Refuge Audiobook

Refuge is now available as an audiobook, narrated by Jeffrey Kafer. Each book is available separately, but I'd suggest getting the full package: Refuge Omnibus Edition: Refuge 1 - 5, which clocks in at nearly 15 hours.

Speaking of audiobooks, The Serial Killer's Wife will soon be available for your listening pleasure. It's narrated by the fabulous Tanya Eby, who has narrated for the likes of Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen, and Nora Roberts. More details to follow.

Speaking of The Serial Killer's Wife, it finally reached its 100th review on Amazon (and, thankfully, it was 5 stars!). To celebrate, I'm giving away free digital copies of No Shelter until midnight tonight, so hurry and download now.

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New Hint Fiction Contest

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It's been almost five years since my essay "Hint Fiction: When Flash Fiction Becomes Just Too Flashy" was first published at Flash Fiction Chronicles. Since then Hint Fiction has really taken on a life of its own. Besides the anthology published by W. W. Norton four years ago, there's been an art show, a film contest, and even recently an anthology of Sri Lankan Hint Fiction. There have been three contests in the past -- judged by Stewart O'Nan, James Frey, and Joyce Carol Oates -- and this year I thought it was time to host another contest. What is Hint Fiction? It's a story of 25 words or fewer that suggests a larger, more complex story. Think of Hemingway's apocryphal six-word story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." It doesn't have a title, but those six words convey a punch. Not only that, they stand on their own. They're not the first line of a story, or a random sentence plucked from a longer story.

The reason I didn't host a contest the past two years is because the stories submitted in 2011 seemed rather ... formulaic. After all, there is only so much that can be done with a 25 word limit. Having said that, I have a faith that more can be done with the genre, that writers can think outside the box, so that's why I'm doing another contest.

This year's judge is the one and only Benjamin Percy. He is the author of two novels, Red Moon and The Wilding, as well as two books of stories, Refresh, Refresh and The Language of Elk. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writers' Award, the Plimpton Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics. His story "Impact" appeared in the Hint Fiction anthology.

The submission period will be from April 1 to April 30 at this website. You can submit up to two Hint Fiction stories (subscribers to my newsletter can submit up to three, those lucky sons of guns). After April 30th, a top 20 will be chosen and will be published online, where readers can vote for their favorites à la American Idol. Then from there a top 10 will be narrowed down, which will be sent to Benjamin Percy (please note that I hold veto power, so if a story I feel strongly about in the top 20 doesn't make the top 10, I may include it anyway).

The prizes are as follows:

  • 1st place $100, 2nd place $50, 3rd place $25.
  • All winners and runners up will receive signed copies of the Hint Fiction anthology, as well as signed copies of my very short fiction collection Phantom Energy.
  • Perera-Hussein Publishing House has generously donated copies of their Sri Lankan Hint Fiction anthology Short & Sweet to the winners and runners up as well.
  • Finally, the 1st place winner will also have his or her Hint Fiction story animated by Dustin Grella, who has animated a few Hint Fiction stories in the past (here and here and here).

There is no entry fee.

Still not sure what Hint Fiction is? It's strongly recommended you check out the anthology, which is still available in paperback. Also, Norton has kindly lowered the price of the ebook for a limited time, so you can purchase it for just $2.99 on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.

So check back here April 1st. In the meantime, have fun!

EDIT: The contest is currently open.

Missing You

Harlan Coben's latest novel, Missing You, is out today in the U.S. I was fortunate to receive an early copy. Unfortunately, I've been swamped with work and have only had a chance to read about half of the book so far, but it's just what you would expect from a Coben novel: witty, sardonic, fun, but with a mystery wrapped up in a riddle in a ... well, you know. It's a blast, and I can't wait to finish it. The thing I love most about Coben's books is the complexity of the plots. Missing You is no different. Just when you think you might have it figured out, Coben throws you a curveball. Pick it up today.

Nic Pizzolatto On Art

I don’t think art is about expression. I don’t think that’s its primary motive. The primary motivation is communion with your fellow human beings. So it’s very frustrating to make something and nobody notices it. If you put on a play and nobody comes to it, did you really put on a play? But you just keep going. You remind yourself that people have been doing this as long as there have been people. And your frustrations and disappointments are nothing new. And you go back to the wheel.

Read the rest of the interview with Nic Pizzolatto over at The Daily Beast (it's actually an older interview, but I just stumbled across it now). And pick up Pizzolatto's novel Galveston which is right now just $2.99 on Kindle.

Tomorrow is the season finale of True Detective. I'm psyched. Are you?