Tag: itty bitty writing space

Review: Itty Bitty Writing Space

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Itty Bitty cover image

Itty Bitty Writing Space

Edited by Jason Brick & Dani J. Caile

Cover by Arthur Wright

Full disclosure: I am one of 104 authors in this wide-ranging flash fiction collection. It’s good company to be in.

This collection is like an assortment of quality chocolates: everyone will have different favorites but no one who likes stories will go away disappointed. With minimal commitment, readers can sample outside their preferred genres and might even discover a new favorite author.  I at first thought the book would be handy to fill brief wait times; at no more than three pages each, each story can be read in a few minutes. But it’s hard to stop at just one!

I also love the cover, which manages to be completely adorable yet not at all childish: an itty bitty writer, hard at work on a tiny masterpiece.

Square Pig in a Round Hole-February 16, 2019

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Square PigNaming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are (usually) listed alphabetically.

Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won’t know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times club listings for abundant source material!

I don’t know about anyone else, but snow wears me out: the heavy boots, the shoveling, the unreliable bus service … I’m pleased to see the return of our regularly scheduled winter, i.e. 40 degrees and raining. That should mean shows won’t be cancelled and these bands will get to play:

Digging for Change

In spite of what Urban Dictionary says, I choose to believe this has to do with tunneling through the Earth to somehow bring about the good timeline. Or else couch cushions and bus fare.

Einar

Chosen entirely because this was my grandfather’s name at birth, before his adoptive parents changed it to Charles. Had my mother known in time, my brother might have been named Einar.

Reptile Brain

I’d like to believe music reaches through all the layers of consciousness and instinct.

Sluglicker

Here’s another one where the literal interpretation is funnier (and grosser) than the Urban Dictionary definition. Local flavor at its ickiest.

Thumpasaurus

Great big prehistoric funk.

 

Updated exciting announcement: My comic multi-piano haunted house flash fiction story “Aunt Clara’s House” has been accepted as one of 100+ stories by 100+ authors in Itty Bitty Writing Space, a print and e-book anthology to be released in June 2019. The Kickstarter had a wildly successful launch, allowing the addition of 4 more authors and receiving enough pledges to a 48-hour library benefit to provide 256 books to libraries. The campaign continues for 5 more days (through February 21) and there are many wonderful premiums available at all levels, even $1. Learn more and back the campaign here.

One last thing: I share highlights from this blog in my quarterly author newsletter, as well as news of what I’m writing and reading, and other goodies. It’s called The Storypunk Report and the first issue is out! Click the link to check it out and subscribe here for future issues.

Square Pig in a Round Hole-February 9, 2019

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Square PigNaming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are (usually) listed alphabetically.

Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won’t know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times club listings for abundant source material!

This weekend’s events have most likely been cancelled. Go back to bed. Or shovel your neighbor’s walk. Or download music by your favorite local bands and/or books by your favorite local authors, snuggle up by the fire, and enjoy this unusual weather. (For readers outside the greater Seattle area: we have several inches of snow on the ground and more on the way. It’s too hilly here to do anything but shut down for a few days. See you after the thaw.) Even if these bands’ gigs get cancelled, I will celebrate them here:

13 Finches

There are 13 ways of looking at a blackbird and 13 ways of being a finch in the Galapagos. But I chose this one because on Thursday, a friend described an art installation consisting of finches and electric guitars. Wish I’d seen/heard it!

Beige Radio

It may be drab on the outside, but the interesting stuff comes from the speakers.

Bible Study

How you get to band practice when your parents disapprove of the devil’s music.

Blackberry Smoke

Not a local band, but this seems like a cocktail or barbecue sauce one might find at our neighborhood smoked meat emporium, local flavor procured from the local bramble.

Supermissive

Passive-aggressive taken to a new level? Or an acceptance letter from your dream publisher?

 

Updated exciting announcement: My comic haunted house flash fiction story “Aunt Clara’s House” has been accepted as one of 100+ stories by 100+ authors in Itty Bitty Writing Space, a print and e-book anthology to be released in June 2019. The Kickstarter had a wildly successful launch, allowing the addition of 4 more authors and receiving enough pledges to a 48-hour library benefit to provide 256 books to libraries. The campaign continues through February 21 and there are many wonderful premiums available at all levels, even $1. Learn more and back the campaign here.

One last thing: I share highlights from this blog in my quarterly author newsletter, as well as news of what I’m writing and reading, and other goodies. It’s called The Storypunk Report and the first issue is out! Click the link to check it out and subscribe here for future issues.

Square Pig in a Round Hole-February 2, 2019

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Square PigNaming a band is an act of concentrated creative expression. Square Pig in a Round Hole exists to reward five favorite band names each week. Winners are (usually) listed alphabetically.

Selection is wholly unscientific and subject to whim, with a bias toward wordplay, humor, and local flavor. In most cases, I won’t know anything about the bands at the time of selection. Thanks to the Seattle Times club listings for abundant source material!

Happy Groundhog Day! Much of the country has had enough winter for several years already. Here in Seattle, we might get a little bit this week. Do rodent shadows make any difference? Probably not, but Rodent Shadows is a band name I would write about if it appeared in the listings. As it is, I’m happy to present these actual names:

Bird Streets

What we call the sky is actually an organized grid of flight paths for our feathered friends.

Corrosion of Conformity

Trying to be like everyone else will leave you pitted and seized up. Your favorite loud music can clean all that crud away and help you start anew as your own self.

Flesh Produce

St. Paul might say this is another word for “sin” but I can’t help imagining a meatball tree.

Freckle

I have a special fondness for names that shine a spotlight on a single body part. This really zooms in on one adorable spot, rarely celebrated for itself alone.

Slugs

Local flavor at its localest (but don’t taste them), humble denizens of every Northwest garden and forest, rasping away at the greenery. Listen closely.

 

Updated exciting announcement: Last week, I shared that my comic haunted house flash fiction story “Aunt Clara’s House” had been accepted as one of 100 stories by 100 authors in Itty Bitty Writing Space, a print and e-book anthology to be released in June 2019. The Kickstarter had a wildly successful launch, allowing the addition of 4 more authors and receiving enough pledges to a 48-hour library benefit to provide at least 250 books to libraries. The campaign continues through February 21 and there are many wonderful premiums available. Learn more and back the campaign here.

One last thing: I share highlights from this blog in my quarterly author newsletter, as well as news of what I’m writing and reading, and other goodies. It’s called The Storypunk Report and the first issue is out! Click the link to check it out and subscribe here for future issues.