I walk slow and careful through the dark rainy morning to keep my socks dry. The traffic splashes past the bus stop on the soaked street. Not all the kids have an umbrella. I stand under my umbrella, keeping dry, except my backpack. I dread wet feet all day. The yellow bus with the flashing … Continue reading watch out for puddles
Fiction
Ben’s Franklins
Micro-fiction channeling moments of truth. Walking the forests of the Shenandoah National Park last week, I thought about how I'd pass the days and weeks and months as a thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail. One exercise I settled on for keeping sane step after step was to craft a 100-word story each day out there. … Continue reading Ben’s Franklins
A Novel Coronavirus Novel
Will sustained isolation lead to a baby boom or a novel boom? Long before COVID-19, the most recent novel coronavirus to come along, I’d toyed with the idea of writing a novel called A Novel. As is usually the case in the life of a novelist, however, I ran into a few problems right off … Continue reading A Novel Coronavirus Novel
COVID, or Covfefe?
Covfefe is the sound of an old man choking on his attempt to say "COVID" While forced isolation has us looking for ways to pass the time at home, I look for something meaningful to read and settle on Poe. The meandering path of my literary pursuit began this morning with Book Fight!, a Podcast … Continue reading COVID, or Covfefe?
About Mohamed
Every year this time my thoughts turn to Mohamed (his story is here). I had reason to conjure his story this fall and found the image below. Pictured is the American Library, Kabul, circa 1958. Is this the building where Mohamed learned to love the United States? Where he read American authors and watched American movies? … Continue reading About Mohamed
Publication vs Glory
When I feel lonely in my writing I turn for companionship to John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction. The title provides added comfort, referring to Gardner's concise review of our trade as “Notes on Craft for Young Writers," implying that those who should benefit from it—and I benefit from it every time I open it up—are … Continue reading Publication vs Glory
Cube Farm
BOGIE, or Why I Wrote Patchworks My second novel addresses gun violence in America. It didn’t start out that way. Patchworks' protagonist, a millennial grad student interning for peanuts within a government bureaucracy, didn’t appear until several months into writing. And, angry as I felt to see America shredded over and over again by episodes of massive … Continue reading Cube Farm
Again
While we sit idly by No longer dumbfounded Just dumb Numb Gunman kills 7 in a rampage that started with a West Texas traffic stop
April Reboot
If white rabbits and colored eggs can symbolize Christianity’s holiest day, then why not boots? I’m in reboot mode after considerable turmoil to my writing framework. Turmoil here isn’t used in the negative. Jesus Christ Himself (Jesus H. Christ, to some) achieved his greatest miracle on waves of enormous turmoil. Turmoil forces us to react, … Continue reading April Reboot
Mail Call—Trump-Sized Satire
Oh happy day! New books arrived for review, including one unexpected. Thanks to a tip from writing coach, author, and blogger Marylee MacDonald and literary website Dactyl Review I find myself in possession of not one but TWO books courtesy of author U.R. Bowie. The first looks like a novel of the most ridiculous order for … Continue reading Mail Call—Trump-Sized Satire
Ben East Books 