Thursday, December 19, 2019

Book Review: November Road, by Lou Berney

While watching Martin Scorcese’s 15-hour epic The Irishman, I kept wishing that I was watching the (as-yet-unmade) film of Lou Berney’s November Road. The two stories share the setting and macho posturing of 1960s-era mafiosos, but Berney’s story is far more personal and engaging. The story unwinds in the immediate aftermath of the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, 1963. We come to understand that our protagonist was a small cog in the wheels of the mafia machine that killed the president, and he himself is only beginning to understand what he has been a part of. When he realizes that everyone involved is getting whacked, he has to get out of town fast. With a killer on his tail, he stumbles upon a young divorcĂ©e and her two little girls. First he ingratiates himself, then he starts falling in love. The little family is a perfect cover for him--but he’s putting everyone at risk just by sticking around. If they can get to JFK, they can certainly get to him.
An old friend, Dave Medicus, puts out a fantastic podcast about books, The Inside Flap. Here's the episode where he interviews Lou Berney and finds out what the biggest rush of the author's life has been. (It has something to do with Stephen King.)

Saturday, December 14, 2019

2019 Publications Round-up

In 2019, I received 96 rejections from literary magazines. These eight stories were accepted:

  1. Always Running (Stain'd)
  2. Cities of the Future (Suspect Press)
  3. Satellite Presence (Retreat West)
  4. Running Bear (F(r)iction)
  5. Circle of Blazers (Chaleur)
  6. Cloudscape (The Ghost Story)
  7. Love and Death Under the Rain (Red Rock Review)
  8. Little Paw (Infinite Worlds)
While I'm proud of all these publications, I'm not really sure what the point is in continually polishing my work and sending it out into the world. Despite eight successes, I'm still wearing the same shirts and driving the same car and going to bed at the same time every night. Rejection hasn't wrecked me, but acceptance hasn't affected me much, either. Some of the above publications are beautiful to hold in my hands--F(r)iction in particular is a gorgeous magazine--and I'm honored to have my work find a place in all their pages. And yet--so what? A few people, here and there, have presumably read my stories, but their reactions are unknown to me beyond a few thumbs-up on social media. Do they make it through to the last line? Do their eyes go still as they make some inner connection? Or do they skim a few paragraphs and move on? 

But it's worth remembering that I'm not really writing for that unknowable audience. I'm writing for a few close friends, and for myself, and I'd keep doing it even if I never get another acceptance. Although it would be nice to be able to splurge on some new shirts at some point. Bring it on, 2020.