updates (plus a story)
new story and UK publication of minor black figures
Hello friends—
I have been enjoying retirement from writing and reading. I am a jock now. You’ll never catch me doing nerd activities. I haven’t spoken to my agent in WEEKS. Perhaps MONTHS. Books are so OVER.
That being said, I do have two pieces of book-related news.
The first bit of news is that Minor Black Figures is at last available in the UK from Jonathan Cape Books. It has a beautiful cover, and it’s a really gorgeous edition. Very rarely do my own book covers work on me, but I would definitely fall prey to this cover in a bookstore.
The second bit of news it that I publish one short story every year, and this year’s story is “Hostages.” It was published over the weekend at The Metropolitan Review. Not only is this my yearly story, but it is also my first piece of fiction published on Substack! (Not counting the excerpt of Minor Black Figures published at The Audacity). How cool! This story is very strange, at least to me, but it was fun to write.
That’s it. I am returning to my retirement.
b
I am on the quiet floor of my campus library, and "I am a jock now" made me laugh out loud at a volume that was deemed unacceptable by the other people attempting to study in my vicinity.
Tennis is somehow more frustrating than writer's block, more fulfilling than completing a novel, and more addictive than reading. It's as much of a struggle to put down the racket as it is to leave the keyboard.