This segment (starts at 2:30) from Tony Robinson’s show Worst Jobs In History was the beginning of my forthcoming novel The Bee-Loud Glade. I’d been kicking around an idea for a monastic novel after a blog back-and-forth with AKMA a few years ago, but it wasn’t going anywhere; perhaps because I was trying to somehow write a monastic novel that wasn’t religious. Then I saw the show and said, “Aha, a hermit!” and the idea more or less came together. But only the idea; unfortunately, Tony Robinson never came round to help with the writing.

Who says TV is bad for books?

The online writing community, although global, is actually very small when you step back and look at it. The amount of great work out there is stunning. And the number of books available is also stunning. It’s hard to decide which to buy. Although I’d like to buy them all, I just can’t. And I know that most everyone in our community is faced with that same issue. So it’s hard. It’s hard to market. It’s hard to sell. It’s hard to reach a broader market, a place not exclusive to writers and editors and publishers. It’s hard to reach the simple “readers,” especially coming from an independent standpoint.

~ Mel Bosworth, interviewed w/ Jessie Carty @ Daily s-Press

~ Claire Fontaine (via riley)

Rising from side projects at universities and engineering companies, adventure games would describe a place, and then ask what to do next. They presented puzzles, tricks and traps to be overcome. They were filled with suspense, humor and sadness. And they offered a unique type of joy as players discovered how to negotiate the obstacles and think their way to victory. These players have carried their memories of these text adventures to the modern day, and a whole new generation of authors have taken up the torch to present a new set of places to explore.

Get Lamp is a documentary that will tell the story of the creation of these incredible games, in the words of the people who made them.

I’m pleased to announce that my novel The Bee-Loud Glade will be published by Atticus Books in April 2011. I had a great conversation with Atticus’ Dan Cafaro recently, and was impressed by not only his vision for the press but also his plans for realizing them, so I’m really excited to be part of that process.

I’ve made the novel its own page on this site, with a bit of description, links to a couple of excerpts, and some comments from folks who have read it (well, only one comment so far, but it is from a Booker-listed author).

I began writing NAME, my vampire novel, on July 7, 2010 and completed the first draft on August 7, 2010. It is 20 chapters and 125 pages. I wrote NAME to pay my rent.

~ Joseph Young

One of the reasons why so many French novels are published in September is that it puts them into the running for the three or four big, French literary prizes which are awarded by the end of the year. The other explanation for the avalanche is that there are almost no literary agents in France to filter, or impede, would-be writers. Publishing houses toss half-way promising new novelists onto the market all at once to see which will sink or swim. Most sink.

~ Independent

~ Walden, by Jez Burrows

On the Clock: Contemporary Short Stories of Work, an anthology edited by Josh Maday and Jeff Vande Zande, is now available from Bottom Dog Press (or from Amazon, but it’s better for the publisher if you order directly).

The collection includes my story “Lights Out,” and I’m honored to be included in such a great list of contributors: Jim Daniels, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Daniel Orozco, Kennebrew Surant,Rick Attig, Lolita Hernandez, Michael Martone, Matthew Salesses, Matt Bell, M. Kaat Toy, Sean Lovelace, Billie Louise Jones, Lita Kurth, Anne Shewring, Dustin M. Hoffman, Tania Hershman, Nick Kocz, Michael Zadoorian, Peter Anderson, and Pete Fromm. Mine may not be the most recognizable name in the bunch, but I remain hopeful that my contribution offers the highest dead birds per page ratio in the collection.

My story “Twice Stung” is at Monkeybicycle this week. It’s yet another from my ongoing series exploring tall tales, though in a different way this time than in some of the others.

Thanks to Tara Laskowski for some terrific input on this story.