Ben East Books

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  • The Halloween Hundred

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    Ben East
    in

    Dragons Are Dangerous Mulridge interrogated the boy, chilled by his flat voice and steady hands. Twenty years in police psychiatry, he’d never met so cold a child. “You’re a knight?” Mulridge said. “Is that dragon blood on your costume?” “I’m a knight. Knights kill dragons.” “Did you know the dragon you killed was your brother?”…

  • Writers at Rest

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    Ben East
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    Taking a break from producing fiction? A couple of reads that offer ridiculous, pathetic, sad, witty, funny–fun–looks at the fiction-writer’s life include The Visiting Writer, a short story from Matthew Vollmer’s collection Gateway to Paradise, and Chris Belden’s novel, Shriver. The Visiting Writer delivers us into the world of literary aspiration, a lament on the lack of success, a self examination,…

  • Review: Shriver

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    Ben East
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    Chris Belden’s Shriver might be called a book about a novelist who wrote a book called Goat Time which everybody seems to enjoy but nobody seems to have read, at least not entirely, including not the author Shriver himself. Add to this nonsensical loop a few day’s worth of swarming mosquitoes, a crate or two…

  • Wattpad: Library, Roller Rink, or Click Farm?

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    Ben East
    in

    Ok, it’s time I got this outta the way. I’ve put off posting my thoughts about Wattpad because I prefer the positive when it comes to writing. But what positive thing is there to say about Wattpad? Well, there’s this: Wattpad is like the local library combined with a 70’s roller rink. The core concept is cerebral, but the net result is…

  • One Dead Cop: the Wattpad Experiment

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    Ben East
    in

    My Wattpad experiment comes to an end. I’ll publish my conclusions next week. For now, here is the rest of One Dead Cop. Pick up where you left off below, or read from Part I. 4 Palm Massacre Darko’s voice comes hushed and urgent over the phone. I have something for you. An accident? Fitch…

  • Time to Write

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    Ben East
    in

    Blog entries about writing I enjoy most treat the craft as work. Those I enjoy least lament a thing called writer’s block. For all those writers who suffer some form of blockage, I submit this photo from 2007. This neurotic-looking ledger of hours and minutes was my go-to mechanism for avoiding “the block.” I used it…

  • New Fiction @Revolution John

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    Ben East
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    Thanks to Sam Slaughter for posting my latest fiction at Revolution John. Warm yourself up with this  excerpt, then head on over and read the whole thing, a romp through patriotism, office life, and federal worker morale in the face of congressional dysfunction. In God We Trust (excerpt) Towards the head of the table Howard Graves…

  • Hands Off My Free Speech (Round II)

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    Ben East
    in

    A very important American institution has come under attack. I’m not talking about those resonating pillars of freedom enshrined in the Bill of Rights, the First and Second Amendments. I’m not talking about the Bill of Rights or the Constitution at all. This American institution is far more sacred than any of that. This American institution gave us…

  • Fresh Air

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    Ben East
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    Cab comes at five. Next post from Bolivia and the fresh Andean air. Judging by the clock on their legislative palace, I’ll be older when I get there and younger when I leave.

  • Winning Big at the County Fair

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    Ben East
    in

    I could do without the county fair. I don’t like crowds. I’d rather not stand in line for pricey food known to cause obesity and heart attacks. I don’t care for the “Twirling Tots” act on center stage advertising just how little talent exists at the local dance school, and I think Mutts Gone Nutts…