A DIRTY MIND

It's been months since I last checked in. My genetic clock still ticks down, and I continue to send out work for consideration after doing a tuck here and there. I've been concentrating more on fiction and less on poetry even though poetry continues to be my strongest suit, according to the editors at the helm of literary magazines. I fear my age is reflected in the short stories, and I think young editors fail to realize there might be a market among seniors for stories based in the not to distant past.  

A surprise arrived in the mail, a royalty check, pictured above, from my publisher, AuthorHouse. Someone bought a poetry book or two from them. Thank you, my anonymous supporter(s). I hope one of the books, Gray House By Cold Mountain, did not shock and/or the other one based on my MFA thesis, Tenderfoot, demonstrated what I am capable of in a more serious mood. I believe in the first book as it demonstrates more authenticity than the second. Yes, I have a dirty mind as do the minds of most serious writers. 

LOTS OF WORK, LOTS AND LOTS

Jeez, Louise, 82 people looked in this morning. Thank you folks. Been awhile, I know, but I've been hard at work. Spent three days straightening out the file cards I keep on all my poetry. Things were in a mess, and I found I was sending out poems I'd self-published in my two poetry books, Gray House By Cold Mountain and Tenderfoot [available Amazon or AuthorHouse]. That's a no-no in the publishing world, even though the readership of those books is extremely small.

Just finished a few minutes ago writing another short story I love to pieces called "Lennie". I'm also rewriting the poetry ms about my prostate cancer, You Wake One Morning, Remembering. I'm altering it from second person singular to first person and it will have a new undecided title. The reason I began it second person was some sort of shame or shyness about using first person. Don't ask me why. I don't understand it myself. After all, it's my cancer, my dealing with it, the humor I find in my dealing with it. In fact, I wonder if it's not too humorous in places while in other places showing too much self-pity. It's a complicated book, unlike any other cancer poetry I've read. Lot's of references to movies and personalities in the news of my days.

EVERY LITTLE BEAT GOES ON

I had a cold recently. As a result I suffered with loose stools and crapped my Depends twice within a three day period. Once at home and once at a Yumm! restaurant. Yummy, eh?

See photographer here...

Now for some healthier news. My Memoir Of A Nobody is back on track. Three haiku will appear in the May issue of an online magazine Better Than Starbucks. Google a look if you'd like in May. An "Afterword" I wrote for Geoff Peterson's poetry book Archipelago is now available in his book at Amazon, Authorhouse or in any bookstore. Most bookstores will be glad to order books for you. Archipelago is a collection of  Peterson's earliest poetry. He wrote most of it before he entered the creative writing program at Eastern Washington University or during his early years there. My "Afterword" in Archipelago covers those early days and my arrival in Cheney Washington in April 1975 and our first encounters. We eventually both lived at Sutton Hall, the veteran's dorm at Eastern. He also became the poetry editor of Willow Springs Magazine that I co-founded with four other lit. majors. When I quit after a dispute over a couple of poems, he took over and—by the happy way—included the two disputed poems.

THE NEWS IS IN AND IT'S ALL BAD

The poetry ms based on my bout with prostate cancer has come back from University of Pittsburg Press and from Iowa University too. Also novel Ghoul World has been rejected by DAW Publishing. I truly thought the novel had a good chance and was holding my breath. Perhaps self publishing with Amazon will be the final act, not that self publishing with Authorhouse is helping me sell my two poetry books: Grayhouse By Cold Mountain and Tenderfoot. I'm also bored with intermediate algebra. Yesterday, I drove North to Ilani Casino and gambled a very little money away, but I was tempted to get more money and keep going, hoping for a big hit. Scary thinking to be having when one is disappointed in other things in life. Alcoholic thinking?

The photo is one of the slots at Ilani in case you're interested.

OLD BEATNIK POET FINDS HOME FOR POEM

Been more than a week since last entry, but we've had a crisis in wife's family so my writing schedule has, of course, been set aside. I did rewrite another chapter of Ghoul World Tuesday after our return from Spokane on Monday. Will hopefully rewrite another chapter today. 

Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall has undertaken putting together an anthology of living Washington State poets to celebrate our state's 129th year of statehood. I'm thrilled to be included in the anthology.  Washington 129 will feature the poetry of 129 poets living in the state of Washington, and my poem "Legacy" will be included in the hard copy issue. It will also be turned into a handbill to be circulated at various literary events around the state. I look forward to seeing my name in the anthology among the many fine poets of Washington State, and I'm sure to recognize the names of old friends and acquaintances in the collection. As I learn more I'll let you know where you can purchase the anthology when it's published. Sage Hill Press will be the publisher. My poetry can be found at Amazon or Authorhouse. You can even find Gray House By Cold Mountain at Amazon for the low price of $2,498.00 through RedGooseMedia. Seriously. I think it's worth that at least. 

I forked over $765 to take a screen writing course at NW Film Center that begins in April. Since it's almost impossible to find agents for film scripts, the expenditure is just to keep my brain on its toes. I did write a sci fi film script two summers ago, and I thought I might have an inclination for writing scripts. We'll see. I'm going to work on that script for course work.

ROYALTY CHECK HAS SILENT BEATNIK CROWING

Well, looks like this writing game is paying off big time. A royalty check from Authorhouse, my publisher. 

A long string of beautiful weather days ahead. Walking continues to entice me out from in front of my writing machines, both the desktop and the laptop. I'm happy if I get a couple of pages rewrite done in a day. I'm still rewriting the first 170 pages, having now removed and put back in the same chapter 7 twice and having to rewrite in order to make sure all is consistent with that chapter. I finally put the chapter back in, with one small variation in it, because it adds complexity and mystery to the novel. What I had to do was make sure that I understood all the ramifications of what the chapter 7 complications mean throughout the novel. Mainly, the difficulty had to do with who knows what when, as in ... if these people know this now, then it doesn't make sense when this other guy does that later. I still say plotting a mystery or detective yarn is more difficult than plotting a psychological novel. OR, maybe I'm just too old for any act of writing to be uncomplicated. Also, of course, I continue to read serious fiction and that gets my juices flowing to return to something other than a futuristic detective novel ... or is that just pee running down my leg?

SILENT BOOMER BOOMING ALONG QUITE NICELY

I've been writing non-stop on the new novel. I pull my smoking keyboard to the side of the road in late afternoon to take my hour walk...in time, also, to do my cooking chores unless it's a morning crock pot preparation. I'm continually asking my working wife to have pity on the poor writer and his creative burden. When I awake, I don't even want to take time to eat or shave. I've completed 27 pages, but I see far ahead into the many possible ways this book can go. I continually adjust the characters and plot roots. One flesh and blood character has turned into a robot. I continually go over the same pages to adjust for my changing visions. The place and circumstances of the novel are so real to me I find myself putting too much detail in, and I want to keep the reader hoping along. It's best to salt the action with details rather than pour them over it. I've also written two possible openings or one may follow the other. 

It's all pretty exciting. Angie's Choice felt exciting years ago when I wrote it. Speaking of Angie's Choice, another agent rejection came in: 

Hi, George,
Thank you for your query. While your project certainly has merit, I'm going to pass. As I'm sure you know, it's important that your agent be totally excited by/committed to/passionate about your project, and I'm afraid that just didn't happen here. But opinions vary considerably in this business, and mine is just one. I'm sure you'll find others who feel differently. I hope so! I wish you the very best in your search for representation. 

Warm regards, Laney Katz Becker, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin

Agents are always kind. It could be worse, you know? They could send a photo of an agent gagging on the novel. On the more positive side, I've been asked to read a poem at the Peace and Justice Action Fair in Vancouver on the 7th of September, and another poem of mine will be hung with a piece of someone else's art at the Gallery360 Art Meets Literature Show. Theme was inspiration. Another poem or two may soon find a home, and it sounds as if someone will write a feature article about this poet for the Vancouver Vector. If that happens as expected, I'll include more details later...names and etcetera. You can always find my work at Amazon or Author House if you've a mind to. Thanks for reading.

TAX TIME FOR THE SILENT ONE AND HIS "WRITING BUSINESS"

Yesterday I did our taxes. I had to claim I had a business last year because I bought some of my own poetry books to give away and, thus, I made 15 dollars and paid 4 dollars in taxes. Authorhouse (my self-publishing outfit till now) reported my earnings, as they should. I charged my business cards to this new Business of Writing, and some paper products, and so I lost 33 dollars last year in my business as writer.

The six years I edited and published George & Mertie's Place, I had a business license and did keep track of business expenses, and I had to hire a taxman to do my taxes because there was also depreciation on a computer and some software I bought to format the microzine. We never broke even selling good literature. I'm not going to go into all that business stuff this time (unless I write a best seller) although I could say that my laptop is used exclusively for my writing and claim its purchase as a business expense.

I'll tell you one thing that I did learn those years I published George and Mertie's Place. Businesses everywhere can sure write off a lot of stuff, and they get many state tax breaks, yet we hear some business people who are always complaining their states aren't business friendly. That's about all I'll say because this is not a political blog.