Well friends, it’s that time of year again. The end of the year, that is. Or the start of a new one. Whichever you prefer, approximately.
Regardless, I wanted to take a quick look back on some things I’ve published this year, as well as some things I’ve read or otherwise enjoyed, in hopes that you might take some enjoyment out of them, in part or whole. Or not at all, whatever the case may be.
This year, I found that the bulk of what I managed to write and find homes for, in the creative realm, were short pieces of creative non-fiction, with a rock n roll bent. But a few pieces of fiction, including a selection from my perennial work-in-progress “Coach of the Year,” managed to find homes. Here they are:
Like You’re on Vacation - Red Rez
Soo-soo go bye bye - It Came from the Swamp! anthology
One of a Kind Warlock - SVJ Dispatches
Dad’s day at the local zoo - Adam Jeffrey Jr. Monthly
Hush, little babies… - Death of Print
Wasted Years - Flyover Country
Bug Club is my Business… - Bullshit Lit
Never Better - Cowboy Jamboree
Rainbow in the Dark - Hellarkey zine
Two pieces came out in the Hobart Expanded Universe, while three came out in connection with Malarkey Books-related projects. Thank you kindly to all involved, behind the scenes, and anyone who’s shared or read them over the past 12 months.
Now, onto other matters. As to reading, I did plenty this year. I sent out a round-up following summer and fall, but overall there were quite a few books I dug. For the Winnipeg Free Press, I pumped up Bud Smith’s Teenager as my fiction pick of the year. And while I really dug Teenager, along with a lot of other reads new to the world (like the one-two punch of McCarthy’s The Passenger and Stella Maris, duh!) and new to me, I’d have to say my favourite of the year was Jon Berger’s Goon Dog. Just a great voice, great stories, lotta promise in this Michigan dude’s writing. Check it out!
As for tunes, boy, it was a good year for music. Loved those records from Plains, Jesus H. Chris, Wild Pink, American Aquarium, and Friendship. Enjoyed the albums from S.G. Goodman, 2nd Grade, Drive-By Truckers and Alvvays fair enough, too. But MJ Lenderman’s Boat Songs takes the cake for me.
Tweet of the year? Always hard to say. There been some good ones…
But for my vanity alone, this one from the Michigan bad-boy himself takes top cheeze:
Anyways, I hope you’re all doing just fine and that 2023 is even better for ya, wherever you are out there. Thanks for reading along. As the year goes on, I’ll begin humbly hounding you more and more to either purchase a copy of Where the Pavement Turns to Sand, requesting it at your local library/bookstore/etc, or ordering copies for all your friends/relations/enemies. I promise to try not to lay it on too thick, but there’s no guarantees I won’t cross that line. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, eh? Too right we will. Happy new year!