The Substack Rushes In
Kicking off this thing.
The most important advice I’ve ever received probably came from a tweet or an offhanded comment somewhere. It’s not novel, lots of people are likely credited for saying it in one way or another, but it’s something I need to remind myself every time I sit down at the computer or pull out my notebook: Write the stories you want to read.1
So lately, I’ve been trying something new. I’ve been working on a micro-story collection about me. Largely, about the place I grew up (in Pinellas County, Florida), with anecdotes from my life or from local history (like how St. Petersburg was named from a coin toss, or the story of the widow Mary Hardy Reeser, who spontaneously combusted in her St. Pete home in the 50s).
Maybe these are only interesting or entertaining to me, but I decided not to let that stop me from shoveling it all into a document and seeing what turns up.
Here’s one:
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSING
People are surprised by how many cowboys there are in Florida. Drive a few miles inland, and there they are, lassoing livestock and tipping their ten-gallon hats. Just like out West.
Once, I jumped over a wall while trespassing at a hotel swimming pool and landed directly onto a large cactus. It stung badly.
Yeehaw.
I haven’t lived in Florida in many years, but I still enjoy writing about it. I still find it a bit of a muse for me. It takes a long time to see a place for what it is, to really see a place. Sometimes, you need to have left it for a long time. I’ve only just recently started writing stories I like set in the DC area, even though I’ve lived here for almost a decade now.
In a LitHub interview, Joy Williams said, “Perhaps more should have [writer’s block].”2 Brutal, probably true. Felt a bit like she was telling me to shut up!
Nevertheless, I’m trying to have less writer’s block, so you’ll periodically see me send out these Substack email blasts to keep you up-to-date on my writing and, in another sense, to keep in touch. Social media is all over the place these days, and I’ve always enjoyed the direct interaction of other writers’ newsletters.
Thanks for reading.
Below you’ll find a few updates on my writing, reading, and other bits that may be entertaining or relevant:
1. Some (somewhat) recent and forthcoming publications
In July, the folks at Roi Fainéant Press published my story “Day of Connection.” It’s a bit of a love story set toward the end of the world, with two people attempting to rekindle the sparks of their relationship as the continents shift back into a Pangea-like state. It’s a fun little piece. You can read it here.
This fall, I should have a couple stories coming out in a couple of journals (will send an update, if you’re interested in reading them).
I was interviewed for a podcast that may also come out later on this year. I read from a chapter of Deliver Thy Pigs.
2. Some bits that stood out from books I read this summer
Story number 66 in Joy Williams’s brilliant and hilarious micro collection, Concerning the Future of Souls, which reads, “What do the rich have to look forward to after death? Nothing! - So There.”
The ending scene in Percival Everett’s Western satire God’s Country where (spoiler alert for the 30-year-old novel) Bubba, after being shot six times by the absolutely incompetent and horrible protagonist, says, “ ‘I ain’t got enough interest in you to kill you … And you or somebody what looks like you or thinks like you or is you will find me and you’ll burn me out, shoot me or maybe lynch me. But you know something? You cain’t kill me.’ I watched him ride away.”
The entirety of Don DeLillo’s Libra, which I only read for the first time last month.
The story in Amber Sparks’s And I Do Not Forgive You, where the protagonist’s husband grows wings but doesn’t notice or care. So she grows them herself and flies away.
The titular story in Spencer Fleury’s I Blame Myself but Also You, not only because it’s great, but because it mentions U.S. 19, a road from St. Pete, Florida, that is so terrible it has no business being in any literary work (other than Fleury’s, of course).
3. Some photographs I’ve been taking
I’ve been getting into photography lately. I recently got a Canon Rebel T6 that was used but in great shape. I know little about good photography, but I do enjoy it as an activity. I’m largely becoming a guy who likes to simply look at stuff. It’s my preferred hobby, actually. There’s something so human about looking at stuff. Going to museums, the mountains, the ocean, birding, taking a walk, going to the movies. Grabbing my camera is a great excuse to go outside and look at stuff.
Interspersed in this email, you’ll find some photographs I’ve taken lately. Specifically, I’ve been photographing Alexandria, Virginia (largely Old Town, where the office I partially work from is located). It’s a pretty place. The weather’s been nice. A good excuse to get outside and look at stuff.
A quick plug
If you’re interested in reading stuff I’ve done, check out my novel Deliver Thy Pigs, which was released over two years ago now by Malarkey Books. That, and more of my stories, can be found at www.joeyhedger.com.
Toni Morrison said, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” Which is clearly a much better way of saying that.
https://lithub.com/maybe-more-people-should-have-writers-block-in-which-joy-williams-responds-to-our-questions-via-typewriter/