Update on Writing and the World As I See It

One of the enjoyable things about writing short stories is being able to jump from genre to genre, doing a mystery one week and speculative fiction the next, a serious examination of life here and a bit of buffoonery there.

This week,"Rosetta Stone" and my cruise ship from Hell was published by The World of Myth Issue #47, at >http://www.theworldofmyth.com/">


"Astroturfing," the satirical blog entry on writing your way to fame and success, posted below, was published Apr. 7 by Flash Fiction Chronicles. Thanks to Gay Degani for being such a sanguine editor. You can read it in living color, at http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/astroturfing-your-way-to-publishing-success/">.

Oh, and lest I forget there's even a bit of humor--er, humour. “My Son, the Ingrate” was published by The Short Humour Site Mar. 16, at
http://www.short-humour.org.uk/3writersshowcase/mysontheingrate.htm">

“Planting Roses” and the Sub-Text

You see the news stories every morning and evening: “Man kills family because they forgot his birthday.” The individuals, motives, circumstances are irrelevant — or they are all reduced to being the same. Violence has no respect for class, gender, age, or geography.

This repetitive, mindless brutality made me consider that perhaps the dead could make us all more aware of the living, whether in New Jersey or half a world away in Iraq.

Not to be obsessive about this problem—and the existential question of whether America is still a Cowboy Nation — I wrote “Planting Roses in Iraq.” In accepting the story, The Corner Club Press editor said, “Congratulations. I would love to feature your story in issue 1! It was deeply moving, sad, and haunting, especially at the end. Just what we need.”

You can read it at http://thecornerclubpress.com by clicking on then scrolling to page 109. Hope this is enjoyable — and perhaps instructive.