Short, Fast and Furry

As today is, apparently, Groundhog’s Day, I thought I’d write a little something to commemorate the holiday:

Once upon a time there was a groundhog. He woke up, bright and early, scurried his way outside of his tree trunk, poked his head around and was startled to see his own shadow. He turned to run back inside, waving his furry little ass in the air, but was immediately beaten to death with a shovel by the entire Northeast because fuck you, groundhog. Don’t you dare threaten six more weeks of winter. Seriously, fuck all this snow.

Thank you. Thankfully the actual Punxatawny Phil didn’t see his shadow and was thus spared a brutal end.

Speaking of writing that’s short, fast, and deadly, though, Short, Fast and Deadly has released their 2010 anthology, entitled Deadlier Than Thou. You can find it here in both dead tree and (free) magic digital formats. Edited by Joseph Quintela, the anthology features short, short fiction by JDP contributors Eirik Gumeny, Stephen Schwegler, Jack Frey, and Kenyon Ledford, as well as, like, a hundred other fine authors. OK, maybe fifty. It was early and we didn’t actually count.

And speaking of Ken Ledford, don’t forget that the February issue of Jersey Devil Press is now online. It came out last week, but that was technically January, so it’s only fair that we remind you again, now, in February. Which it is. What with that groundhog and everything.

Issue Seventeen now online!

There’s a thin line between love and hate, between friends and enemies, between helping someone and hurting them. And there’s an even thinner line between lust and a trip to the emergency room, between leaving a man behind and laying down cover fire while he makes his escape, between poetic license and an ill-conceived run-on sentence. And the line between wanting a hamburger and punching your buddy in the face? You need a microscope.

So, to honor that thin, poorly painted, hard-to-see line – the one that runs haphazard through your psyche, crosses a busy interstate and then doubles back on itself and jumps off a cliff, leaving you simultaneously sad, furious, horny and tired – we bring you issue seventeen of Jersey Devil Press.

First up is the based-on-a-true-story “The Monster at Baggage Carousel #3,” by Matthew Bey. Next it’s Carol Deminski’s tender “The Fortune Teller,” followed by Ken Ledford’s “Space Creature Versus Earth Creature.” Then we move onto the action-adventure part of our program with “Courting Aleksandra,” by Mark J. Reagan, and “Out of Sight, Out of Time,” by Timothy Miller.

Five magnificent stories presenting a grab bag of emotions, all guaranteed to be less straightforward than you’d think.

Read it online here, or download the .pdf here. As always, if a particular story tickles your fancy – or any other parts, for that matter – be sure to leave a comment, or share it on the social site of your choice, or buy the author a drink. Or all three. Trust me, they’re not gonna mind.

Something in the Night

I’m gonna go ahead and declare this National Mike Sweeney Week. He’s pulling double duty, sitting in at Our Band Could Be Your Lit and breaking in our Brilliant Disguise feature.

I look down the avenue to where the Palace used to stand, the one beyond which hemi-powered drones once famously screamed. I had my first date there. We played skee ball. Her name was even Wendy.

Now, Mike will be the first to tell you “Something in the Night” wasn’t 100% inspired by a single Springsteen lyric. But it’s rife with quotes and allusions to Jersey’s favorite son so we’re gonna take it. And, given this story about the Boss dropping in unannounced during a recent Asbury Show, it may very well hold some sway over the man himself. I know I wouldn’t doubt it. Sweeney’s just that good.

P.S. You should really send Ryan Werner a suggestion for OBCBYL while you’re in this musical state of mind. He’d love to hear from you.