Where to Start

Hey! It's almost AWP time, which means life has been all about getting prepped lately. ADP will be rocking table H3 with our friends, Curbside Splendor and Dogzplot. Stop by if you're there!

Ever want to read about the genesis of a book's publication? I wrote an essay about the process of Ben Tanzer's You Can Make Him Like You finding its home with ADP and me finding another brother in Mr. Tanzer. Read it at THE LIT PUB!

Writer/Editor/Artist, Nathan Holic writes about reading books while burping his newborn and talks about Prize Winners (as well as Ayiti and others). To be honest it's hard to tell if he liked the book or not. He definitely liked the physical size and feel of it. Some words used to describe the book: "light, fun, clever, new." An undergrad writing professor I had once told me the most insulting word that could be used to describe writing is "clever." So there's that! As a father, it's a fun account of trying to balance reading and new fatherhood. And even if the book wasn't quite what Nathan was looking for, I certainly appreciate the read and being a part of his new journey! READ IT HERE.

Also, I am super excited to mention that I recently finished my long-in-the-works homage to Pablo Neruda's The Captain's Verses titled, The Waiting Tide and very quickly on the heels of completing the collection it was picked up for publication by Curbside Splendor. February 2013 watch out!

So Much of Everything

Code for Failure has received its first review! The Next Best Book Club has given the book 4.5 stars saying, "...it's an ugly-duckling-turned-swan sort of story that exposes the darker human struggle - sex and drugs and all of the temptations in between - and our deeply ingrained need for companionship." CHECK OUT THE WHOLE REVIEW!

In other news:

Ben Tanzer is everywhere. Remember this, folks. Here's proof: a chapbook of essays, This American Life is now available for order. I designed the cover. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. GO GET YOURS.

And, because once you pop you can't stop, Dogzplot's got a special Ben Tanzer issue. I'm calling it a collective biography. GO READ.

Also, this is about a month away. Get excited. Or, ya know... don't, if you want to play it cool.



Infinite thanks to Lori Hettler at The Next Best Book Club for organizing the tour, and for liking the book enough to put in so much effort to help promote it! It's going to be a blast, so stay tuned for the details!

Speaking of Tattoos...

My wife surprised me on Valentine's Day with a tattoo of the ADP logo on her arm. She hid it from me for four days. Check it out:

CfF Pride/New Ink

Here are a few pictures of the tattoo I got yesterday:





Stoked to get John Dermot Woods' illustration on me permanently. Thanks to Steve Fuller at South Side Tattoo in Ashland, OR.

If you haven't already please check out Code for Failure: www.codeforfailure.com

We Left January Behind

I was reading b.l. pawelek's Ten Everywhere interview with the delightful Sarah Rose Etter, and really loved her answer to this question about her book Tongue Party, "What is your favorite line in this book and why?" Etter's response: "I don’t sit around too much thinking about good lines I’ve written. It’s sort of like in hockey when they say you shouldn’t stand around admiring your own pass because that’s when someone is going to slam you into the boards."

A very blue collar response and one I couldn't agree with more. Read the rest of the interview HERE.

Really not much going on right now. Been getting ADP's latest book ready for its release this month, and preparing for AWP. 2012 has started with my longest rejection streak ever. I'm totally ready for a writing win right now. The longer it goes the bigger the win I deserve, right? Yeah, probably not how it works.

Completely unrelated, I'm getting a new tattoo after work on Tuesday. Between the ages of 18 and 24 I got ten tattoos, but haven't had a chance to get any since. I'm stoked to finally be breaking the drought. And I'm looking forward to unveiling it here after I get it.

And, since its February (?!!) it must be time to remind everyone of the Valentine's Day Poem Project. Go HERE to learn more and sign up for this year's poem!