Monday, February 23, 2026

Quitting for a good reason

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I've said I was quitting a million times, including twice recently. I wouldn't keep doing this fake-out, except I think when I disap...
Friday, February 13, 2026

Something there is that doesn't love a pressure-treated privacy fence: "Time of the Preacher" by Bret Anthony Johnston (Best American Short Stories 2025)

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When people who haven't been trained in literary analysis read the criticism of those who have, I imagine they often think the "pro...
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Monday, February 9, 2026

A journal isn't an after-action report: "Gray, Cotton, White Lace Edges" by Isabelle Fang (Best American Short Stories 2025)

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As I write this in early February 2026, I'm not quite sure how I got to where I am. A year ago, I was a senior North Korea expert at the...
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Thursday, January 29, 2026

I think I go back to San Juan: "Maritza and Carmen" by Lyn Di Iorio (Best American Short Stories 2025)

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Donald Trump does so many outrageous things, it's hard to remember the once-unthinkable thing he or his administration did last week let...
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Sunday, January 25, 2026

Life wish, death wish, red fish, blue fish: "Unfathomably Deep" by Sophie Madeline Dess (BASS 2025)

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This must be that thing that happens once a year in blogging through a short story anthology where I have to pause to remark on how the stor...
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Sunday, January 18, 2026

Anything can go wrong, but it doesn't: "Abject Naturalism" by Sarah Braunstein (Best American Short Stories 2025)

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A lot of story titles try to sneak in unassumingly and maybe even make you forget about them by page three. They also make an effort not to ...
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Friday, January 9, 2026

My novel based on my career at the National Security Agency is now available--guaranteed to be one of the two best NSA novels by a former employee ever!

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Do you get it? Because there have only been two.  I’ve decided to go ahead and self-publish my NSA novel , the one I’ve been trying to get p...
1 comment: