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.

Book Review in Mid-American Review

I've got a book review in the current issue of Mid-American Review. I reviewed Fires of Our Choosing, an excellent debut collection of stories from Eugene Cross, out now from Dzanc Books. I can't recommend Fires of Our Choosing enough. The stories and writing are simply stunning.

Thanks again to Mid-American Review editor Michael Czyzniejewski for assigning this book for review. You can get a copy of the new issue of Mid-American Review here and a copy of Fires of Our Choosing here. Both are well worth the price of admission.

New Fiction in Keyhole 12

You can now order Keyhole 12, which contains my story "Ricky Jensen Goes to Work," along with great fiction from James Brubaker, Adam Moorad, and Simon A. Smith.

I just read the issue in proof format and it is really great. I'm happy to have my work featured next to stories by James, Adam, and Simon. Thanks again to editor Peter Cole for including my work in this issue. Keyhole is an imprint of the great Dzanc Books and at only $7.99, this issue is a total steal.

It'll ship on 12/12/12. Get your copy here.

"Dirty Birds" in Monkeybicycle

Thanks to editor J. Bradley and the guys at Monkeybicycle. They published my story "Dirty Birds" today, which you can read here.

Fall 2012

I'm in my second year of graduate school at UC-Irvine. Last year was a blur. Made great friends and snagged some readers for life. I'm also teaching creative writing this year, the excitement of which cannot be put into words.

I love the fall. Lots of good things happening, most importantly the arrival of our daughter in December. Can't wait to watch Danielle be a mom; she was visiting faculty at Knox College earlier this fall making a bit of public art with her students, and getting a little creative help from her assistant in the womb. Check out Danielle's project here.

And one day soon I'll start writing things my little girl can read, but for now, this:

"The Lanes" was recently published at Juked. You can read the story here. Many thanks to editor J.W. Wang for taking this story.

My story "The Best Man" appears in Issue 12 of The Los Angeles Review. This issue happens to be dedicated to Ron Calrson, the co-director of the MFA fiction program here at UCI. I'm beyond excited Stefanie Freele loved my story enough to put it in print. You can order the issue by clicking here.

My story "Ricky Jensen Goes to Work" will be published in Issue 12 of Keyhole Magazine, which you can pre-order here. Happy Peter Cole finally took a chance on a story of mine.

And later this fall I'll have my first book review appear in the pages of Mid-American Review. Thanks to departing editor Michael Czyzniejewski. 

Thanks for reading!

storySouth Million Writers Award

Thanks to Dark Sky Magazine Editor Gabe Durham for letting me know my story "A Family Among Us" was included in the 2012 Million Writers Award Notable Stories, which are the collected best online short stories published during 2011.

I'm very happy to be included on this list. I can't thank Dark Sky Magazine enough for publishing this story in the first place! You can read "A Family Among Us" here, or listen to it adapted for broadcast on NPR here.

New Fiction in Her Royal Majesty

Along with fiction from Alice Munro and poetry from Pulitzer-winner Carl Dennis, my short story "Tunneling" will appear in the Paris-based literary and arts journal Her Royal Majesty, Issue 12; this issue has already gotten great endorsements from the Paris Review and Tin House. You can order the "Exotic" themed issue by clicking here. Copies of this issue will go fast, so get one before they're gone (you can buy online, or in bookstores in Paris, Berlin, Santorini, Toronto, New York, Montreal, and Halifax).

I want to thank founder/editor Harriet Alida Lye for publishing my work; she is an amazing editor who took such great care with my writing. I am thrilled to be part of this issue, which also contains visual art by Matthew Rose, Sydney Smith, and Melchior Tersen; poetry by Giller-winner Anne Simpson, and fiction from Aaron Akira and Amanda Dennis, plus so much more. You can also buy a digital copy of the issue for your e-reader.

"Tunneling" is a new story in a series of surreal, Kafka-inspired stories I am writing. You can find other pieces from this series published online: "A Family Among Us" in Dark Sky Magazine, and "Up and Away" in PANK. Thanks for reading!

5/2/2012: Cool to see this story receive a kind review in a foreign language, and compared to Joyce Carol Oates, no less:  

Le texte qui a ma préférence est une nouvelle, “Tunnelling”, écrite par Blake Kimzey, dans laquelle l’auteur, en très peu de pages, et dans la suite de ce qu’a pu faire quelqu’un comme Joyce Carol Oates, parvient à créer une ambiance étrange autour de l’histoire d’un nouveau-né un peu spécial – la nouvelle se fonde sur l’alliance de ces deux choses attirance/répulsion, deux choses qu’elle exploite sous le point de vue du regard : ce qui est exotique, c’est désormais cet être, cet individu qui vient de naître et qui n’évolue pas comme on l’attendait.

You can read the full review, in French, here. 

5/10/2012: The Paris Review devotes a great post to this issue of Her Royal Majesty; you can check it out here.

5/22/2012: You can also read about this issue of Her Royal Majesty over at Tin House.

"A Family Among Us" Recorded for Broadcast

Last month Brian Bahouth, the radio producer for My Audio Universe, sent me an e-mail asking if he could produce my story "A Family Among Us" for broadcast on California Public Radio and NPR affiliates. Brian said he read my story in Dark Sky Magazine and loved it. I of course said yes, please adapt it for broadcast!

I'm really excited about this. You can listen to the audio production of "A Family Among Us" here. It is over 8 minutes long, and I think it sounds great. It's my first adaptation, and I can't thank Brian and Jill Marlene (who reads the story) enough for bringing this story to life.

Additionally, the spring broadcast of MAU (an hour long literary magazine produced for radio) also includes stories by Andrea Kneeland, Wayne Conti, Majnun Ben-David, and Michael Pacheco. Give it a listen! You can listen to the entire hour-long broadcast here, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it!

Thanks again to Brian Bahouth of MAU, and also to Gabe Durham and the fine folks at Dark Sky Magazine for originally publishing "A Family Among Us," which they nominated this year for a 2012 storySouth Million Writers Award. 

Three Exciting Bits of Writing News

I'm very happy to announce that Rust Belt Bindery has produced a limited edition, illustrated chapbook of my short story "Up and Away." It is accompanied by three original paintings by Danielle Huey Kimzey, all inspired by the story. It will be a first edition of 75 and is being hand bound at Rust Belt. What some people are saying about "Up and Away":

"This is really fresh and interesting and quite moving." -Roxane Gay, author of Ayiti

"Wonderful." -PANK

"Up and Away" even got some love from Dark Sky Magazine and the French literary/arts magazine Her Royal Majesty! As of 2/4/2012, after just five days, it is SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who supported this project! I can't thank you enough! If you didn't get one, and would like one, e-mail rustbeltbindery@gmail.com; they are considering a second edition if their is enough interest.


I'm also one of six finalists in the Unstuck Magazine fiction launch contest. Nam Le, Fiction Editor at the Harvard Review and author of The Boat, will choose the winner at the end of February. In the meantime, Unstuck will feature my story on their website in the coming weeks. I'm really excited about this. Winning would mean money and publication in the next print issue of Unstuck, which featured Aimee Bender, J. Robert Lennon, Amelia Gray, Lindsay Hunter and Kiki Petrosino, among others, in their last issue. Update 3/6/12: I came in second place, which means I win a bunch of awesome books written by Amelia Gray, Lindsay Hunter, Marisa Matarazzo, Helen Phillips, Rachel Swirsky, Leslie What, Rachel B. Glaser, as well as Matthew Derby's chapbook! Big thanks to Matt Williamson and the rest of the gang at Unstuck!

My story "Ricky Jensen Goes to Work" will be featured in the next issue of Keyhole Magazine, due out next month. Big thanks to Peter Cole for selecting this story for publication. I've been trying to get into Keyhole for the last few years and finally cracked the code with this story. I think you're going to like it. I'll post a link when the next issue of Keyhole is available to order.

New Story in Fall Issue of Dark Sky Magazine

According to HTMLGIANT, if you'd like to read about a family crawling naked from the sea clutching plastic suitcases, then my story "A Family Among Us" is for you. It is featured in the fall issue of Dark Sky Magazine.

Big thanks to Dark Sky Magazine editors Kevin M. Murphy, Brian Allen Carr, Christy Crutchfield, and Gabe Durham for publishing this piece.

You can read "A Family Among Us" here. And please check out more new fiction in this issue from Katie Jean Shinkle, Corey Eastwood, Jason Larson, Katherine V. Seger, and Joseph Musso. Issue 14 also has a great selection of poetry, art, reviews, and all around cool recommendations from the Dark Sky staff. Check it out!

"A Family Among Us" is part of a new collection I am writing. "Up and Away" is also part of this collection, and was published in September by PANK. You can read "Up and Away" here.

An Interview with PANK

My story "Up and Away" was featured in the September issue of PANK Magazine, and now I've got an author interview up at their blog.

If you want to know what I think about wandering, unsteadiness and embarrassing home videos, look no further. You can read my interview here. And you can read "Up and Away" here. Thanks to J. Bradley for the thoughtful questions!

Reading Tomorrow in Santa Ana

As part of the UCI MFA Reading Series, I'm reading tomorrow (10/16) at the Gypsy Den in Santa Ana with fellow fiction writer Tagert Ellis and poet Megan Haugh. 

It all starts at 5:00 pm. I'll be reading from a new short story featuring one of my favorite characters, Donald Mason, called: Donald and Darrell Mason go to Berlin. I hope to see you there!

The Gypsy Den Grand Central Cafe
125 N. Broadway Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92701

New Story in September issue of PANK

A million thanks to PANK editors M. Bartley Seigel and Roxane Gay for publishing my story "Up and Away" in the September issue of PANK. You can read "Up and Away" here and listen to me reading the story here.

I've been submitting my work to PANK for a few years now and am thrilled beyond belief to be featured in their magazine. I'm really proud of "Up and Away" and really hope you enjoy it. The September issue is filled with great work by Stefanie Freele, Andrew Brininstool, Wendy Xu, Tessa Mellas, Thomas Patrick Levy, Aimee Vitrak, and many more talented authors.

So take PANK for a test drive, starting with "Up and Away".

A Great review of Monkeybicycle8 and "Donald Mason"

The Review Review just added their stamp of approval for the inventive, experimental, and quirky writing found in Monkeybicycle8. Lynn Holmgren wrote the review and gushes about the great fiction in this issue. The Review Review singles out stories by Ben Nickol and Scott Geiger, as well as my story, "Donald Mason's City Inspection and the Stakeout Standoff."

You can read the whole review here, but I'll post the bits about my work below:

"Meet Donald Mason: one overgrown Papa Gino’s employee brazenly standing up for autonomy and his slice of the American dream: his un-shoveled winter sidewalk. The plot thickens faster than the ice as Donald Mason nurses whiskey/Cokes and fingers the closed blinds at his stakeout post, waiting to confront his unsuspecting ex-technical college classmate turned city official: 'Now it’s just a matter of time, like Dan and I are caught in a two-man tug-of-war and within the day one of us will be singing the blues and Dan is essentially Napoleon sending his troops to Russia at the height of winter…'

When Donald Mason’s power play inevitably erupts in his own face, it seems like enough fall to send even the biggest of hubris’ home with tail between legs, but author Blake Kimzey hits pitch perfect by having Mason resurrect his battle with even more confidence and scathing humor: 'I hold the red notice and turn it over in my hands. I picture Dan Lowery watching me from some barely camouflaged location just down the street, maybe eating pita and listening to “Eat, Pray, Love” on tape. I resist the urge to scan the neighborhood. That’s what he’d want.' With Donald Mason, Kimzey manages to capture small town pride and paranoia in a delightfully original voice."

Thanks again to Monkeybicycle for publishing my work, and to The Review Review for reading the issue and reviewing it for the masses.

If you love great fiction, and I know you do, you can pick up your copy of Monkeybicycle8 here.

An Interview with the Brilliant Drew Jackson

I was introduced to Drew Jackson's fiction when I read his hilarious/brilliant story "The Widow Teasdale and the Ineffable Warmth of Personal Servies." It is an amazing story on so many levels, published by Monkeybicycle. Drew's writing is very funny, sometimes sad, and resonates long after you've read his work.

After reading Drew Jackson for the first time I wanted to read more of his work and I also wanted to know more about the author. So I sent him an interview request, and he was totally up for it. First read "The Widow Teasdale and the Ineffable Warmth of Personal Servies" and then check out our interview below:

Blake Kimzey: Where did “The Widow Teasdale and the Ineffable Warmth of Personal Services” come from? It is such a funny story. Sad, too. I'm wondering what the seed for this story was, what got you to the keyboard to write this particular story.

Drew Jackson: The story came from a weird place as I'm sure you can imagine. I get these inexplicable pangs of nostalgia for the down-and-out days I spent in Phoenix, a city that introduced me to a host of people living isolated, largely sad lives on the margins. In Phoenix, I got to know a lot of harmless, good natured, total fuck-ups (which, by the way is a pretty fair description of me in the late eighties and early nineties, and, quite possibly, today). So the story represents an attempt to sketch a portrait of intimacy that could only happen in the Phoenix that I knew more than 15 years ago.

BK: As a character, is the widow Teasdale pure imagination or a sketch of someone you might have known? What about our freelancing male dancer?

DJ: Both characters are the product of a bizarre imagination fused with elements of people that I've known. I was once approached by a soft-spoken septuagenarian in a bright yellow sun dress, dark glasses, and a big floppy hat who wanted me to find her a male escort. She may have been the loneliest person I've ever met. I had her in my mind's eye while I was sketching the widow.

The protagonist formerly known as Sugar Pants was inspired by a cab driver who tried to convince me that all the real money to be had was in the gigolo trade, although he had turned in his sex worker's card before he leased his cab. The inverted nipple was my invention – pure art. I doubt the cabbie had an inverted nipple.

BK: Were you listening to a soundtrack (maybe Rob Base or DJ E-Z Rock) when you wrote this story? Do you typically listen to music when you write?

DJ: I wasn't listening to music when I wrote the story, although I sometimes listen to music while I write. The Rob Base reference is another nod to my time in Phoenix. When I first moved out there that song was inescapable. The thought of an outcall lap dancer playing it on his boom box amuses the snot out of me.

BK: There is a lot of descriptive specificity in your writing (“The unmistakable Bronx in her voice is darkened by the smoke of ten thousand Pall Malls,” etc.). Does this come out organically in the first draft or do you add most of this texture when you are re-writing? Your wording blows me away, the pace and unforced humor rolled into the details.

DJ: Thanks. I'm drawn to vivid prose that enhances the narrative, and that's what I shoot for. Most of the detail comes out in the first draft, probably because I'm trying to illustrate the story as I see it in my skull. During revision, I focus more on compression and the rhythm of the narrative.

BK: Your stories are so funny (“I swallow a couple Klonopin to get my moneymaker good and loose, and lash on the ass-less chaps that are the cornerstone of my raunchy cowpoke rig.”). Are you going for comedy when you start a story? I'm wondering if you set out to write something sad with “The Widow Teasdale and the Ineffable Warmth of Personal Services” and ended up with a hybrid, a story that is laugh-out loud funny in most every section.

DJ: The idea of a middle-aged man earning his living as a lap dancer for shut-ins is darkly funny to me. I was definitely trying to make myself laugh when I wrote the story. I don't see myself as a comedic writer but humor is hugely important to me and I doubt I could keep it out of my work. At the same time, though, I have a heart full of love for both characters, and I wanted the piece to say something more than, “Hey, look at these two losers.” Both the widow and her hired companion have suffered losses and are looking for some kind of real connection with another person. I suppose that is why the story is sad as well as funny.

BK: What are you working on at the moment? Your Monkeybicycle bio just tells us you live and write in D.C. Are you working on more short stories or is a novella/novel on the horizon? Where can people go to find more of your work?

DJ: Right now, I'm working on a couple of pieces. I recently started a sort of Orwellian dystopian short story set in the wake of a hipster revolt. Imagine, if you will, a society governed by skinny pants wearing revolutionaries. I've also tapped a few of my funniest friends to collaborate on “Sponge Bath in Valhalla,” a rock opera in progress. If it comes together, it will feature a guitar battle between the hero and an evil anthropomorphic squid who wails on a quint-a-necker guitar. My best guess is that it won't come together, but it's been fun so far. My stories can be found online at Word Riot, Thieves Jargon, The New Yinzer, Metazen, and Wrong Tree Review. One may use The Google, if one is so inclined

Nice Words from Steven Seighman at Luna Park

Nicholas Ripatrazone recently interviewed Monkeybicycle editors Steven Seighman and Shya Scanlon for Luna Park. Reading the interview I was happy to learn about Steven and Shya's editorial process for selecting stories and totally flattered to see Steven Seighman have such nice things to say about my work:

"There are so many [other stories] in the book that I feel really close to as well, but the two that stand out to me are Blake Kimzey's "Donald Mason's City Inspection and the Stakeout Standoff" and Curtis Smith's “Lenin!”. These stories are bookends for the book and I set it up that way for a reason. I think both of them are somewhat light and also very engaging in pretty absurd ways. That’s the kind of thing I really like, and it seems to be a really great way to ease into and out of the book with a little umph. Kimzey is a new voice to me and when I read that story I knew he was a great talent. I hope we get the chance to publish more of his work in the future. And I’ve been a fan of Curtis Smith’s work for a long time. He has a gift. So I’m always eager when I see a submission from him."

You can read the full interview here. And thanks again to Steven and Shya for believing in my work!

Video of my Reading at Prairie Lights Book Store!

Video of me reading from my story "Donald Mason's City Inspection and the Stakeout Standoff" at the Times Club at Prairie Lights has just come into my possession. I read for about 12 minutes and there are no commercial breaks. Thanks to everyone who came out that night, and special thanks to artist/curator Pete Schulte (for the hilarious introduction) and artist Andy Casto (for the video)!

You can check out the video here. Thanks, YouTube!

Heading to UC-Irvine

Three years flies by. We're packing up and getting ready to move out of Iowa City, where we have lived for the last three years. My wife, artist Danielle Huey Kimzey, just graduated from the MFA painting program at the University of Iowa and it really does feel like just yesterday that we were unpacking boxes and trying to make friends.

And now we're off to Irvine, CA. I was accepted into the MFA fiction program at UC-Irvine and I couldn't be happier. We couldn't be happier. At least three years of sunny southern California are stretched out before us and while we will miss Iowa City like crazy, we'll be happy to sell our snow shovel in a garage sale this month.

UC-Irvine is awesome. I'll be an Anteater. I'll get to study with Ron Carlson and Michelle Latiolais and I feel so lucky that they offered me a spot. The program also counts some of my favorite fiction writers as alumni: Michael Chabon, Joshua Ferris, Aimee Bender, Alice Sebold, David Benioff, Elise Blackwell, Richard Ford, Glen David Gold, and many more.

So if you ever need a place to crash in Orange County, let us know. We'll have a pull-out couch by then, which will actually be quite nice with a couple of Asprin in the morning.