Amber Sparks » Uncategorized

Great Video: Arcade Fire and Wisconsin Protests

Amber Sparks — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:52:16 +0000

I dare you not to be moved.

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Book bars! I want one.

Amber Sparks — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:15:39 +0000

Photo of the Library Bar from Styleture.com

When I was in L.A. for a brief visit I did not visit any of these bars, and now I am sad about that. Also, the Library Bar in L.A. looks like I picture my dream home–and is clearly much cooler than the old (now gone) Library Bar in Minneapolis, which had no books but lots of drunk frat guys and stupid Tonyas. They did have lots of dart boards, which was a minor plus. But no books.

Do you ever feel sometimes like writing is too much like a business where you don’t make any money but you run it like a business anyway, like a really poorly-run business?

Amber Sparks — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:55:37 +0000

How come there’s such pressure to publish a book? And you’re not a really serious writer unless you do? Would I be a serious writer if I never published a thing? What if I took my writing very seriously? How much time counts as taking writing seriously? Or is it about the subject matter? What if I only write once a week? What if I write in my head but not on paper? What if I wrote for free? What if I never wrote for free? (I’d never get published, that’s for sure.) Should you want people to see your stuff? Does that make you more or less of an artist? Is it about the process or the product? Are gifted writers artists or artisans? Or both? Who’s an amateur and who’s a professional in a professional/hobby/thing where you don’t make any money anyway?

Just thoughts I’ve been thinking since I started writing again, two years ago now. Just thoughts I’ve been thinking.

Why Halloween is the Best Holiday Ever

Amber Sparks — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:46:26 +0000

Costumes and beer and the zoo. That’s right. The zoo. Aren’t you jealous? Night of the Living Zoo, baby. Now I just have to figure out my costume.

The Angry Video Game Nerd’s Cinemassacre Monster Madness videos, every day in October. This year’s theme? Cult classics. Enjoy.

Movies. Some of my favorite movies are monster movies, particularly the old Universal Horror Classics from the 30s and 40s. Chris and I watch these throughout October, every year.

The Reason for My Brief Disappearance from the World

Amber Sparks — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:25:02 +0000

October 2003 – October 2010
Neela Backley
Known to her family and most of her admirers as “Pig”

She was our funny, friendly, pretty little girl, and her going has left a cat-sized cold black hole in our lives. She will always be loved. She will always be missed.

The Rusty, Glimmering Kind of Story

Amber Sparks — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:00:10 +0000

I love stories that don’t scream that there will be beauty. They don’t start with lovely scenery or soft prose or sweet, empty dialogue. They either punch you in the face with their raw brutality or ugliness, or they begin speaking like a college professor or the hundred year old guy that’s run the taxidermy shop forever and ever and you secretly suspect might be one of the immortals. But then the rust peels back a little, the or the dry fact deepens, the magic starts to flicker, and you see a little glimmer at the corner of the page or the screen or in the chase of words across the page. And you know you are reading a very, very good story indeed. The story hiding behind the mask; the story in the sackcloth or the donkeyskin. The best kind of story.

A few of these I’ve read recently:

The staff of what used to be the Mississippi Review Online has a new online endeavor, Rick Magazine. This story by Roxane Gay is in it and it is so good, especially the very last line. Ouch.

The whole latest issue of Harp & Altar is solid gold, but this piece from Susan Daitch stands out even among the standouts. Gorgeous and fact-packed and shiny-brassed as a magic lantern, and surprisingly moving, too.

This killer story by Evelyn Hampton is just one of many rusty glimmers in the wonderful new issue of Action Yes.

New Stories by Me, Many Talented Others, in kill author

Amber Sparks — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:47:01 +0000

Really good issue of >kill author just went up. I feel weird saying that, because I have a piece in there, but I have to say it because there are all these terrific poems and stories from all these amazing writers, like Roxane Gay, Matt Bell, David Peak, Robert Kloss, James Tadd Adcox, Kirsty Logan, Lydia Unsworth, and a bunch of others, too. I feel humbled to be in the presence of these greats, and in an issue named after Flannery O’Connor, no less!

Anyway, my story is called “What Happened to the Bishop’s Daughter.” You should check that out too–I like it quite a lot, actually. And that isn’t always the case with my stuff by the time it’s published. Here’s a little bit of it to tease you with:

She emerges like a running joke, pushes her hair over her eyes and brows, and tosses the white coat out the window. Jalle has to retrieve the thing every day, because the Bishop, you know, isn’t made of money. (The Bishop sometimes rolls his eyes heavenward and prays for his daughter to be struck by sense or, absent that, a little divine fire. A light, crisp tongue of vermillion flame, licking at her silly feet and her pert little bottom. The Bishop enjoys dreaming this holy retribution.)

The Digital Book Wars

Amber Sparks — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:38:48 +0000

Interesting article in the New Yorker on ebook pricing wars and Apple’s pricing strategy re: iBooks.

These Are Some Blogs I Like, I Like, These Are Some Blogs I Like

Amber Sparks — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:25:59 +0000

When I read something I really like, I usually look up the author online. I imagine most writers do this. Even if I’m familiar with the writer’s background, or work, I like to check out their website or blog to see how they’ve chosen to frame themselves. Sometimes, usually with women writers for whatever reason, I find no website at all. This, I have to tell you, is unacceptable to me. I come from a PR background and I’m not afraid to use it. I tell anyone I meet—are you selling something? Then get a goddamn website. It’s not hard to do. In fact, it can be free. And yes, if you are a writer you’re selling something. Even if it’s just an image. Even if it’s just access to your work. Even it’s just you. Please get a website, writers. It’s so sad when you don’t have a web presence. You’re not a mystery. You’re just… not there. (Feel free to argue with me on this point. You should probably know what I do for a living includes the words “new media.” If that helps you understand where I’m coming from.)

Often, the website or blog is basically just a showcase for the writer’s work. Often it’s static and rarely updated. And that’s fine. I have no problem with that, as long as there’s a list of what you’ve published and how to read that stuff or buy it. Sometimes it’s totally psychotic and unreadable and looks like the virtual scribblings of a madman. Which is fine, too, if that’s the image you’re into projecting. And seriously–I know some writers are into that.

But the sites I really like are writers’ blogs. Not just the blogs where writers post a link every time they have a new story up. Those are fine, too. Even better than the static kind mentioned above. But no, I’m talking about the blogs that are updated regularly, that are interesting, that are well-written and nicely designed and contain lots of information that I or other readers would really like to know. They promote other writers and their work, they tell funny stories, they sometimes put up pictures, they link to stuff they think is cool, they tell you all about upcoming readings and tours, and maybe they even tell you a little about themselves.

But. As I said, kind of, a lot of writers’ blogs are just boring. So I’ve never posted a big list of links to blogs of writers I like, because why do I want to direct you to a static website? I’m not gonna clutter up my page with stuff like that. If I like a writer’s stuff, I’ll tell you and link to it in a post (and I frequently do.)

But again. I’ve been thinking. And I’ve decided that because really good writers’ blogs are so relatively rare, I’d actually like to showcase the ones that I like. I do have a bunch that I check regularly and like very much, and so I’m going to start a little series where I direct you to the writers’ blogs I like best, maybe five or six at a time as so not to overwhelm you. And then maybe at the end of that series, I’ll post the links to those blogs. If I feel like it.

Sorry for the long, long intro. One more thing, though. If you or some other writer you know has a great blog I haven’t talked about, post the link in the comments or email me, and I’ll check it out. Okay. Enough talk. I’ll dive into the first installment now.

Roxane Gay

Roxane is fearless and hilarious and blogs about rejection (usually the writing kind, but not always.) Nothing is funnier than her stream-of-conscious blogs on pop culture, writing, her own life, and everything else under the sun. What you wouldn’t know from her blog: Roxane is one of the most talented, prolific and successful writers around. But she never brags that up on her very (okay, probably too) humble blog, which makes you sort of feel better about life and the fact that you kind of dig Lady Gaga’s new video and is that so wrong? It helps to read about the rejections she’s received, because you think, Well, crap. If Roxane Gay can get rejected from Snooty Publication X, I feel a little tiny bit better about being rejected from the same.

Matt Bell

Matt is one extremely talented writer. He’s also one of the most generous; more often than not his blog is showcasing another writer’s work that he admires. Matt’s a true and tireless promoter of others in the indie writing community, and you can tell his props are for real and are well-deserved. A guy as successful as Matt doesn’t need to spend all this time promoting others, and yet he does it because you can tell it’s really important to him. I’ve discovered a lot of great stuff that I’d never have read if it wasn’t for his blog. That’s huge to me.

Ethel Rohan

Ethel is also gigantically talented and prolific. (Are we seeing a pattern here? No surprise that talented writers write…well. Even on the intertubes.) She’s always more than willing to share everyone’s good news, and direct others to great stories, books and poetry. She’s like a cheerleader for writers–but way smarter and nicer than a real cheerleader. Just like with Matt’s blog, I’ve discovered some great stories and writers I never would have known otherwise. Ethel also does this thing where she writes about the effect stories have on her, in the most personal way. I love reading these, and the fact that Ethel is so willing to share her life and past with others.

Steve Himmer

Steve is editor of the highly eclectic Necessary Fiction, so it stands to reason that Steve himself is highly eclectic. His blog, which he calls his “notebook of interesting things,” is chock full of things that interest me, anyway. Science, nature, history, architecture, tall tales—you name it and Steve’s probably pulled something interesting out of the subject and stuck it on his blog. Did I mention Steve’s also a fabulous writer? Who also happens to write about many interesting subjects in stories? Yeah, well. He is and he does.

Michael Kimball

Not only is Michael the insanely amazing author of Dear Everybody and a lot of other things that rock, he will also write your life on a postcard. And post it on his blog. Plus, Michael sometimes writes about the things that are going on in Baltimore, which is an awesome city that happens to be very close to me and so I like to hear what’s happening in the writing scene there as if I were absorbing it through osmosis. Plus, Michael writes about a lot of other interesting writers and writings, and he knows what he’s talking about so I just follow along and nod, metaphorically speaking of course.
Mel Bosworth

Mel is a great writer and just as energetic as hell and that energy translates into his praise and promoting of others’ good work. When I read Mel’s blog posts, I’m not only going to check out whatever he tells me to check out, I’m going to go and get all excited about it, too. Also, Mel posted a video of Carvel Ice Cream Cakes a few days ago and I’m not gonna lie, this kinda sort pushed the blog over the top for me. Oh my god I want a Carvel Ice Cream Cake RIGHT NOW.

So, that’s it for the first installment. Look for the next one sometime soon. If your favorite blog didn’t make it, for Christ’s sake settle down, because it’s probably on my list to write about. I’m out. I’m gonna go eat some ice cream and try to ignore the dudes drilling through the floor in the apartment next to mine.

New Issues of The Collagist and PANK Online

Amber Sparks — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:30:11 +0000

In The Collagist:

new fiction by Tina May Hall, Alan Michael Parker, Gabe Durham, and Gabriel Blackwell, as well as a novel excerpt from Louis Paul Boon’s My Little War, which is out this month from Dalkey Archive Press, an essay from Jennifer S. Cheng, and poetry by Mary Jo Firth Gillett, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Emily Kendal Frey, and Doug Ramspeck.

In PANK, fiction from: Maureen Alsop, Andrew Borgstrom, Doug Paul Case, Mark Cunningham, Geordie deBoer, Sutherland Douglass, Dave Housley, Stephanie Johnson, Carolyn Kegel, Thomas Patrick Levy, Amy McDaniel, Carrie Murphy, Joseph Murphy, Alec Niedenthal, Ani Smith, Janey Smith