A story link and more sadness

Posted this About Place Journal link on facebook this morning only to scroll down to the next post and news that my friend Kevin Hazlett had passed away. A year and a half ago (March '11), I posted my thoughts here upon hearing news of his cancer and a benefit in his honor. To last that long with pancreatic cancer is one helluva fight. By all rights, he should've been gone a year ago, yet it's still hard to read such news.

I last saw Kevin in June at a gathering for the one-year anniversary of his brother Buck's passing. (See June '11 post.) I told him that a year before he had said the doctors were giving him six months. He laughed (no surprise) and told me of the 20-some radiation treatments he'd had—even though they'd told him he only had strength enough for 4 or 5.

My thoughts and condolences go out to his wonderful family and his legion of friends. For Kevin, no joke was too bad to tell. Over and over. Just wish I could hear them all over again.

On updating one's blog

Okay, okay: That About Place Journal issue is due out the first week in November. I have another story coming out after the first of the year in mgv2_71: Golf. Don't know what to make of a golf issue but my story (another novel excerpt) is about four buddies playing golf and discussing their fates war-wise in 1941 Minneapolis. Sent in my check for the San Francisco workshop but the heralded editor made a typo in the address he sent me and it came back: Return to Sender. Just like the song. Ouch...

A good week

Okay, I know it's been nearly two months since my last post but nothing was going on, till last week: On Thursday I got a phone call from Tom Jenks (current Narrative Magazine fiction editor, former Esquire fiction editor) accepting me into a writers' workshop he runs in San Francisco. I submitted the first three chapters of No Happier State by way of applying for the course and we spent 35 minutes discussing that and other things. He said my manuscript lacked direction and perspective. (One could probably use that to sum up my whole life...) Anyhow, that happens in January.

Then, Saturday morning, I received an email from About Place Journal telling me that an excerpt from the same novel would be included in their “Peaks and Valleys” issue. Should be out soon and I'll post a link.

Another excerpt

As promised earlier, here's the link to another excerpt from No Happier State, published in the latest issue of The Fieldstone Review. It's the last one: “The Only Good Indian.” I could make a big deal out of them deciding to call me William rather than Will, but I won't...

A review

Somewhere in this link you'll find my review of Mary Vettel's Death at the Drive-In. Buy it now on Amazon! Details also in that link.

On Another Publication

Just found out another excerpt from No Happier State will be published shortly in the 2012 edition of The Fieldstone Review. It's a wonderful publication out of the U. of Saskatchewan. My last four publications have been Australia, France, France and now Canada. Why can't I get pubbed in the US?

I believe the edition's theme is "shredded daisies" and I don't pretend to know exactly what they were after except that the stories should be political in nature. "The Only Good Indian" introduces Bad Glove Hand, a Lakota Sioux dealing with the contradictions involved with his working on Mount Rushmore. (More on Bad Glove on the left edge of this page.) Will post a link in the next few weeks.

On Being Interviewed

It occurs to me that I've forgotten to post an interview I was lucky enough to get over at Mary Vettel's blog. So here it is.