writer of all sorts of things
The Fertile Source has changed its look. Apparently, too many people had trouble reading the grey on black that I used for The Fertile Source’s initial “look.” It now more closely resembles this website in style. Please check it out and let me know what you think. Btw, the new story I published on Monday, “Lady-in-Waiting,” is a real tearjerker. Enjoy!
I’ve mentioned before how I’ll listen to the same song or band, over and over, while I’m writing a particular novel. It helps me tap into the defining emotion of that particular character.
I’ve always known there were certain songs that reminded me of other people. For example, when I listen to “These Are the Days” by Busy Signal, I’ll always think of one of our friends who died suddenly last summer of a heart-attack. Continue reading ‘The Emotion that Defines You’
Lately, I’ve been longing for a mentor, the kind of kick-ass mentor that doesn’t exist in real life: somebody that I talk to a few times a month, who can guide me not only through the various genres in which I write (nonfiction, y.a. fiction, the occasional bad poem) but also has the knowledge and wherewithal to help me navigate the business of writing, that is, meeting the appropriate contacts, how to get publicity, where to submit, etc.
When I was in Chicago this past week for the annual AWP conference, a fellow writer asked me, “Who do you read?” Continue reading ‘Kick-ass writers’
There’s a reason why I don’t usually go drinking and karaoke-ing in the middle of the week and here’s why: I started off singing “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver and ended up belting out the feminist diatribe “What’s Up?” by Four Non-Blondes. (Kudos to my friend Ashawnta, who did a bang up job singing that song a couple years ago when she was visiting.)
and I try, oh my God do I try Continue reading ‘Music and Me’
Seven or eight years ago, I was walking in the University District in Seattle, and there he was, huddled in the doorway, his hair matted, toenails black.
My brother Matt. Continue reading ‘My Brother was Homeless…and other stories’
