Thursday, March 27, 2014

5 questions about 5 stories

Hi all, I wanted to share this very short interview about my very short book. The part about my husband is not exaggerated. FIVE Qs 

I also wanted to remind folks in the San Antonio area that I'll be reading at the Library Performance Area at San Antonio College. I'll also have signed copies of my chapbook. More information can be found HERE.

I should be back to regular blogging about the oddities of life next week. Have a great weekend, ya'll, and I hope to meet up with some of you.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

My Writing Process: Blog Tour

My Writing Process Blog Tour


I was tagged by Gay Degani to post briefly on my writing process. This is a sort of floating interview. 

Gay is the author of  What Came Before and Pomegranate Stories. Gay's award-winning writing has appeared in numerous online and print journals. Not only is Gay's writing amazing, but so is her contribution to the literary landscape; she is the founder of EDF's Flash Fiction Chronicles, and she works as an editor at Smokelong Quarterly. Thanks for the tag, Gay. Read her responses here


The Q&A

What am I working on? 

I'm polishing my first novel and beginning a new one that stars a recurring character in my short stories, Rattle. This work has been slow-going, but I'm very excited about it. I was writing very short stories for a long time (such as those that appear in Don't Tease the Elephants), but lately I've found myself writing longer stories. We'll see what happens there.

How does my work differ from other work of its genre? 

My writing doesn't sparkle. I write about Ohio. I write about fictional people who would never write about themselves because they don't think anyone would care (characters I like to prove wrong). 

Why do I write what I do? 

My goal is to write simple, clear fiction that appeals to readers in a way that stays with them. I'm not sure I always achieve this, but the WHY of my writing is to satisfy a younger me and those like the younger me. I write for those unsure that anyone could ever relate for a variety of reasons, and I write what I write because I believe it matters. 

How does my writing process work?

I write when I can. Accordingly, I write on weekends and in between classes, and I write a little at a time. When the writing gods are smiling on me, I write full drafts of short stories in a single sitting, but this is rare. Usually, I tinker away at something until it makes sense, and this tends to take a long time.

So that's how I work. Now, to tag others... I choose JP Reese and Gessy Alvarez.


JP Reese is the author of two poetry collections: Final Notes and Dead Letters. Her poetry and fiction has been widely anthologized. A senior poetry editor for Connotation Press—An Online Artifact and a fiction guest editor for Scissors and Spackle, Reese has been nominated for Best of the Net, and she won the first Patricia McFarland Memorial Prize for her flash fiction. Reese lives and works in Texas.

Gessy Alvarez earned her MFA from Columbia University and taught fiction in the New York City public school system and at Columbia University Medical Center. She is an alum of the Voices at VONA Workshop and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She interviews and posts about her new publications at Digging Through the Fat.






Thursday, March 20, 2014

Don't Tease the Elephants


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J5HAT28

*UPDATE*
If you'd like to read it in e-form, it will be available exclusively this way on Amazon for a few months for only $2.99, click HERE.

If you want to read a sample, here's the link direct from the publisher: DON'T TEASE THE ELEPHANTS

If you'd like a signed copy, get in touch: JenKnox395@gmail.com

Spread the word! These are 5 of my favorite stories. I'm really proud of this one. 
Happy weekend, folks!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Elephants!


I was asked (in the corporate sense of the word) to work 16 hours overtime this week and possibly next week (job #1). It's putting me in a really strange headspace given the amount of work I do as a teacher and writer. I honestly didn't think I could be stretched thinner than I was. I won't say more about that now, but it does mean this post will be short. :-)

Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/conanobri452010.html#2d5wuehxQrIFweQH.99

Meanwhile, here's some really great news: My first fiction chapbook comes out Thursday. Yes, DON'T TEASE THE ELEPHANTS will soon live (in ink and paper)! Mad thanks to Nate Jordon and Monkey Puzzle Press. This small book will be a compilation of 5 of my favorite stories, 2 of which star Rattle. I'll post more soon.

As Conan O'Brien says (according to some quote site), "Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen."

Have a beautiful week!


Monday, March 3, 2014

Seattle


I returned to San Antonio from my trip to AWP on Saturday and got right back to work.

I miss Seattle. It has a certain vibrancy. I had amazing food. My husband and I ate at Etta's Seafood where I told the waitress I wanted to lick the plate, but there were too many people there. I was not lying. I almost licked it anyway, but I resisted. I am proud of this. I met up with my undergrad professor and friend, Shannon Lakanen, at the Whisky Bar and drank the best ginger cider (I can't handle whisky) of my life. We visited the original Starbucks, the Public Market, the Space Needle, and we walked the city until our feet felt as though they were about to fall off. I read as part of the Festival of Language at Rock Bottom and the Hot Pillow at the Roosevelt, which I partially hosted but all credit goes to Joani Reese. I ate conveyor belt sushi and gourmet cupcakes. I met up with brilliant writers, including Robert Vaughan, Len Kuntz, Mia Avramut, Meg Tuite, Aaron Dietz, Bud Smith, Sara Lippmann, Bonnie ZoBell, and Karen Stefano, Bill Yarrow, Jane L. Carman, Sam Snoek-Brown, Cynthia Atkins, Shaindel Beers, Christine Fadden, and so, so many more. I lived. I enjoyed.




Meg Tuite
Bill Yarrow

Joani and Len


We ate this....
...not that

Me with the glorious Heather Fowler


I did not sleep. I did not drink too much. I did not miss my plane, and I did not spend all my time nervous or gushing or networking. I did not stress out, and I did not get sick, and I did not hide out or get bored. I did not have the chance. I enjoyed the time I spent at the conference, but more, I enjoyed Seattle.

As I return to reality, I will take this experience with me. These writers give me confidence that what we all do alone, every day, is not done alone at all.

Chapbook release

"As our children walked in circles, their children shook their heads and made their way toward another life; new ghosts remained. And w...