Favoiite On-line lit mags

Instead of reading the latest news over and over or watching the new Paula Abduhl reality show, try out some on-line lit mags and see what stories are entertaining and interesting. Try Verbsap, Storyglossia, Monkey Bicycle, Smokelong Quarterly.

Today is a babysitting day-watching the neighbor kid, but I'm squeezing in that writing time. How about you?

What books have you read lately?

Well, it's the Fourth of July and I just finished reading several short story collections.
1.) The Evil B.B. Chow by Steve Almond--I kept seeing his name everywhere, small lit mags, large lit mags, and read several stories on-line, so I decided it was time to check out a larger body of his work. I enjoyed this collection. Almond fuses pop culture references with story line.
2.) Picked up A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both by Ben Greenman and I liked this one, too. Favorite story: "Clutching and Glancing." Lots of clever play with words and the way the stories are lined up is a nice metaphor. Love as Art, Love as Music, Love as Place, etcetera.
3.) Finally finished The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer. It was okay. I thought it went on a bit too long on the love these guys, this place, and a little short on the redemptive phase. It was a little rambly, too, for my taste. I wouldn't not recommend it, though. Best-seller, though? Love that title. I better be careful on my karma quotient, hey?

So today is fireworks, barbecue, and tennis, swimming with the kids. Don't really care for holidays that fall in the middle of the work week. The day gets imbued with too much importance. Delaney is making parfait's with blueberries, rasberries, granola, and yogurt. Red, white, and blue. Jackey doesn't like blueberries or granola. So Del is eating her bb and granola.

Finishing up reading the latest lit mag Opium: Live Well Now. I'm enjoying it. Good humor. Strange, quirky stories, nice graphics (except where they interfere with readability of the story). Nice to get away from the stuffy, we are so important lit mags that I can never seem to get published in. Won't name any names. (That karma thing again).

Time to do a little writing and exercising. Have you done yours for today of either/or?

May 10th Reading

My reading is on May 10th, & at 7:30 at Modern Times Bookstore on Valencia. That's a go. I'll be reading with Dustin Heron who has a new book being released by Small Desk Press called Paradise Stories. This reading is hosted by Ecstatic Monkey, a writer's collective that hosts readings and provides information to writers about publishing opportunities. To find out more about the collective log onto ecstaticmonkey.com. To read more about Dustin Heron's new book log onto smalldeskpress.com. More on this later.

Reading

I'll be reading at Modern Times Bookstore on May 10th, 2007. That's in San Francisco on Valencia. Mapquest it. I'm terrible at remembering addresses. I'll post the press release when it comes out. It's a reading sponsored by Ecstatic Monkey, which is a San Francisco based writers' collective. I'm not sure what I'll be reading--either "Itinerary for the Tourist" or "Turtles Don't Have Hair." The reading starts at 7:30, sharp, for those friends who always come late. I'll be reading first--I'm like the warm-up band to the major act. More on this later.

Saturday Morning Writing Postponemen

Here I am trying to create a blogsite when I am supposed to be doing the following:
a) Buying groceries
b) Taking Jackey to get a gift for a birthday party
c) Writing a story
d) Getting dressed
e) Reading my students' work

Not necessarily in that order.
Is this how this day is going to go?