Metablogging

Posted on December 5, 2012 by A.

Hello, this is a blog post about my blog.

I finally bit the bullet and got myself a real domain name. So long, WordPress domain I registered when I was 19! I’ll miss the subtle reference to Alan Moore’s seminal Superman story, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, but it was time to have a website that was more properly tied to my actual name.

Don’t worry, I’ll still be posting about comic books and science fiction and video game narrative pretty much all the time. New name, same old content.

Now I just have to figure out a layout that doesn’t make me wince.

Sandy vs. Mars

Posted on October 29, 2012 by A.

I’m hunkered down in my Brooklyn bunker right now, avoiding the overflowing Gowanus canal. So I was very pleased to discover that NANO Fiction decided to make “Mars” their featured story this week. “Mars” will appear in print in next month’s issue of NANO Fiction, so consider this a pleasant preview.

How to Apply for a Job

Posted on October 17, 2012 by A.

While I’m enjoying my freelance jobs right now, I’m also looking for full-time work, because I’m interested in experiencing the fabled adult land of health insurance and paid vacations. This means that I spend a lot of time sending out carefully written cover letters and resumés and then never hearing anything back.

To vent some of my application woe, I wrote a short mock how-to called “How to Apply for a Job”. (With many apologies to Lorrie Moorie’s excellent, excellent Self-Help.) I thought about posting it here, but then decided to send to to a personal finance site I like just in case they might want it.

They did, and you can now find it here.

Microfiction? Microfiction.

Posted on October 1, 2012 by A.

Remember when I said that NANO Fiction was going to publish a story of mine? Luckily, they didn’t abruptly change their minds in the subsequent weeks. NANO Fiction Volume 6, Number 1 will be shipping next month. “Mars” will be in it, as will other stories by other wonderful people. If you would like a copy, you can preorder it.

I’m looking forward to receiving my own copy. The cover is absurdly gorgeous, and I can’t wait to stretch out on my couch with a cup of tea and read many sharp bits of small fictions.

In other news, a fine fellow I know created a website that allows you to comfortably ogle at the red planet from the comfort of your favorite chair. It is called The Mars Ogler, and it is very much worth a look.

Submit to Unstuck #3

Posted on September 20, 2012 by A.

Fresh off the heels of your successful Kickstarter campaign, we of Unstuck are already thinking about next year’s issue. (Keep an eye out for the voluminous Unstuck #2 this winter.) We’re pleased to announce the open submission periods for Unstuck #3. You may want to consider sending us some of your work. Too literary for the genre markets? Too genre for the literary markets? Unstuck is here to treat you right.

The Final Countdown

Posted on August 23, 2012 by A.

Two more author interviews! One is with Marisa Matarazzo, and the other is with Rachel Swirsky.

Also, wow, the Unstuck Kickstarter campaign has five days left on the clock, and we are only 500 dollars away from meeting our stretch goal. That’s pretty incredible. We are so close to an Unstuck fiction podcast. If you’ve been waffling over whether or not to donate, or if you’ve been thinking about upping your initial contribution, now’s the time to act.

Mars and Mars

Posted on August 20, 2012 by A.

You may have heard that the Curiosity has landed on Mars. It is doing science and taking beautiful pictures for us. Pour one out for our intrepid rover, won’t you?

In a strangely topical turn of events, a piece of microfiction I’ve been sending out called “Mars” has just been selected for publication by NANO Fiction. This will be my first print publication. I’m looking forward to seeing bits of paper with my words on them.

“Mars”, as you might expect, is about Mars. It is also about other things. I’ll post a proper process post about it when it shows up in NANO. It is short, and easily spoiled if I talk too much about it.

I’ve spent much of the past year fretting about my textual voice. I often feel like my writing occupies an odd badlands. Too wordy for the genre publications, too weird for the lit journals. (Which may be why I like working for Unstuck so much.) I’ve been pushing myself back and forth across the lines recently, trying to write literary realism and science fictional adventure yarns. Ultimately, though, the stories that get picked up are the ones that come straight from those liminal badlands. I write quiet fictions about unquiet things. I don’t think I’ll be stopping anytime soon.

Three More Author Interviews

Posted on August 20, 2012 by A.

I recently returned from two weeks abroad, which means I have a backlog of interviews to share with you.

The first is with Julia Whicker, and you can find it here. We talked about the space program, science magic, severed heads, and Aleister Crowley.

The second is with literary power couple John Maradik and Rachel P. Glaser. This one is especially interesting from a process perspective, as we spent a lot of time discussing how two people go about writing a story together. (Hint: it helps to be in love.)

The third is with Helen Phillips. We talked about wigs, sisterhood, and giant garter snakes. You can read this interview over here.

Have I mentioned the Unstuck Kickstarter campaign lately? I am contractually obligated to mention the Unstuck Kickstarter campaign every three words or so. It’s going swimmingly, thanks to people like you. We have a little less than a week left on the clock, and we are tantalizingly close to our stretch goal of $10,000. What happens if we meet our stretch goal? An Unstuck fiction podcast, that’s what. Let’s make it happen.

An Interview with Lindsay Hunter

Posted on August 3, 2012 by A.

Yes, another one. Yes, already.

Here’s another one of the interviews I did for issue #1 of Unstuck. In this one, I talk with Lindsay Hunter about literary Voltrons, the feelings of inanimate objects, and what cat food probably tastes like.

Our Kickstarter campaign continues to thrill. Not only have we already reached our initial funding goal, but we’ve surpassed it by over a thousand dollars. And we still have 25 days left to go. Internet, you are the best! Depending on how far the campaign goes, we have a very neat new planned for the journal. I can’t say much about it until it’s officially announced, but if you’d like to stay on the bleeding edge of news about the journal, our campaign, and our future plans, you can follow us on Twitter.

An Interview with Joe Meno

Posted on August 2, 2012 by A.

A few months ago, I sat down and talked with Joe Meno about his new novel Office Girl, the independent publishing process, and buses vs. bicycles. Now the shiny, edited, formatted version of this conversation is up on the Unstuck website. If you like, you can go read it here.

In other news, our Kickstarter campaign is going swimmingly. It’s been less than a week since it went live, and we’re already tantalizingly close to our initial goal. We’ve got 26 days to go, though, so if you’re itching for a Kolchaka-illustrated thank you robot, a preordered copy of our second issue, or a lifetime subscription to the journal, now’s the time to go get them.

A. Werner

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