Great reads:

I've been all over the place reading, reading, reading, and am amazed and thrilled and inspired! by the terrific stories I've come across. These are worth your time:

From the Autumn 2009 issue of The Southern Review: "Ecumenical Bedding" by Gilbert Allen. This is wildly creative and funny in a wry sort of way.

From the Fall 2009 issue of The Pinch: "Walk Through Walls" by Steven Wingate. This is also wildly creative, with a far-out edge that I find so appealing. The subject matter is as the title suggests: walking through walls. Really. And it's done so matter-of-factly, so this-sort-of-thing-happens-all-the-time that it's believable.

From Issue 26 of Smokelong Quarterly: Pregnant With Peanut Butter by Michael Czyzniejewski. Direct and amazing. You fall right into the story without realizing it's happening.

From the Spring 2010 issue of JMWW: Prescott, Presley, Preston by Matt Bell. This is another one of those far-out kind of subjects that I so love and, man, it's a killer.

Great reads:

Keeping up with online journals can be tricky.

With printed journals the latest issue appears in my mailbox, signaling Hey! Read Me! I eagerly rip the packaging off and am left holding evidence: a shiny cover with, more likely than not, a cool graphic of some sort; pages that are sometimes creamy colored, sometimes stark white. And the smell! Paper, ink. Glorious! I guess I'm a bit old fashioned in that regard.

I need to find a better system to keep up with online journals. What they lack in real, hold-in-your-hands evidence, they make up for in instant gratification. I can navigate to their site and wham! just like that I can read a story. Or two. Or five. No waiting for the mailman. No garbage to dispose of. No adding to stacks of journals that threaten to topple over with a gust of wind. Something to be said for that.

Here are some great stories to check out, online:

At Night Train: Tattoos Alive by Lydia Ship. I read this almost 2 weeks ago and it has stayed with me. Such creativity!

At Night Train: Watching Stanley Kowalski in the TV Room of Belle Haven by Jeanne Holtzman. Wonderful voice.

At Staccato Fiction: Almost Shaped by David Erlewine. This was published a few months ago but I just stumbled across it recently. Wonderful, tender story. So much is said in such a small space.

At Smokelong Quarterly: What Passes for Normal by Michelle Reale. There's a sad, haunting quality to this story that has stayed with me.

Go on... check them out!