Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The Prominent Father - Oddball Magazine's pick today.

Photograph by Allison Goldin

 "I knew he knew, so finally I confessed to a whole lot of nothing, which is what tends to happen when I spend too much time with my father."
--from the story, The Prominent Father


Very pleased that my story, The Prominent Father,  was dug by Oddball's Chad Parenteau and Jason Wright. I really dug the accompanying photograph by Allison Goldin.


The title is a bit ironic, compared to the leading definition.
 Prominent=leading, important, or well-known.

It metaphorically defines a daughter's closeness-avoidance relationship with her father, a relationship which felt like a job, in fact, it was a job. 


Can anyone relate? Please comment on it because I won't follow the usual suggestion of "don't read the comments".

Thursday, February 19, 2015

The making of a novel, "Grand Slam: A Coming of Eggs Story" draft 60%- word counts 0-45841) and motivational media.

"Grand Slam" my next novel's estimated time for completion of first draft, April 10, 2015

December
12/5 737 words, goal 500 (+237)
12/6 619 words (1356 of goal of 1000) +356
12/7 750 words (2133 total of goal of 1500) +623 above pace
12/8 1028 words (3161 total of goal of 2000) +1161 above pace
12/9 280 words (3541 total of goal 2500) +1041 above pace
12/10 693 words (4234 total of goal 3000) +1234 above pace.
12/11 723 words (4957 total of goal being 3500) +1457
12/12 0 words (4957 total, goal being 4000) +957
12/13 810 words (5766 total, goal being 4500) +1266
12/14 662 words (6428 total, goal being 5000) +1438
12/15 522 words (6970 total, goal being 5500) +1470
12/16 595 words (7565 total, goal being 6000) +1565
12/17 1068 words (8633 total, goal being 6500) +2133
12/18 AM 258 words (8888 total, goal being 7000) +1888
12/18 PM 360 words (9248 total, goal being 7000) +2248
12/19 610 words (9858 total, goal being 7500) +2358
12/20 213 words (10171 total, goal being 8000) +2171

12/21 605 words (10776 total, goal being 8500) +2226
12/22 839 words (11615 total, goal being 9000) +2615


12/23-12/24 0 words (11615 total, goal being 10000) +1615
12/25- 0 words (11615 total, goal being 10500) +1115
12/26 0 words (11615 total, goal being 11000) +615
12/27 0 words (11615 total, goal being 11500) +115
12/28 0 words (11615 total, goal being 12000) -385
12/29 672 words (12489 total, goal being 12500) -11
12/30 690 words (13179 total, goal being 13000) +179
12/31 461 words (13640 total, goal being 13500) +140

January

1/1 621 words, (621 for month, goal being 500, 14261 total) +121
1/2 723 words (1346 for month, goal being 1000, 14984 total) +346
1/3 740 words (2082 for month, goal being 1500, 15724 total of manuscript draft) +582
1/4 788 words (2870 for month, goal being 2000, 16512 total of manuscript) +870
1/5 607 words (3477 for month, goal being 2500, 17119 total of manuscript) +977
1/6 608 words (4085 for month, goal being 3000, 17727 total of manuscript) +1085
1/7 917 words (5002 for the month, goal being 3500, 18644 total for manuscript) +1502
1/8 579 words (5581 for the month, goal being 4000, 19223 total for the MS) +1581

aka-The Double Home-run Breakfast


1/9 638 words (6219 for January, goal being 4500, 19864 total for the MS) +1719
1/10 633 words (6862 for the month, goal being 5000, 20297 for the MS) +1862
1/11 534 words (7396 for the month, goal being 5500, 20831 for the MS) +1896
1/12 873 words (8269 for the month, goal being 6000, 21704 for the MS) +2269



1/13 578 words (8847 for the month, goal being 6500, 22282 in total) +2347
1/14 713 words (9460 for the month, goal being 7000, 22995 in all) +2460

Mike Homer founded Grand Slam's similar to this famous place




1/15 711 words (10171 for the month, goal being 7500, 23706 in all) +2671



1/16 606 words (10777 for the month, goal being 8000, 24312 in all) +2777
1/17 649 words (11426 for the month, goal being 8500, 24961 in all) +2926

Sugar would like a date here. Hotel rooms get old.


1/18 1059 words (12485 for the month, goal being 9000, 26020 in total) +3485
1/19 1276 words (13761 for the month, goal being 9500, 27296 in total) +4261


Motel attached to Grand Slam's, rooms traded for meals


1/20 786 words (14547 for the month, goal being 10000, 28082 in total) +4547
1/21 371 words (14911 for the month, goal being 10500, 28453 in total) +4411
1/22 532 words (15443 for the month, foal being 11000, 28985 in total) +4443

Arrests will occur

1/23 0 words (15443 for the month, goal being 11500, 28985 total) +3943
1/24 1019 words (16462 for the month, goal being 12000, 30004 in total) +4462
1/25 880 words (17342 for the month, goal being 12500, 30884 in total) +4840

Lexington, Ma, 4th of July

1/26 641 words (17983 for the month, goal being 13000, 31525 in total) +4983
1/27 860 words (18843 for the month, goal being 13500, 32385 in total) +5343
1/28 680 words (19523 for the month, goal being 14000, 33065 in total) +5533



1/29 583 words (20106 for the month, goal being 14500, 33648 in total) +5616

Sox bleacher seats cheaper than Shear Madness


1/30 864 words (20980 for the month, goal being 15000, 34512 in total) +5980
1/31 305 words (21285 for the month, goal being 15500, 34817 in total) +5785


February

2/1 327 words (327 for the month, goal being 500, 35144 in total) -173
2/2 753 words (1080 for the month, goal being 1000 35897 in total) +80
2/3 641 words (1721 for the month, goal being 1500, 36538 in total) +221



 2/4 1104 words (2825 for the month goal being 2000, 37642 in total) +825

Kayak Kenny's launching spot.


2/5 668 words (3493 for the month, goal being 2500, 38310 in total) +993
2/6 587 words (4080 for February, goal being 3000, 38897 in total) +1080
2/7 543 words (4623 for Feb., goal being 3500, 39438 in total) +1123
2/8 851 words (5474 for Feb, goal being 4000, 40289 in total) +1474


Joe cooks these at home
Sugar's phone, pre-cell hell

















2/9 909 words (6383 for Feb. goal being 4500, 41198 in total) +1883
2/10 0 words (6383 for Feb, goal being 5000, 41198 in total) +1383
2/11 490 words (6873 for Feb, goal being 5500, 41688 total) +1373
2/12 523 words (7396 for Feb, goal being 6000, 42211 total) +1396
2/13 189 words (7585 for Feb, goal being 6500, 42400) +1085
2/14 717 words (8302 for Feb, goal being 7000, 43117 total) +1302


Cream of Wheat
is not grits

2/15 0 words (8302 for Feb, goal being 7500, 43117 total) +802
2/16 723 words (9025 for Feb, goal being 8000, 43840 total) +1025
2/17 694 words (9719 for Feb, goal being 8500, 44534 total) +1219

Anxiety and angst solve by love and understanding

2/18 604 words (10323 for Feb, goal being 9000, 45231 in total) +1323
2/19 610 words (10933 for Feb, goal being 9500, 45841 in total) +1433

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Breakwater Review was keen on "Touching All the Bases"


My story, "Touching All The Bases" isn't about baseball or softball. Of course there are some ideal elements from those subjects, but it's also about keeping life in order, laundry, sobriety, relapse and why relationships rekindle. I'm pleased The Breakwater Review, journal from UMASS Boston, MFA Program accepted the work in their Winter Issue along with the great line-up below. Thanks to the editors, Andrea Gregory and Danya Bush.



The story behind the story was I wrote the piece after I saw the picture to the right. It's funny how pictures and real life end up as prompts. A lot of "Touching All The Bases"  touches various bases in my life, ones I could probably write pages and pages on each distinct example within this small little piece. Got any questions? Ask me.

Issue XII, Breakwater Review


bw issue 12 cover

Fiction


Little Things by Sean Ennis
How the Chocoholic Beat the Dish Soap Swami by John Gorman
My Brother, Muhammad by Darragh Savage
Touching All the Bases by Timothy Gager
Dear Warren Buffet by Kim Jensen

Nonfiction


Interview with Elizabeth Graver 

Poetry


Song of the Anti-Sisyphus & Elegy for My Sadness by Chen Chen
Quotidian,  The Historians of Redundant Moments, & Noonday Dreams by Nandini Dhar
The Xanax Debate Martial Arts, & Thoreau in Russia by Olga Livshin
Code NamesRocket Man Had It Coming, & Stoning the Drone by Jill McDonough
Lost at the Ashram by Laryssa Wirstuik
Postcard to my future loverBearing the Juice of it All, & A Sentinel to the Nuances of Her by Nancy Woo