My short story, “Paris Pickpockets,” a wry tale of theft at the Châtelet-les-Halles metro station in Paris, was published recently in the Summer 2024 (Vol. 2, No. 3) edition of Washington Square Review, a literary journal produced by Lansing Community College in Michigan that’s been around since 1972. The story was written earlier this year, […]
Story “Paris Pickpockets” in Washington Square Review Read More »
My short story, “Superstars of Today,” about an incompetent journalist undermining his brutal boss, was published this month in the Spring 2024 (Vol. XXXIX, No. 3) edition of The MacGuffin, a literary magazine from Schoolcraft College in Michigan that’s been around since 1984. The piece was initially written in 2016, but I reread it earlier this year and decided to do a major rewrite.
In the case of this story, the setting is key to the narrative, and I needed a tough, legitimate location and a period setting that made sense. My intention was to lampoon those top-tier glossies and underline the devalued status of staff writers. They are the beating heart of publications but are forever fighting for recognition. New York City was the obvious place, and the 1980s felt like the ideal period. In fact, I can’t imagine it taking place anywhere else.
I didn’t experience NYC until much later, but the research side of things is always fun. My story became long, rowdy, and provocative, but fortunately, the judicious Managing Editor at The MacGuffin was happy to include it.
Story “Superstars of Today” in The MacGuffin Read More »
My latest short story, “Ruinous Acting,” about an actor’s ill-fated compliment to his costar, was published today in the Pennsylvania Literary Journal. I have a nasty habit of writing stories very quickly and then spending many years (more than a decade in many cases) revising them until I can’t bear to look at them again. Once they’re published, I’m done with them, but the process is exhausting.
Sometimes, it takes weeks or months to hear back from editors. This story received an acceptance precisely five minutes after I submitted it. I think it may be the fastest yet. I’m glad PLJ deemed it worthy of inclusion, as I’ve read quality pieces in the magazine in the past and felt that this was the right venue for the story.
For the record, “Ruinous Acting” is a self-contained short story explicitly written for literary journals. However, at some point, expect some of these characters to emerge, playing small parts in future manuscripts.
Story “Ruinous Acting” in Pennsylvania Literary Journal Read More »
My short story, “Old Tennis,” about a reunion between two aging, amateur tennis players, was published in BULL: Men’s Fiction this week. I guess you might say of this work that it’s a long in the tooth tale that’s been reoutfitted and newly served. Primarily because I wrote it in 2006, as part of a much longer work, and have been revisiting it and making extensive revisions ever since.
Sometimes, it’s frustratingly hard to let go of a story, even if you are content with how it reads and have a suitable publication in mind. Perhaps the one positive aspect about holding onto it for so long is that it has almost doubled in length over the years. And, doubtless, it’s in much better shape now than if I had presented it to BULL in 2013, which was my original intention.
Story “Old Tennis” in BULL: Men’s Fiction Read More »
First published in 1959 and later made into a Canuxploitation film starring Christopher Plummer, Canadian novelist John Buell’s critically acclaimed debut novel, The Pyx, is reprinted for the first time in 25 years. Buell, a full-time professor and part-time writer who penned five novels, three of which were adapted to film, died in 2013 aged
Litchfield Reviews The Pyx by John Buell for the Lancashire Post Read More »
British-born Nicholas Litchfield, a librarian, journalist and researcher who has settled down in Western New York, pays homage to both his old homeland and the classic thriller-adventure spy novels of the 1950s and ’60s in this exciting and wryly funny adventure novel.
Review of Swampjack Virus in the Lancashire Evening Post Read More »
