathing soft like feathery wind. 

Sweat glistened on his forehead and as I stroked the dampness away, he opened his eyes, confused for a moment but comfortable too. Warm. Safe under his  own mama's gaze. 

They say the worst thing in the world is to bury a child. I testify to that. Toby went to war because he was told it was the right thing to do. Not by me. Never me.


by Gay Degani

Steve Lowe is giving away books!

Steve Lowe is having a promotion at his website Shitzengiggles and giving away FREE BOOKS.  Check it out here: http://steve-lowe.com/2010/11/09/who-wants-a-free-book/!

Phew! What a fun couple of weeks!

Wednesday night was the signing at Vroman's for the W.W. Norton Hint Fiction Anthology edited by Robert Swartwood.  I enjoyed meeting fellow contributors Jenn Alandy, Jeremy D. Brooks, Daniel A. Olivas, Robin Rozanski and A. J. Slye.  The bookstore personnel were wonderful and the audience much appreciated. Signed copies are now available at Vroman's.  Think Christmas! Think independent bookstores!


New Reviews and Mentions of the Hint Fiction Anthology
Los Angeles Times
The Washington Post


Here's a list of current stories by me online:
Something about LA at Litsnack
Body-Snatching at LITnIMAGE
Isla Vista, 1970 at Foundling Review
Closed Down at 50 to 1

Thriller! A Young Adult Anthology is out with my story, "Gravity Island," included.  Available at  a discounted price at the Pill Hill/Static Movement Online Store.


There's a new review up at Sonar4 Landing Dock Reviews of Pomegranate Stories.  Check it out here.

Goals for November

I'm always writing about goals and then ignoring them, but I'm going to be perverse and keep posting them until I get it right.  Goal #1 is the novel. You've heard it before and most of you probably don't believe it will happen, but it will!  It will!

My other main goal is to get some help at Flash Fiction Chronicles.  Denny Lee Vanvick has agreed to help out but I think I need a couple more editors.  So if you are interested in applying to be an assistant editor, send me a note and tell me what part you'd like to play.  Or if you are interested in having a once a month feature column at FFC, I would like to consider that as a possibility too.  If interviewing, writing craft posts, finding articles, proof-reading, gathering news bits, or posting a weekly photo prompt appeals to you let me know.

What else for November?  My son and his wife are coming for early Thanksgiving so I'm looking forward to that.  My goal is to be in a good work place (meaning a few posts ahead at FFC and significant novel progress) by the time they get here so I can reeeellllllaaaaaxxxxx and enjoy their visit.

I think that's it.  I also want to enjoy the signing Wednesday night at Vromans for the Hint Fiction anthology.  Editor Robert Swartwood will be out for that and I hope lots of people come.  It's at 7:00 November 3 upstairs at Vromans in Old Town.

The New Yorker Reviews Hint Fiction Anthology

Hint Fiction Anthology,
edited by Robert Swartwood

WOW!!!! Robert Swartwood's Hint Fiction Anthology is featured on the New Yorker website today and it's all positive.

For those of you who live in the So Cal, you can  meet Robert (plus local authors and me too) at Vromans on Colorado Blvd in Old Town Pasadena on Wednesday, November 2, at 7:00 p.m.

Directions to Vromans



HINT FICTION ANTHOLOGY REVIEWS 
The New Yorker Review of Hint Fiction Anthology
Boing Boing
NPR
WOW's The Muffin
Tom Kepler Writing
Three Guys
Jason Jordan and His Blog

Body-Snatching at LITnIMAGE!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956

I'm excited to have a piece at LITnIMAGE.  If you have time to check it out, here's the link: Body-Snatching.  Thanks Roland.   

And a special treat: Find the trailer of the 1956 movie here. 

Published in Foundling Review

Bank of America, Isla Vista, 1970

I have a story up today at Foundling Review called Isla Vista, 1970.  Check it out if you have time.

Every Day Fiction's October Calendar!

Every Day Fiction is looking for someone to read stories for consideration in the ezine.  It is a fabulous learning experience. Here is the application:  http://www.everydayfiction.com/stories/wp-content/uploads/volunteer-slush-readers-wanted.pdf

October Line-Up

Oct 1 Zoe Palmer/Space to Breathe

Oct 2 Lynsey Miller/Mine

Oct 3 Sarah Evans/Being Bold

Oct 4 Matt Cowens/Fire Safety

Oct 5 Leigh Kimmel/The End of Her Line

Oct 6 Debbie Cowens/No Smoke Without Fire

Oct 7 A.L. Sirois/Closed System

Oct 8 Stef Hall/After The Fire

Oct 9 C.L. Holland/The Girl With the Clockwork Heart

Oct 10 Felicia Aguilar/Brutal Truths

Oct 11 Robert Schladale/That’s A Promise

Oct 12 Ben Langdon/The Girl On The Beach

Oct 13 KJ Kabza/How the Snake Got the Fork in His Tongue

Oct 14 Rasmenia Massoud/House Cleaning

Oct 15 Robert Edward Sullivan/Level Up

Oct 16 Rachel J Bailey/The Golden Toad

Oct 17 TFAhan/Panhandle Oil Rig

Oct 18 Stephanie King/Siren Song

Oct 19 Carmela Starace/And They Called It Puppy Love

Oct 20 Erin Lawless/Succubus

Oct 21 Liz Penn/One Step Behind

Oct 22 Martin Brick/The Perils of Thoughtful…

Oct 23 Alex Shvartsman/Good Advice

Oct 24 AJ Smith/Never Tell

Oct 25 John Impey/The Trial Of The Flea

Oct 26 Nathaniel Johnson/Bullyboys

Oct 27 Autumn HumphreyThe Valley of Death

Oct 28 Meghna Pant/Family Dinner

Oct 29 Jessica George/Fresh Snow

Oct 30 JR Hume/The Condemned Man

Oct 31 Tom Kepler/Spider

SmokeLong Quarterly Reader? Me!

Just to let you know I'm reading for SmokeLong this week as "Reader."  Send in your BEST stories!!http://smokelong.submishmash.com/Submit

Nominations for the 4th Annual Micro Awards

The 4th Annual Micro Award will be open for submissions from Oct 1 - Dec 31, 2010.

The Micro Award is presented annually for flash fiction not exceeding 1000 words. Stories of all genres originally published in 2010 are eligible. Editors may submit two stories; writers may submit one. The winner of the $500 prize and all other finalists will be announced on Feb 17, 2011.

Visit the website for official rules and submission guidelines: http://www.microaward.org/.



There will be blood!

Love that line and I've just given some of my own to AJ Brown over at his Type AJ Negative blog. If you've got time to read my rather long interview, that would be great, but also check out John C. Mannone's post over at Flash Fiction Chronicles about Seducing the Muse.

Minor Changes

Doing a little online house keeping today by combining my "official" website with my Words in Place blog since it's time to keep things simple (time as it refers both to age and season!!)  So if you look me up as "gay degani" and click on http://www.gaydegani.com/, you'll end up here. Or if you click on http://wordsinplace.blogspot.com/ you'll end up here.  See how easy that is?

I've also brought over a couple of pages from my website, one is a summary of how to give specific purpose to drafts of a work-in-progress and the other is a list of books under 300 pages.  These are all that remain of  my English 1A website.  I've also tried to unclutter the main page of the blog.  Now some of the items that used to be in the right hand column have their own pages. Under Words in Place heading you can now find links to my writing online, interviews, articles, and reviews of Pomegranate Stories.

I hope to add a new "about me" page as well as a page feature past prompts from Flash Fiction Chronicles.

Shaking the Summer Heat

My office is upstairs in our garage which means when it is 88 degrees outside, it's about 100 inside. I've had a busy summer, distracting and since July, not much writing getting done, letting things like being kicked off the Internet for a few days and the hot weather deter me.

BUT! I woke up this morning motivated and ready to ignore all the little procrastination hurdles that have kept me from getting down to it, and just get down to it. I feel kind of normal again. Yay! So I'm going to set up some goals here just to help me stay focused.

Writing! Goals!

1. The Novel

No. I haven't finished another draft and I haven't even looked at it. However, something I heard in Steve Almond's class at Tin House finally resonated with me. I've tried to complicate this project beyond my abilities and therefore have added years to the project. The good part of this is that my skills have certainly improved so when I do get this sucker done, it will be better than it would have. The bad part is I wouldn't let go of my idea that if I worked hard enough, I could bend some rules and make something really original work. And that's a great idea. It is, but not if the idea gets in the way of the story itself.

I have a good good story. I love my story. But I think I've been too in love with my story and need to get out of my own way--as they say. So thanks Steve, for your "think twice before you

wrinkle time" suggestion. This thinking this through business has led me to feel confident that I can get this project done this fall...and done with a minimum of angst. Much grass to you.

2. Short Stories

God, I love writing short stories, especially flash. And I will always write them, but what I'm thinking now is that I've gotten lazy. I love flash because I have so much going on in my head...ideas are never a problem...and the shorter format allows me to use the ideas that won't hold up to a longer format. However, some of the WILL and SHOULD and I often feel resistant to doing this... or as I said, I get lazy.

One of my goals is to work on recognizing whether a story needs to be flash or longer--me, myself, before offering it up. Maybe come up with questions to put each "start" to a test of whether it should be worked long or short?? Not sure what I'll do, expect I plan to pay more attention so that pieces that fail as flash will eventually get the depth they need.

3. Online Presence

Facebook, Flash Fiction Chronicles, Zoe, Fictionaut, Every Day Fiction, all these things have helped me become a better writer and I will not give them up. What I need to do though is make certain that I don't spend more time than I have just floating around. I am pretty good at not letting these take up too much of my time and I feel they are important--doing my part to support the online writing community and to also keep me abreast for my own writing as to what is happening out there in the ether--but I perhaps need to figure out a more efficient way of working and perhaps ask for help more often.

New Fiction and Non-Fiction Up

My story, "Socks," is up at Metazen this month and I also have a piece on craft up at Flash Fiction Chronicles called Using Essay Techniques in Fiction.

I'm back from much traveling about and anxious to get into the groove of writing everyday. After a wonderful experience at Tin House, I have several stories and my novel that I want to complete and have some new approaches to try.

Steve Almond

was a terrific help to all of us who were part of his class in July. I urge those who need an emersion experience to consider attending the Tin House Writing Workshop next year. Three lectures a day, workshop time, and readings every nice can rev up anyone's motor--and commitment. Now go out and read Steve's book, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life: A Book by and for the Fanatics Among Us.

EVERY DAY FICTION Reads for August

Every Day Fiction features a new flash story 365 days a year.

August’s Table of Contents

Aug 1/Carol Ann Fears/Existential Snare
Aug 2/Brother Greg/Art Moron
Aug 3/Kit Lamont/Seeds
Aug 4/Milo James Fowler/Captain Quasar and the “If Only” Elixir of Opsanus Tau Prime
Aug 5/Trish Bowcock/Confinement
Aug 6/Joshua Tate/The Easy Target
Aug 7/Oonah V Joslin/Moving Times
Aug 8/A. S. Andrews/Wherein Fear of Karma Dawns Too Late
Aug 9/Cat Rambo/The Investigation
Aug 10/Pam L. Wallace/When Pigs Fly
Aug 11/Jason Stout/Her Cousin
Aug 12/Ben Langdon/Forget, To Live
Aug 13/Victorya/Pepito and the Ferret
Aug 14/James Kidd/Holes In The Walls
Aug 15/Peter C. Loftus/Sword and Fish
Aug 16/Janel Gradowski/Burning Love
Aug 17/Shane Oshetski/Doll Parts
Aug 18/Maureen Wilkinson/When Violets Bloom
Aug 19/Peter Tupper/The Problem of Pain
Aug 20/AJ Smith/Old Jim
Aug 21/Kate Larkindale/In The Bedroom
Aug 22/Bernard S. Jansen/People Need to Know
Aug 23/Tim Galati/A Sunrise Enlightens
Aug 24/Douglas Campbell/The Shock Of Cold Water
Aug 25/Suzanne Warr/The Immortal Horse
Aug 26/Lynsey Miller/Tuesday Afternoon
Aug 27/Robert J. Santa/The Invisible Sword of Patterson Mitchell
Aug 28/Nicholas Ozment/The Old Man Down the Road
Aug 29/Stephen V. Ramey/Beauty and the Butler
Aug 30/Ed Buchanan/The Weatherman
Aug 31/Erin Ryan/Going through the Motions

UP at Smokelong Quarterly!

I'm thrilled to announce the new Smokelong Quarterly double-issue is out! My story, Complicit, was a Smokelong Weekly feature back in February and is now up again as well as an interview of me by Tara Laskowski. Beth Thomas and Tara are the senior editors of Smokelong taking over for the wonderful Dave Clapper and it's clear they are determined to continue to make Smokelong beautiful and relevant (and I'm not saying that because I have a story there!)

And one more shout out to those who gave me feed back on "Complicit" when I was revising it, especially Randall Brown of FlashFiction.net.

COMPLICIT

INTERVIEW of me BY TARA LASKOWSKI

Two More for July

"Amok" is up at The Molotov Cocktail and "To Have and to Hold" at Every Day Fiction. Both are short and quick.

The Binnacle's Seventh Annual Ultra-Short Competition

Look for me down there in purple and a couple of writing buds too.

The Binnacle is proud to announce the winners and honorees in its Seventh Annual International Ultra-Short Competition.

Top Prose Prize: Emily Jiang - Wedding Song

Top Poetry Prize:Toni Giarnese - Dancing

Top UMM Student Prize: Bunny Richards - Lions in Winter

Honorable Mentions

Adrian S. Potter - Incantation

Alan C. Baird - Hack

Anne Earney - Blue

Barb McMakin - Hopscotch

Barbara Fleming Phillips - First Day of High School

Britt Kaufmann - Last SongCaroline Michalicki - Underground Spudway

Christina Beasley - How the Natural Collects the Divine

Colin Meldrum - House-sitting

Daphne Nichols - Ed and Dorrie, 2009

David Mohan - Before the Lights Went Out

David Jack - There Ance Wis A Laddie Ca’d John - A Scots Limerick

Dave Yost - Homeostasis

David Ochs - All in a day

Debbie Okun Hill - Lying on a Beach Blanket Too Long

Diane Smith - The Rodeo

Donna L. Turello - Miracle

Ed Parrot - Tiburon

Ellen LaFleche - Jesús, the Miner of Gold

Elyse Shapiro - Seasonally Tragic

Emily Spreng Lowery - The Birthday Party

Fehmida Zakeer - Auspicious Numbers

Gay Degani - What's Left

Geoffrey Hoffman - Ruth among the Teacups

Graves Collins - Ghormley, My Shamrock Heritage

Harold Bauld - Trivium

Hema Raman - Go Figure

Jari Thymian - From the Other Side

Jiayan Yu - Dormant

John Gosslee - The Paradise Birds

Josh Byer - A Rough Idle

K. S. Dearsley - The Case of the Geometric Pattern

Kathleen Rivera - Cloud Watching

Kelly O'Neill - In a Moment

Lori Pollard-Johnson - Easy It Ain’t

Lynda La Rocca - The Houseguest

Margot Zucker Mindich - Coming In On the Fire Island Ferry 1977

Max Speed - Hands Off

Meg Eden - Names

Mitchell Noel Kelly - Off the Top of Your Head

Myra Merritt - Beyond

Patti Jazanoski - As Jehovah Is My Witness

Petra Angelen - My Secret Aunt Who Never Was

Pervin Saket - Neighbors

Philip Sultz - The Speck

Rachel Cordasco - (R)evolution

Robert Craig - A Gig to be Missed

Russell Marsh - Late Shift

Ruth Almon - The Change

Samantha Priestley - The Talent

Sue Ann Connaughton - An Elegant Revenge

SuzAnne C. Cole - Pyramids

V S Adams - Past Contempt

Vanessa Gebbie - Swarf