A nice evening. I taught Grant's accountability class for him, and this is the first time that the technology of hosting his Zoom group has gone perfectly smoothly. I'm also getting to know the other participants and I like them a lot. 

​When class was over I opened my email to an acceptance from Roi Fainéant Press of "Petey's Own Personal Jesus." I don't publish all that many short stories; this will be my first in 2024. I loved writing the dialogue in this one.

I also have a forthcoming reprint of "Doppler Effect" in a really cool anthology curated by Amy Marques, who embeds each piece in print/painted collages. Not sure when DUETS REDUX is coming out, but I already had a peek at my page and it's beautiful. I love the first DUETS and the collages she has published online.

Twitter/X changed its algorithms again and writers are complaining that they can't find their content. UK flash writer Matt Kendrick suggested that flash writers should flood the site with their favorite flash, labeling their posts #flashyfaves and it's been a lot of fun reading them. I was really gratified to find a couple of mine in the rapidly growing list. Jupiter Jones recommended "(Parenthetical Asides)"; Kathy Fish recommended "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"; and Will Woolfitt, who teaches at Lee University, said that he's teaching that one, along with several others by great flash writers, in his class. I'm honored. I haven't been writing much flash, absorbed as I am in assembling THE LUNATICS' BALL, and it's encouraging to hear that other writers like and remember my work. Grant Faulkner also added "Little Darling" to the mix in his Facebook comment.

Addendum: And Tommy Dean recommended "The Madwoman on BART" as one of his #flashyfaves. Doubly pleased because "(Parenthetical Asides")" and "The Madwoman on BART" are both part of THE LUNATICS' BALL.

Big thanks to Renee Rettig, proprietor of Books on B, for throwing such a great book launch, reading and q&a, and 65th birthday party for Steve. It was a blast and I have way too many photos to share here, but still not of everyone. And since I couldn't find a good one of Renee, I snapped one in the bookstore yesterday. I'll start with that, and the Tres Leches cake (somehow didn't manage a photo of the great Mexican food), and the temporary tattoos Renee surprised us with. She also surprised us with music, a playlist she solicited from our son Ben in Vietnam.

Today is Steve's 65th birthday (we're going to eat on the patio at The Wolf in Oakland, first time we've tried it) and Sunday we'll celebrate his birthday and his brand new novella CAPTAIN CHICANO DRAWS A LINE IN THE AMERICAN SAND at our favorite indie bookstore, Books on B in Hayward. Order on Amazon or from the University of Tampa Press. The launch party and reading at the bookstore is free but you need a ticket and it has already sold out! We haven't had a party this big for over ten years (when we had a DJ and catered barbecue and tons of people at our house for Steve's "almost 50" 49th birthday). Luckily the wonderful Renée Rettig at Books on B seems to have plans well in hand. The book dropped August 15 and his copies have arrived and they've arrived in the bookstore. So that's major.