My Name Up in Lights

Or in print. Even better.

A few weeks ago, perhaps on a whim, perhaps on a dare, author Robert Swartwood introduced the world to hint fiction.

Inspired by Hemingway's bad-ass six worder: For sale: baby shoes, never worn, Swartwood set out to determine how short, how complex, how perfectly tiny a story could possibly be.

He settled on 25 words. In fact, he started a contest. And, well, people like The New Yorker picked up on it.

The premise of hint fiction - making readers think, exposing something bigger than the 25 words on the page - was one that appealled to me. I like it when only a tiny piece is revealed leaving the reader to work for the rest.

So I entered. And I was chosen as a finalist.

And here's the real kicker - W.W. Norton, yes, that W.W. Norton, picked up on Swartwood's hint contest (at this point it's probably safe to call it a "movement") and is going to publish an anthology. An anthology that will feature all of the contest finalists.

An anthology that will feature my story Waiting.

So, my first anthology. Actually, my first fiction in print altogether. That always makes for a nice week.

Right now the anthology is scheduled for release in fall of next year, but when I know, you'll know.

And to Mr. Swartwood, thank you.

Fun in Your Cube

My story "Hook, Line & Sinker" will appear at Fiction at Work in July. FaW is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

As everyone knows fiction at work is much better than work at work.

My Intro

How I came to operate this blog...the cliff notes version. 

After dabbling in sports journalism for a few years after college, I became increasingly drawn to the world of fiction. Looking back, I can now attribute this infatuation to a number of factors that always existed on some level - an affinity for reading, a stubborness to adhere, my love of lying, etc. 

Anyway, the move away from sportswriting undoubtedly perplexed my father who had/has notions of me becoming the next Grantland Rice or Roger Angell or Tom Haudricourt. 

And while I loved writing sports, still do actually, there's something special about fiction. 

So, fortunately, I've been lucky enough to have some of my shorts published in a variety of places over the past couple of years. You can find links to those stories in the column at left.

The plan is to use this blog as a place to chronicle my journey in writing, in life and as a Notre Dame fan that was 8-years-old and wearing a Tony Rice jersey the last time the Irish won a national championship.

If you're a writer that has stumbled upon this site, welcome. 

If you're a family member, I'll see you at xmas. 

Thanks for reading.