Belated Monday Miscellany

Next week is my big appearance with Joyce Carol Oates at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference! Any advice? I have 25 minutes to talk, including a brief reading from CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS. What to wear? Do I have time to lose five pounds? Have a little eye work done? Get a hefty dose of that gravitas stuff?! Actually, I'm really looking forward to it and can't wait. It's always such a pleasure to see Joyce, and Lexington is so lovely.

I'm thrilled to announce that J. Dillon Woods has accepted Love vs.Lust for his VERSUS anthology. From the website: "Versus is a collection of works based on the theme of pitting iconic characters or forces against one another (for example, “Jesus VS Thor” or “Adolph Hitler VS Grendel”)" It's an original, freaky collection--but I'm told there are some emotionally powerful pieces as well. I went for strangely epic and mythological (per Josh). Who knew?!

If you're at the Press 53 website checking out Versus, please do take a look at the guidelines for Surreal South 2009, the anthology of short fiction which Pinckney and I are editing. Our first volume was in 2007 and contained lots of heavy-hitters, including Daniel Woodrell, Robert Olen Butler, Tom Franklin and Rodney Jones. This time we're looking to publish emerging writers--but we want pieces from the edge of the dream world that will leave readers breathless with wonder, and maybe fear or even delight. We have many, many submissions already, and we strongly suggest that you take a good look at the first volume to understand what it's all about. As for the Southern part: if you've done time in the South, that counts too!

The emerging and fabulous Kyle Minor was in SS 2007 and will be in 2009 as well. Take ten minutes and check out his killer piece for Plots With Guns here. (He has a new collection out with DZanc Books soon!)

Too much to absorb in one post? Here's a photo to give you a little break. This guy was on our deck yesterday:


Finishing up--

I've joined Twitter.
And, finally, Facebook. I hope you'll friend me and join my blog group!

Last but definitely not least...Mystery writer and Sisters in Crime president Roberta Isleib will be in the Handbasket tomorrow!

Big News. I Mean Really Big News!

I received some amazing news a couple of weeks ago and have been dying to share it. Now I can!

I've been invited to the 29th annual Kentucky Women's Writers Conference in Lexington. It happens in September and I'll be teaching a workshop, which I always enjoy. But the really exciting news is that I'll be doing a reading with Joyce Carol Oates!

Joyce has chosen me to appear with her at the conference's Hardwick/Jones reading, a reading that, according to the press release, "honors the roles of influence, mentoring and friendship in women writers’ lives." We'll be conversing onstage--or at least she will be conversing. I'll be the one looking stunned! Joyce has a brilliant mind and I could listen to her talk for hours.

The invitation is such a blessing, and an honor. I still can't believe it. If you'll be anywhere near the University of Kentucky on September 12th, I hope you'll come to see us. Really, if you haven't heard Joyce speak, you don't want to miss it!

In other news--Kelli Stanley tagged me. Since I just did one here last week, I thought I'd answer directly on her blog. I love hanging out there. She always has incredible stories to tell.

Also, did I mention that I'm the volunteer maven for Thrillerfest 2008? If you don't know about this remarkable gathering of thriller writers and their fans, you should! I'll have more details next blog.