May 14, 2004:
Another semester winds down. I’m just recovering from the flu, my body’s way of telling me that I pushed too hard over the past few months. Happily, the Editors’ Roundtable at UNH went really well, as did the workshop of my first screenplay (many thanks to the Chesterfield fellows) and so I’ve been able to hack, cough, shiver, and sweat without any work related anxiety to heighten my misery. Ahead is the promise of a luxurious summer. Nothing but writing screenplays, short stories, and drinking Negra Modelo.

The most important part of any summer, however, is the Tour de France. Like last year, it promises to be an awesome race. I predict Jan Ulrich won’t do as well as last year, and Joseba Beloki will suffer even if he avoids crashing out. He’s had a bad year and isn’t over his wreck in last year’s Tour. Tyler Hamilton is looking good and I look to him and Iban Mayo to kick ass. As for Lance, this whole divorce/Cheryl Crowe thing has me worried. Yeah, he’s the Man and recently won the Tour of Georgia, but I have reservations, especially given that his team lost Roberto Heras and Ekimov is now, like, 900 years old. I’m hoping that Lance wins in a squeaker with Tyler and Iban close by. Look for Mayo to win some big mountain stages. The racer with the coolest name will be Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano! Rolls right off the tongue. Igor is a name you don’t see much these days. I think the Spanish have a lock on the best names (especially the Basques): Aitor Gonzales (don’t forget to add a Castillian lisp to the “s” sounds), David and Unai Etxebarria (etch-teh-BAR-eeaahhh!), I'96igo Landaluze, and Haimar Zubeldia. There’s an Italian guy in this year’s Giro d’Italia named Crescenzo D’Amore. I’m not sure what that means, but I can guess that his parents were inspired by something that happened between the sheets.

The news: First, a correction. Chelsea Cain’s forthcoming book is “Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, ” NOT “Diary of a Teen Sleuth” and it is a faux memoir. I guess 'confessions’ is juicier than 'diary’ and I apologize to any potential readers who were put off by this grievous error. In my defense I can only say that all of the money Chelsea took from me in two years of poker resulted in a beat-down from a loan shark and the lasting effect is, sadly, a dented head and impaired memory. Thanks for the memories, Miz Cain.

Book recommendations: John McNally’s “The Book of Ralph” tops my list, followed closely by Stuart Dybek’s “I Sailed with Magellan. ” Brett Block’s “The Grave of God’s Daughter” is also very good-it has the feel of a 1940s-era Brother’s Grimm tale. I’m rereading John Nichols’ “The Milagro Beanfield War, ” which is making me homesick for Santa Fe and good red chile. James McManus’ “Positively Fifth Street” was also good read (nonfiction). It chronicles McManus’ experience at the World Poker Championships. Had I read this years ago I might not have sold my spare kidney to finance Chelsea’s winnings. The best article of the past month comes from the New York Times on May 3, in which they revealed that the Tennessee-based company Cracker Barrel is being sued for racist seating/serving policies at its restaurants. Nice. Other fascinating news from the Times: Gambian giant pouched rats are being used to sniff out landmines-apparently they’re better than dogs or metal detectors and the tame ones make good pets. The wild ones are savage, though. So be careful if you’re thinking, “Man, that’s the pet for me! ” They’re up to 30 inches long, so an ornery one could probably eat your cat or small cousin.

The advance reader’s copies of “In the Shadows of the Sun” are scheduled for late June/early July. If any of you discerning readers know (or are) reviewers, drop me a note and I’ll try and get you a signed collector’s item that will double as a great attic insulator or rolling paper for those of you with hardy lungs (ahh, bond paper!). An excerpt from the novel is forthcoming in the Mid-American Review sometime next fall.

April 12, 2004
Yeah, yeah, long time since the last entry. I still haven’t figured out this uploading pages thing.

The news: The 2004 AWP Conference in Chicago was a blast. Saw Lorrie Moore, Robert Boswell, Jane Hamilton, and Stuart Dybek read, as well as mini-readings (two minutes!) by Steven Schwartz, Antonya Nelson, Andrea Barrett, and Mc McIlvoy. A literary sampler! Also ran into a lot of old friends from New Mexico State, Iowa, and Austin. For the record, AWP is about a billion times more fun than MLA. People still wear a lot of black, but there’s very little tweed and a lot of exuberant drinking. It’s like a massive house party that lasts for four days and features all of the cultured drunks you could imagine being around. Okay, maybe not drunks, but drinkers. Plus you get to go to great talks and readings and meet editors from all of the literary magazines that regularly reject you. Or so I’ve heard.

I also read in Austin for UT’s Zero-to-Sixty young writers reading series on April 1. The Harry Ransom Center is one of the most amazing spaces I’ve read in. To start, they have a Guggenheim Bible on permanent display in the anteroom. Yeah, a real one. An actual tome. It looked even cooler than The Necronomicon in “Army of Darkness,” which is itself pretty impressive. Also, the glass facing of the building is stenciled with the signatures of the authors whose collections the Center holds. Beautiful place. Many thanks to all of my friends and former students who came—it was a perfect homecoming.

In terms of news among the literary folk, I’ve learned that my friend Chelsea Cain, who steadily took money from me for two years in an ongoing poker game in Iowa City (she was so confident of my ineptitude that she budgeted her winnings ahead of time), is publishing a new book with Bloomsbury, “Diary of a Teenage Sleuth.” It’s a mock diary by Nancy Drew that includes, in Chelsea’s words, “a torrid affair with Frank Hardy.” Brett Block’s novel, “The Grave of God’s Daughter” is out in stores everywhere, and John McNally, the Tasmanian Devil of literary readers is still on tour—check out www.bookofralph.com for more news. Fellow Texan author Mylène Dressler is also touring for her book “The Floodmakers.” You can find more info on her site, www.mylenedressler.com.

Finally, the first bound manuscripts of “In the Shadows of the Sun” just arrived. It’s pretty cool to see tangible evidence of so much work, even with the typos. Ahh, validation.

March 8, 2004:
Robert Bly's reading at UNH tonight at 6pm in Murkland Auditorium (I know, the name brings to mind a dark, swampy expanse). Mr. Iron John! I'm not bringing any drums, but I am looking forward to the poetry. Charlie Simic will introduce him, likely in his offhandedly brilliant and inimitable manner. Can't wait. This year we also had Susan Orlean to campus; next year we're hoping for Russell Banks, among others.

March 5, 2004:
Tony Hoagland is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry! Other big news includes the release of John McNally's newest book, The Book of Ralph, which opens with a story entitled “The Vomitorium.” How can you not run out and grab a copy? How can you resist your morbid curiosity regarding a term used for a room dedicated solely to upchucking? And McNally's a good writer-funny as hell. Equally cool is the fact that Brett Block's latest, The Grave of God's Daughter. She won the Drue Heinz Award for her book of short stories, Destination Known, and this latest novel promises to be even better. Charlotte Bacon's third book, There Is Room for You, is just out from FSG. It's beautifully written. If you love vivid prose and India, this is just the thing. Finally, poet D.A. Powell is out and about promoting his newest volume of poems, Cocktails. He'll be crisscrossing the country, so don't miss a chance to hear him, especially when he reads with Super Poetesses Rachel Zucker and Matthea Harvey. Go to The Graywolf Press News site and you can find a reading schedule for Msrs. Powell and Hoagland.

And good fortune continues to shine. John Greenman was nominated for a 2004 Pushcart Prize for his story “The Cowboy Poet” in issue 15 of American Letters & Commentary. My story “Thunderbird” was also nominated. It appeared in the March 2003 volume of The Mid-American Review.

January 4, 2004:
Touchdown in Lala-land.
As I drove into LA at 11pm all of the footage of natural disasters I'd ever seen aired on the news flashed behind my eyes. This is where it happens, baby! Forget the Industry—the real drama is in earthquakes, mudslides, raging fires, race riots, and der Gröpenfuhrer. I don't know why I bother to write fiction; all I need is a video camera.

December 3, 2003:
2004 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
Surprising phone call from Amy Stolls at the NEA, who was very nice and convinced me that, no, she hadn't made a mistake or read from the wrong list. Judges included Ron Carlson, Bob Schacochis, Brett Lott, Diana Abu-Jaber, Tony Doerr, Kwadwo Agymah Ka, Nora Okja Keller, Valerie Miner, Janet Peery, Ted Wojtasik, and Mark Richard. Two old classmates of mine from Iowa, Dao Strom and Julie Orringer, also won fellowships, which was cool. You should buy their books. Dao's is Grass Roof, Tin Roof (Mariner, 2003); Julie's is a collection of stories, How to Breathe Underwater (Knopf, 2003). I submitted the first part of In the Shadows of the Sun in the application.

November 10, 2003:
2004 Chesterfield Writer's Film Project Screenwriting Fellowship
Ed Rugoff at the Chesterfield Writer's Film Project wrote to offer a fellowship. I get to spend one year in Los Angeles working on two screenplays under the mentorship of a professional screenwriter and Paramount Films studio executive. Looks like it will be a lot of fun, plus I can get tan and work on my tennis game while everyone in New Hampshire gets colder and paler. I'm thinking there hasn't been a good zombie movie in a long time.