Jeffrey Ricker's Blog, page 59

In Good Company on the 'Mean Streets'

If anyone looks at my publishing credits, they'll notice a few trends. Lately, they would notice that I have the good fortune to be part of the roster at Bold Strokes Books, a strong indie LGBT publisher. They're publishing my novel, Detours, this November; my story "Lifeblood" was included in last year's anthology Blood Sacraments, and my next three published stories—"Murder on the Midway," "The Trouble with Billy," and "Landfall"—all will be in anthologies published by Bold Strokes. It's safe to say that if it weren't for Bold Strokes, my list of publishing credits would be much shorter.

The other thing you may notice, if you go back to my first fiction publication, Fool for Love, would be my friend 'Nathan. Although my first published piece was in Paws and Reflect, Fool for Love was my first fiction publication, as it was for him too. Since then, it often feels like we're in the same graduating class at college, because we've shown up in so many of the same places in print. There's good reason for that, as he's a very talented writer. I count myself as privileged in that I often get to read his stories before they hit print, as he does with mine. (He's saved me from more than a few embarrassing errors, flubs, and typos along the way.)

I only hope that Men of the Mean Streets is just the latest of many publication credits we'll share. Mazel tov, my friend!

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A free copy of 'Normal'….

…goes to Melissa Sanchez. She correctly answered the question I posed at the beginning of the month, so she's getting a free copy of my story from Untreed Reads. Congratulations, Melissa! I hope you enjoy it.

March is shaping up to be a busy month for me. Last week I finished revisions to two stories coming out in anthologies this year, clearing the deck so I can write two more by the end of this month. I'm expecting edits back on one more story this month, as well as (ominous drumroll please) the edits on my novel. Then, at the end of the month we're going to England for a week, by which point I'll be ready to collapse, probably.

And once we get back, I really should focus again on my next book. My goal is to finish the first draft of it by the end of the year. There, I've said it in a public forum, so hold me to it, Internet. I'd hate to let down the series of tubes.

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Two more days to get "Normal"

So, as I mentioned back here on the first of the month, in honor of Untreed Reads' first anniversary, I'm giving away a copy of my short story "New Normal" at the end of the month. (Check that earlier entry for details on how to submit your entry.) Don't look now—well, actually, yes, look now—the end of the month is this Monday. Meaning that on Tuesday, I'll send an e-mail to the lucky winner letting them know how to get their story.

At the moment, that winner would be one of two people. Yes, I could take that to mean that everyone reading this has already bought a copy of the story—and if you did, thank you! By the way, if you did buy a copy, what did you think of it? Could you take a moment to go back to the store where you downloaded it and leave a review? I'd be eager to know.

Unless you hated it, in which case I'll just say all sales are final.

Kidding! (Well, not really, as I'm pretty sure all sales are final, but if you didn't like it, tell me what didn't work for you.)

Where was I? Oh, right. Two entries. If you haven't bought it and are interested in reading it, your odds of winning it are pretty darn good. You've got until midnight on Monday. Go for it!

(If, on the other hand, contests are not your thing, my story and every other title at Untreed Reads is 25% off through the end of the month.)

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100 words about getting back into a story, or What's my motivation?

The hardest thing about rewrites is getting back into a story after several months have passed and you've moved on to other things. It's like you've broken down the set in your mind where these characters rehearsed and performed, and now you have to call them back to the studio, get wardrobe to find their costumes, and make them go through their lines again. Also, you've recast them in other parts since then, and now the dialogue doesn't sound right in their voices anymore. I usually have to go back to the beginning and read through, and find the thread.

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Want a free copy of "New Normal"?

Just a reminder, to celebrate Untreed Reads' first anniversary this month, I'm giving away a free copy of "New Normal." Just check out this post at Redroom.com (or just scroll down on this page for the matching post) and see how simple it is to enter. It's not too hard, is it? I ask only because just one person has entered. I mean, are you telling me I can't even give it away? Or is it that all of my loyal followers (all six of you, bless your hearts) have already bought it? Just remember, you can always give it to someone as a gift. Right?

Rub a dub*

I've been looking everywhere I can for the upside to this inconvenience (not to mention the frequently astonishing pain) caused by the coup d'état my back has staged. It ain't easy. I could dwell on the fact that I can't walk more than a few yards without needing to sit down, or how nighttime sleep has become so abridged you'd think it was a Reader's Digest edition.

Instead, I'll just mention that I've rediscovered the pleasure of taking a bath.

See, in addition to not being able to walk very far, I can't stand for very long. In this case, "very long" would be the same as "the length of time it takes to wash my hair," much less the rest of me. So yesterday I finally had to relent, move all the soap and gels and stuff to where I could reach them, and filled up the tub for a bath.

It was wonderful.

Eventually, I know my back pain will get better, or at the very least I'll have learned to deal with it better. But really, the nicest part of my day lately is lying in a hot bath with a cup of coffee and a New Yorker.

Maybe I should move the coffeemaker into the bathroom.

*At least I didn't make the title "Tubthumping," did I? Otherwise you'd have that song running through your head all night. Oh, wait….

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What's a 140-letter word for "Ow"?

So, I decided to write this blog spot in a series of tweet-length bursts. Why? That pretty much describes my attention span with this pain. (139)

I've been having this bout of low back pain since Feb. 7. I bent over to pick up a dog food bowl, and that's all it took to screw things up. (140)

Since then, it's migrated from my lower back into sciatica, which gives me stabbing pain in my right glute and shooting pains down my leg. (138)

I've been to the doctor and gotten a prescription for muscle relaxants, and made two visits to the acupuncturist. Still, it hurts like hell. (140)

When the pain was in my low back, it really hurt to lie down. I slept in a recliner for a few nights. That helped the pain but not my sleep. (140)

Now that it's turned into sciatica, it hurts to lie down, stand up, walk, cough laugh, sneeze. Sitting is OK, but the pain is still there. (138)

The way this pain distracts me is much like trying to hold a conversation in a room where there's also a television that you can't turn off. (140)

You try to focus on the person talking, but in the background all you hear is the dialogue coming through the TV, and it sounds like this: (138)

"Ow. Ouch. Ow ow ow ow ow ow. Lean back. Ow. No, don't do that. Lean forward. Oh, not that either. Sit. Stand. No, sit down again. No. Ow." (139)

Or maybe compare it to reading when someone is also talking to you at the same time. Eventually, the words in the air and on the page blur. (139)

It's even more fun when that voice is chattering in your ear while you're trying to go to sleep. Explains why I slept only 3 hours Tuesday. (139)

So you start dividing your day into small, manageable chunks that center around avoiding or minimizing the pain as much as you possibly can. (140)

Getting out of bed (or, in my case, getting out of the recliner) is usually the worst. That's when the pain is hottest. It shouts at you. (137)

Fortunately, it's usually less intense as the day goes on, but that's all relative. The sciatica is worse than the original back pain.  (135)

This isn't the first time this has happened. It started in 2003. I herniated a disc doing yardwork. (Advice: Never uproot a shrub by hand.) (139)

It also drastically reduces your patience, because it's hard to concentrate on two things at once; the pain is always one of those things. (139)

Basically, it sucks. (20)

And it usually lasts six weeks. Three weeks to go. (40)

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Pain is good for writing. Pain is also bad for writing.

I hate that the old cliché is true, but I've done some of my best writing when I've been incredibly unhappy. Glutton for punishment that I am, I've been able to take psychic pain and turn it into prose on numerous occasions (some of which have even been published). I only wish that this worked for physical pain. In case you were wondering, or in case you didn't already know from personal experience, it doesn't help one bit.

Oh, maybe it would help if you needed to describe pain as wearing a belt that had been cinched too tightly. Or getting kicked in the back repeatedly. Or pain that makes your eyes tingle, sparkles your vision, and feels like a cinderblock has landed on your back. That last one was really fun. I hope I never encounter that one again.

Certain kinds of pain make it impossible to concentrate. Even 100-word bursts are difficult to muster, because you're concentrating on the pain instead. Or rather, you're very focused on not doing anything to make the pain worse: should I move this way or that way? Sit or stand? Lie down? Back, belly, or side? Which side? How do I get up if I'm lying down? Is there something I can lean on? (Note: the answer to all these is, apparently, sit. Don't stand, and whatever you do, for God's sake, don't lie down. Sleep in the recliner. In the morning you'll be grateful you did.)

You get out the back brace you were fitted for the first time this happened, eight years ago. Unfortunately, you were twenty poounds lighter back then and now the fit is, well, a bit snug. (Will losing weight help with the back pain? you ask yourself.) You look down and see how you're walking and imagine yourself at age 70 or 80, moving like this. Your eye starts to water and you wonder, is this possibly related?

The worst part is wondering how long it will last. Is it going to be a week, a month? Two months? Maybe this is the time that it's never going to end, that it's just going to be something you have to manage.

Wow, this is the most I've written in one go all week long. See what I said about pain?

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My novel's soundtrack, or "It came without a warning or a clue"

In an earlier post, when I asked about music that inspires your writing, I mentioned that my book has a soundtrack of sorts, songs that I listened to often while I was writing, or songs that came up randomly in iTunes and made me think of a character or a scene. Per Marika's request, I present the list here.

Breathe Me, Sia
Moments Of Pleasure, Kate Bush
I Wasn't Looking (When I Found Love), Emma Bunton
Summertime, The Sundays
Wild Horses, Susan Boyle
Precious, Erasure
Don't Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake, Kate Bush
What Have I Done To Deserve This? Pet Shop Boys
Save Me Darling, Erasure
I'm with Stupid, Pet Shop Boys
DHDQ, Andy Bell
Stand Back, Stevie Nicks
White Lies  (Radio Edit), Paul Van Dyk (with Jessica Sutta)
Somebody Else's Business, Pet Shop Boys
Break My Fall, Tiësto Feat BT
So Long, ABBA
You Don't Treat Me No Good, Sonia Dada
Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me, The Pipettes
Calling It Quits, Aimee Mann
Shambala, Three Dog Night
One By One, Enya
Mornin Song, Monica Casey
Dizzy, Throwing Muses
Grand Canyon, Tracey Thorn
Flamboyant (Michael Mayer Kompakt Mix), Pet Shop Boys
Gray, Amie Miriello
They Don't Know About Us, Tracy Ullman
Love Locked Inside, Voice of the Beehive
The Saltwater Room, Owl City
Get Together, Madonna
Wild Horses, The Sundays
Who Knows Where The Time Goes? Judy Collins
The Dreaming Road, Mary Chapin Carpenter
Lovers Rock, Sade

As you can imagine, I've tinkered with this playlist to no end, changed the order, deleted songs that, in hindsight, don't fit the story anymore. This is pretty good, at least until the director's cut.

PS: Let it be noted that no one is more acutely aware than me of the absence in this track list of Kylie. Had Aphrodite come out before I was finished with the book, it's certain "Looking for an Angel" would have been an inspiring song. So consider that a bonus track.

PPS: Hey, Marika! I've shown you mine; you show me yours!

Happy anniversary, Untreed Reads

It's hard to believe Untreed Reads has only been around a year. This is the publisher that released my short story, New Normal, as an e-download last year, as well as Huey Dusk, written by Whitney Howland, who's in my writing group, Writers under the Arch, and will be publishing another member of the group, Chris Bauer. (There must be something in the water around here.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. Happy anniversary, Untreed Reads. To celebrate, they're actually giving gifts, not receiving them. For the month of February, they're giving away the first three books they published last year. They're also taking 25% off everything else. So, I'm finally buying Huey Dusk, which I should have done a long time ago. (Sorry, Whit. Of course, I already know how it ends, since I was present at the creation, or at least the recitation.)

So, in honor of the festive occasion, I want to give away something too. I'll give away a free copy of my story, New Normal, to one person who can answer the following question:

Which three authors did I interview (back in the day, as the kids are fond of saying) for PlaybackSTL magazine?

E-mail me the answer before Feb. 28 at jeffrey@jeffrey-ricker.com, and I'll choose one person at random from the folks who get it right. (You'll find the answer on my website, so really, copying and pasting my e-mail address is probably the trickiest part of this.)

Of course, if I get no responses, I'll know that no one loves me and I will sink into a pit of despair, bitterness, and Chubby Hubby ice cream.

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