REMEMBERING AN IDOL...

In life, we have many defining moments. Things we remember. Even as we sleep. I was about 14 and in the basement at a performing arts school in my hometown. We were all practicing for a production of "Grease" and decided to take a break because "he" would be on soon. We all huddled around around a small black-and-white TV perched on a folding chair and watched "Motown 25." Little did we know that history was being made. I suspect by now you...

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THE DEATH OF A LIVING MUG SHOT (flash fiction)

Looking at the body, I'd give anything to be in my bed watching stupid re-runs of "The Bachelor" with my wife.This wasn't happening. I wasn't watching my friend's body twitch away into lifelessness staring at the cold, hard ground. The gun pierced in the left side of my rib cage like a dull spear told me otherwise and I was just waiting for that pop -- the last sound Bobby J ever heard.* * *I'd been talking to Bobby J on The Living Room, a new social...

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THE TEN ESSENTIAL PENGUIN CLASSICS

PENGUIN CLASSICS has compiled a list of the top ten essential Penguin Classics every person should read. Each of these ten great works—ranging from poetry to plays to novels and non-fiction—has lasted and enlightened audiences throughout the ages, and they all still have something relevant to say to readers. The list is as follows: "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen "The Odyssey"...

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CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS ANSWERS A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION

Christopher Hitchens is one of my favorite authors and journalists.The Brit-American's career has spanned more than four decades, making him a public intellectual, and a staple of lecture circuits and talk shows - notably HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation and Free Inquiry. Of late, he's a contributing editor and columnist for Vanity Fair. His latest book...

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FROM THE CRADLE TO THE BRAVE, WHAT MAKES A HERO?

Heroes. For most of us scribes, they are the very basis of our work. I want to share an interesting video that I posted on my Facebook page a few weeks back because I think it' effective on many levels.In it's simplest form, the video is merely a one-minute teaser for the FX drama "Rescue Me." While I've never seen the show (I always have meant to jump on board), I've heard nothing but good things about it. It centers on the professional and personal...

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B&N HEATS UP THE READER WAR: SLASHES PRICE ON NEW NOOK

UPDATE 6/22: After Barnes & Noble dropped the price of its competing Nook device, Amazon has slashed the price of its Kindle e-reader to $189, down $70 from its previous price of $259. Amazon has lowered the Kindle's price several times since it debuted in 2007 at $399. Amazon also sells a larger-screen Kindle, the Kindle DX, for $489. Earlier today, bookseller Barnes & Noble released a new version of its Nook e-reader that supports a Wi-Fi...

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PEEPING TOM'S PARADISE (flash fiction)

It was the night of my bachelor party, and my dad Nick reminded me that fate has a way of fucking with you when you least expect it."Take it easy," he said. "You remember what happened to me. My stag party was a disaster."I smirked in that way of letting him know that bachelor parties were different now. Plus we didn't call them stag parties any more. What was with that?Oh sure, guys still may get together and act like primates with all sorts of...

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NY TIMES WRITERS AREN'T ALLOWED TO USE 'TWEET'

Yup, the 'ol Grey Lady has a little problemo with using "tweet" in a news story.I work as an online editor at a daily paper and we use 'tweet' all the time. I guess we're not as sophisticated as America's 'Newspaper of Record' whose staff is forbidden to utilize the word "tweet" as both a noun ("a Twitter message") and a verb ("to send a Twitter message").In a memo leaked to The Awl, New York Times Standards Editor Phil Corbett advises not to use...

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WILL APPLE BURN OUR BOOKS?

As writers (and creators) should we be afraid of Apple? While that may sound a tad melodramatic, it's not that ridiculous of a question.That's the question, I posed the other day and people seemed to respond strongly. Michael Solender, non-fiction editor at Full Of Crow offspring On The Wing, wanted to pick up my piece.It's a great and thought-provoking site that features essays, opinion, columns and more on issues that matter.Check out my link...

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KILLER NEW TRAILER FOR HBO'S 'BOARDWALK EMPIRE'

Who said writing blogs have to ALWAYS be about writing?In any case, this is the one we've been waiting for... Home Box office has released a new trailer for the Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese-created Prohibition-era gangster television series "Boardwalk Empire."This new trailer focuses on Steve Buscemi's character, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City and town Treasurer, Enoch “Nucky” Thompson. Thompson was "a political fixer and backroom dealer...

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FICTION WRITING: 20 UNDER 40

I tell people that I'm 18 with 24 years of experience. Why?Because it always freaks me out how some writers can be filled with such bonafide talent at such a young age. Don't get me wrong, I wrote lots of things in my younger days, but in re-reading them now, I just cringe. Quite simply, I didn't possess the tools or the wisdom to create anything substantial. The June 14 issue of The New Yorker -- one of the premiere showcases for American...

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THE KILLER IN ME (flash fiction)

It wasn't working. She'd been in my life -- let's call her Jane -- for the better part of a couple months and despite a great beginning, she just wasn't giving me what I needed anymore. She was so fucking one-dimensional.Oh sure, she was hot but that only goes so far and it certainly went with the terrain. And yeah, while she seemingly got along well with the others, something didn't click within me. Maybe it was because she had nothing intelligent...

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MY INTERVIEW AS PART OF 'AMERICAN WEEKS'

Prolific Canadian blogger and writer Cathy Olliffe has been doing a wonderful job highlighting American writers at her site Life on the Muskoka River in a special series that she is calling American Weeks.In addition to such varied and talented material by the authors, Cathy conducts spectacular and thorough author profiles with meticulous attention to detail. It's always fun finding out more about my fellow bloggers and Cathy's rich interview pieces...

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NOIR DREAMS (poem & podcast)

Please click play to enjoy an audio reading NOIR DREAMSI imagine snapping the brimof a non-existent fedora afterI find the Benny Goodmantape somewhere it shouldn’t be.Only then do I shut my eyes.After a moment, I check myfather’s pocket watch andhope the shirt-tail is properlytucked. I do this much afterthe fact but nevermind that.I’m ready.As I prowl Sunset amidst a seaof Caddie fins and crackly neon,the Benny Goodman stops andreality socks me in...

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AGENT ORANGE (flash fiction)

By 1967, I was buried deep in the bowels of the Bureau at Quantico -- with shitty clearance to boot.I was a clerk in the Records Management Division. Oh sure, I was an agent for what it was worth. Basically, it came in handy at bars. Every chick within a 10 mile radius wanted to fuck a bonafide FBI agent and I helped them with that.I started when I was discharged from Korea. A guy in my unit had an uncle who's friend was a G-man. I figured that...

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JON FAVREAU: WHAT I'VE LEARNED (the creative bits)

I've long been a fan of actor-director-writer Jon Favreau and this month, he's featured in Esquire magazine's feature "What I've Learned." Here are some of the more noteworthy bits of his knowledge in regard to creativity and the biz...:You have to create the quiet to be able to listen to the very faint voice of your intuition.I had a writing teacher who said, If you want to learn how to write a screenplay, read The African Queen twice.Storytelling...

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PULP MAGAZINES WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?

If they were still around, how many of us would be churning out tales for the pulps?The inexpensive fiction magazines were published from around 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, a half an inch thick, and 128 pages long. Pulps were printed on cheap paper with ragged, untrimmed edges.They coined their name from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. Those printed on...

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