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- Jul 15, 2020
- 4 min
Like a Letter from a Friend
One of the joys of “Starting Out in the Evening” is the lovely interconnectedness of it—the integrity, if you will, of a story that...
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- Jul 8, 2020
- 3 min
Starting Out in the Evening
This week, a new book—Brian Morrison’s 1998 novel “Starting Out in the Evening.” I saw the film version of this novel first, in...
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- Jul 1, 2020
- 4 min
Text/Film
As I mentioned several posts back, I saw the film version of “The English Patient” before reading the book, an interesting phenomenon. It...
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- Jun 3, 2020
- 3 min
Tense Mood
Today, I want to write about how verb tenses are used in “The English Patient” to—(WTF? Sounds like a snooze-fest, pal. Maybe catch you...
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- May 27, 2020
- 3 min
Tell Me A Story
Last week, I identified two modes of narration in “The English Patient,” the (nearly) invisible narrator who tells the story of the four...
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- May 20, 2020
- 4 min
The English Patient
This week, a new novel, Michael Ondaatje’s “The English Patient.” In 1995 I was browsing in a bookstore in downtown Chicago and saw “The...
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- May 13, 2020
- 3 min
The Chastened Narrator
I have spoken at tedious length about the narrator’s voice in “Love in the Time of Cholera,” best beloved. (I’ve been wanting to write...
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- May 6, 2020
- 3 min
The Disappearance of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour
Before setting out once again on my discussion of “Love in the Time of Cholera,” I should probably issue, belatedly, a spoiler alert....
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- Apr 30, 2020
- 4 min
Holograms
Here’s that first line again—"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” The...
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- Apr 22, 2020
- 4 min
Who Is Speaking?
Here’s that first line again—"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” The...
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- Apr 15, 2020
- 4 min
Where and When
Here’s that first line again—"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.” The...
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- Apr 8, 2020
- 2 min
A New Project
I have decided to post more regularly on this site—it seems that The Fictional World of Alan Bray could contain fiction by other authors....
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- Aug 27, 2019
- 1 min
The Underground Emerges
I'm happy to say my short story "The Underground" was selected as a top ten finalist in the 2019 Blood Orange Review Literary Contest.
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- Apr 30, 2019
- 1 min
Starbucks A Semifinalist
My short story "This Year's Winner of the Starbuck's Prize" was a semi-finalist in Ruminate Magazine's William Van Dyke Short Story Prize.
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- Mar 16, 2019
- 1 min
The Porous Texture of Snow Long-listed
I'm honored that my short story "The Porous Texture of Snow" has been long-listed in the Fish Short Story Prize for 2019.
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- Oct 30, 2016
- 1 min
Already She Was Root Published in Eclectica
appy Halloween. My story "Already She Was Root" is live on the Eclectica site. The whole issue is great; many thanks to Tom Dooley and congr
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- Oct 16, 2016
- 1 min
"Refrain" Wins Honorable Mention in Glimmertrain's Fiction Open
My story "Refrain" has won Honorable Mention in Glimmertrain's Fiction Open Contest. I'm very happy, Glimmertrain is one of the top literary
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- Oct 14, 2016
- 1 min
Eclectica To Publish "Root"
I'm delighted to say that Eclectica, an on-line journal, will publish my story "Already She Was Root" on October 31st—Halloween.
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- May 11, 2016
- 1 min
Characters In Motion
tephanie Hopkins and IndieBrag have just posted a short piece of mine on the Layered Pages site. It concerns how I think about writing chara