Ben Tanzer's Blog, page 82

"Everything becomes more different than it was then." So Different Now gets Words, Notes, and Fiction'd. And likes it. A lot.

It does, we do, so moving it is, and so appreciative we are. Excerpt? Word.

"Not only is So Different Now the name of one of the stories, but it seems like it's also the theme, who you marry, who you choose to ignore or bring into your life, and whoever you know that dies, your actions will make the roads of your change. And well, everything becomes more different than it was then."

Orphans is NAILED interview. Totally.

And it is totally appreciated. Drinks on us Matty Byloos and NAILED, many. Excerpt? Word.

NAILED: What author would you want to be, either for their life or for their work, and why?

TANZER: Can I cheat here? I will take your “no” response as a “yes.” There is an artist I read about in the New York Times Magazine a couple of years ago, he has a studio near the beach, in Venice maybe, or maybe that’s my fantasy, but he gets up early and he surfs, and then he goes to this studio and works, and he does cool collaborative projects with cool people, and he makes enough to support himself, and his family, I think, though again this could be my fantasy. And I need to figure out who that is, but that’s what I want: get up early, surf, coffee, write, run, write, other stuff, sun, beer, and tacos. Cool?

Essays. Interviews. Indie Authors Naked. And the Loren Kleinman.

Truth. More here. And here. Even here.

"More than Murakami." 99 Problems gets some Amazon love. And likes it. A lot.

Yo, so we don't know about all that. And not the like part. We do like it, a lot, that's been established. The whole Murakami thing though? Very cool, and much appreciated, but  best you be the judge. Cool? Excerpt? Word.

"Overall, it reads like one of those great runs where your legs feel light and your feet feel fleet—it’s quick, and it’s pleasant, and it leaves you wanting more."

Winter Is Coming. April 6th. Yo.

"Tanzer captures the increasingly clinal boundary between humanity and technology." Orphans gets some Amazon love. And likes it. A lot.

Truth. Though we do wonder, can there be too much self-like? We hope not. Excerpt? Word.

"Tanzer captures the increasingly clinal boundary between humanity and technology, and highlights the tensions created as the digital seeps into more and more of our daily lives."

This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Seventy-Six - Ass Director, starring the Megan Stielstra.

We are so Stielstra. And so podcast. We are also teaching, social justice, children, Patricia Ann McNair, of course, 2nd Story, Once I Was Cool, personal essays, Dorothy Allison, Kafka, and The Force. Cool? Totally. Hit it. It just might change your life.

"It isn’t pleasant." Orphans gets Sundog Lit'd. And likes it. A lot.

And big thanks to the David S. Atkinson and Sundog Lit for that. Excerpt? Word.
"I found myself really getting into the dark future of Orphans. However, the most interesting part for me was when I realized that there was more familiar than future in the futuristic dystopia. After all…do we not obsess right now about the power that corporations hold? Do we not worry about whether we really have opportunity or only the appearance of such? Do we not fear that the country has become a police state? It shook me a bit when I realized how similar this disturbing future was."

New joint. Watching and Waiting. And fine company. At the 3Elements Review.

New joint indeed. And most thankful we are to the Mikaela Shae Fowler and crew for running with our newest New York piece in the quite excellent Winter 2014 issue of the 3Elements Review. Excerpt? Word.

"Things may be destroyed, the past drowned 
and forgotten, and time may fitfully march on as it always does, but nothing ever really quite changes. Thirsty’s still serves beer, the Susquehanna River still flows, and you are here by the window, watching, waiting, wondering how you got here at all.

Not leaving home, you get that, you never liked to leave home, but to be alone again, and unable to bear the isolation, that’s different, new. Before you had a taste of
companionship you didn’t even know you wanted it, but now that it’s gone, you need more of it to make this feeling stop.
 
It would help if one of the workmen would come to your door again. Though not just any of the workmen, because they’re not all indistinguishable, are they? No, there is one
that’s distinct. There is the crooked nose, and the hair on his knuckles, thick and alive. You saw it the one time he came to the door and asked to use the phone."

"Tanzer brings his unique voice to the science fiction genre and the results are great." Orphans gets some Amazon love. And likes it. A lot.

Truth. And big thanks to Giano Cromley for that. Drinks too. Many. Soon. Excerpt? Word.

"The future in Orphans is dark, so don't be fooled when I tell you this novel is also really funny. Ultimately, though, we see the cost exacted when people are put in positions where they'll do whatever it takes to make a better life for their families."