Just got home from the Morgantown, West Virginia area where I spoke to small group of writers last night. The drive there was hellish -- the weather was fine starting out but then, after an hour or so, it started to snow and things just went downhill from there. We were making somewhat good time until we got about 10 minutes away from our destination and then got stuck for about 40 minutes in a long pileup on the interstate because of an accident. But today on the way back? The weather was perfect and we had no problems whatsoever. Anyway, it was a good time, so thanks to Morgantown Poets for inviting me, especially those who braved the cold and ice to attend. I have a story featured today at Nanoism, which I believe is one of the best markets for Twitter-fiction. Here's how the story came about: when putting together the design for the anthology's cover, my editor asked me if I could try to write a story that had the words hint and fiction closer together. They weren't happy with the wording of the story already written, thinking those two words were too far apart. So I did, but the words were way too close together, and the designers went with a different wording, and there's today's special behind-the-scenes look at the making of the anthology. I did include the story, which I titled "Definition," in Eight Hints, which, until now, contained two unpublished hint fiction pieces. I actually have several left over and will be taking the rest with me to AWP, but since I love and appreciate all of you who read my blog, if you'd like a copy of your own, send me an e-mail at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com with your name and address by midnight Sunday EST and I'll drop one in the mail and you should (in theory) receive it in time for Christmas (it, like the anthology, makes a great stocking stuffer).
And speaking of Christmas, if you like SpongeBob SquarePants and Legos (because who doesn't?), then you'll love this:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLuK-QEOmcg