A Couple of Book Reviews

I reviewed Daniel Alarcón's stunning new novel, At Night We Walk in Circles, for the Washington Independent Review of Books. You can read my review here. Alarcón has crafted a literary noir, a page-turner with plenty of suspense. But the novel is more than an atmospheric mystery, and you should read on to find out why.

I also reviewed Tomorrowland, a new story collection from Joseph Bates. My review appears in the newest issue of Mid-American Review (34.1). Bates has written an affecting, often hilarious book of stories. You should check it out.

As ever, I'm happy to be a staff reviewer for both of these fine publications!

New Fiction in NOÖ Journal

Mel Bosworth recently guest edited NOÖ Weekly. He was kind enough to ask me to contribute a short story to his issue. I jumped at the chance to send him "Dale Deveraux Comes to QVC," which you can read here. This is one of my favorite stories. I'm very happy Mel gave it a home in NOÖ Journal.

You should know Mel put together a killer issue. It boasts work from Ryan Ridge, Ashley Farmer, Ravi Mangla and Sara Lippmann. I'm honored to be in this issue with these great writers.

You can read the entire issue here. Believe me, it is well worth your time. As always, thanks for reading! And thanks again Mel, you're awesome!

New Fiction in Tin House

Tin House published my short story "And Finally the Tragedy." You can read it here. I wrote it after reading Donald Barthelme's "The School," a piece of fiction I've always loved. The title of my story (and its first line) comes directly from a line toward the end of "The School." It was one of those moments as a writer when I had to stop reading and start writing, something that happens for me when I read Denis Johnson, Cormac McCarthy, George Saunders, Thomas Berger, and Barry Hannah. 

I'm ever grateful to editor Masie Cochran for publishing my story as part of Tin House's Flash Friday fiction series. They've published a lot of great stories in this series, including personal favorites from Diane Williams, Steve Almond, Seth Fried, Mary Miller, Blake Butler, Lincoln Michel, Jaimie Quatro, James Yeh, Ryan Hume, Adam Peterson, and a collaborative effort from Ryan Ridge and Mel Bosworth, among many others. I'm happy to be included in this great company. As always, thanks for reading my work!

Surreal South '13

My story "The Boxer and the Bear" is anthologized in Surreal South '13 this year, and I'm so thrilled to have my fiction appear next to stories by David James Poissant, Ron Rash, and others. I'd especially like to thank series editor Josh Woods for selecting my story for publication.

Past contributors include Joyce Carol Oats, Robert Olen Butler, Benjamin Percy, and Daniel Woodrell. If you like surreal southern writing, you'll really love this anthology. To purchase a copy, just click here. Thanks for reading!

Fall is for Forthcoming Fiction

As I pound away on my comedic novel (think the Coen brother's movie Fargo meets Patrick deWitt's novel The Sisters Brothers), which will be my MFA thesis at UC-Irvine, I'm happy to report I have some new short fiction forthcoming in some pretty cool places in the next few months:

"And Finally the Tragedy" in Tin House this October.

"The Boxer and The Bear" anthologized in Surreal South '13 this October.

"Dale Deveraux Comes to QVC" in NOÖ Journal this October.

I'm eager to share these stories with you! I'll let you know when they're published. More soon (hopefully)!

The New Short Fiction Series in L.A. on 9/8

I'd like to invite you to a live performance of my stories (by actors!) on Sunday, September 8th at 7pm at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood.

The New Short Fiction Series is L.A.’s longest running spoken word series now in its 17th year. Sally Shore directs the series and pairs an actor (from current shows like Mad Men, Dexter, Glee, and your favorite Soaps) with a story and they do a dramatic interpretation/reading of it. They're presenting four of my stories.

Writers who have participated in The New Short Fiction Series in the past include Aimee Bender, Ray Bradbury, Dana Johnson, Tatjana Soli, John Fante, and Tod Goldberg, among others, and I'm honored to be among them.

The Federal Bar, located at 5303 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood (at Chandler), is a great venue and the events are lively and fun. Tickets are $10 in advance (via this link) or $15 at the door. Please let me know if you think you can make it, because I'd love to see you there!

Update: Sally was a guest on L.A.'s 90.7 FM Arts in Review program at 7:00pm on 8/30. She talked about the upcoming New Short Fiction Series season and even spent a few minutes kindly talking about my fiction and promoting the show on September 8th (beginning around the 7:50 mark), which you can listen to here.

Forthcoming Book Reviews

I'm excited to be a staff writer for The Washington Independent Review of Books. I recently read Hanya Yanagihara’s debut novel, The People in the Trees, and wrote about it here.

I'm currently reading Daniel Alarcon's forthcoming novel, At Night We Walk in Circles (set for publication October 31st), and will have a piece in The Washington Independent Review of Books in late October.

And I'll have a review of Tomorrowland, a new story collection from Joseph Bates, printed in the next issue of Mid-American Review (34.1), also set for publication later this fall.

Families Among Us - Black Lawrence Press - 2014

My chapbook of short tales, Families Among Us, will be published by Black Lawrence Press in September 2014. I couldn't be more excited about this. Out of close to 500 entries, Families Among Us was named winner of the spring 2013 Black River Chapbook Competition.

Here is what Kit Frick, the Black Lawrence chapbook editor, had to say about my collection:

"Surreal, beautiful, unnerving, and all-round awesome. The sentence-level cadence you set in the title story really reeled me in and builds so beautifully toward the conclusion, and the mix of strangeness and emotional rawness present in the families throughout the stories is so right on." 

I'm so happy to be part of the Black Lawrence family now, and to work with their editors and book designers. Black Lawrence Press, an imprint of Dzanc Books, is a beautiful New York-based house publishing some of the finest contemporary American and European poetry and fiction.

I can't wait to share this short book with y'all a year from now. Families Among Us will be a handsomely designed, perfect-bound book, distributed through Consortium, a national distributor, as well as on Amazon and the Black Lawrence Press website. I'll have more information to share soon. As always, thanks for reading!

Skylight Books Podcast

As part of the MFA program at UC-Irvine I got to read at Skylight Books in Los Angeles this May. They recorded a podcast of the reading (as they do for all of their reading events), which you can listen to here. It is the episode labeled UC Irvine MFA Students, released on 6/6/13.

I read my story "Little Man," which was published in Short Fiction (England), along side work by Benjamin Percy, Brad Watson, Michael Martone, storied Irish writer Mike McCormack, and others.


I can't thank Skylight Books enough for letting us read at their store. It was a real thrill. The podcast also features the work of my friends, poets Josh Cornwell and Meagan Cooney, and fiction writer Justin Lee. If you'd like to listen to "Little Man," it starts at the 18:41 mark in the recording, and you can check it out here. Big thanks to Meagan Cooney for her wonderful introduction as well. Thanks for listening!

Book Review in Mid-American Review

I reviewed The Incurables by Mark Brazaitis for the current issue of Mid-American Review. The stories in this linked collection, reminiscent of Sherwood Anderson's masterful Winesburg, Ohio, are fresh, inviting, and comically bizarre. Brazaitis conjures the small town of Sherman, Ohio, a place that comes to life beautifully on the page. The characters here have deep roots, and for most, the city limits act as a boundary that they dare not cross. Never unkind, Brazaitis forces his characters to face down trouble of their own making; he backs them into a corner and makes them fight their way out, often with dire consequences. I can't recommend this book enough.

Thanks again to Mid-American Review editor Michael Czyzniejewski for assigning this book for review; I'm happy to be a regular contributor now. You can get a copy of the new issue of Mid-American Review here and a copy of The Incurables here.

New Fiction in Puerto del Sol 48.2

First: check out the cover of the latest issue of Puerto del Sol, by artist and writer Rachel B. Glaser. It is amazing. I just love it.

I'm thrilled my story "The Boxer" is in this issue (48.2), along with great work from Lee K. Abbott and a host of other fantastic writers.

Thanks again to Lily Hoang, Christopher Rosenbluth, and the rest of the gang at Puerto del Sol for accepting my story for publication.

Chris paid me one of the nicest compliments I've received from an editor: "I loved the story. It reminded me of a Barry Hannah story. A force of nature."

Teased? You can have the issue for just $10, and you can order it right here. Thanks for reading!

The Adroit Journal

My story "A Familiy Among Us" is in the summer issue (#7) of The Adroit Journal, along with great work from Ned Vizzini, Bruce Holland Rogers, BJ Hollars, and many more. Big thanks to editor Peter LaBerge for publishing this story. I'm so happy to have my fiction included. You can order a copy of this beautiful journal here.

"A Family Among Us" originally appeared online in Dark Sky Magazine, made the 2012 Million Writers Award Notable Stories list, and was adapted for broadcast on NPR stations, which you can listen to here. I'm excited Peter wanted to put this story in print for the first time!

Reading at Skylight Books in L.A. on 5/18

As part of the MFA Reading Series at UC-Irvine I'll be reading at Skylight Books in Los Angeles this Saturday (5/18) at 5pm. The reading will also feature the work of my friends, poets Josh Cornwell and Meagan Cooney, and fiction writer Justin Lee.

Skylight Books is a beautiful independent bookstore in the Los Feliz neighborhood that features readings from established literary luminaries and up-and-comers. It's one of the hubs of the L.A. lit scene, and I'm thrilled to be reading there with my peers. Thanks to Skylight Books for hosting the reading! More information here.

Spring 2013

My time in the MFA fiction program at UC-Irvine, where I also teach creative writing, is flying by. I'm nearing the end of year #2 and have just started work on the novel that will be my thesis project, due next year. I have a completed collection of stories ("Talking Past the Close") and a chapbook of five tales ("Families Among Us") that I'd like to have published in the near future. Bueller, Bueller?

In the meantime, I have a few stories and a book review coming out soon (and one from the archive to share with you):


My story "The Boxer" will appear in the next issue of Puerto del Sol (48.2), which launches in May. I'm so excited to have a story in this amazing journal. Thanks to Lily Hoang, Christopher Rosenbluth, and the rest of the editors at Puerto del Sol for accepting "The Boxer" for publication. Chris, who accepted the story via e-mail, paid me one of the nicest compliments I've received from an editor: "I loved the story. It was probably my favorite of the submissions from the slush pile. It reminded me of a Barry Hannah story. A force of nature." If you'd like to read "The Boxer" you can pre-order a copy of Puerto del Sol (48.2) here.

Peter LaBerge, editor of The Adroit Journal, solicited my story "A Family Among Us" for publication in their summer 2013 issue. "A Family Among Us" originally appeared online in Dark Sky Magazine, made the 2012 Million Writers Award Notable Stories list, and was adapted for broadcast on NPR stations, which you can listen to here. I'm excited Peter wanted to put this story in print for the first time!

My second book review (The Incurables by Mark Brazaitis, a beautiful linked collection) will appear in the forthcoming issue of Mid-American Review (33.2). My review of the excellent Fires of Our Choosing by Eugene Cross appeared in issue 33.1. Thanks again to MAR book reviews editor Michael Czyzniejewski for letting me write for the journal!

More news on the way. Thanks for reading!

New Fiction in Structo 9

My story "The Skylight" appears in issue 9 of Structo, an Oxford-based British literary magazine. I'm really excited about this one. Structo is beautifully produced and if you like writing that tends toward slipstream check 'em out. The issue can be yours for just six pounds! Thanks again to editor Euan Monaghan for accepting "The Skylight" for publication. Get your copy here.

To learn a little more about Structo you can read a rave review of their last issue over at Newpages.