SmokeLong News

Smoking With...Brant Goble

2008-11-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

Check out Stefanie Freele's interview with Brant Goble, ardent short fiction fan and founder of Loosey Goosey Press LLC (publisher of Gander Press Review).

Top Ten Page Views for October 2008

2008-11-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

October's Top Ten was absolutely dominated by content from the new issue. Almond and Bell were the only repeats from last month. And, if we look beyond the top ten, the next eight in page views were all from the October issue as well. Talk about a strong issue.

1. (NR) Two Minute Silence by Sarah Hilary (10/2/08)
2. (3) Pornography by Steve Almond (6/15/05)
3. (1) The Folk Singer Dreams of Time Machines by Matt Bell (6/15/08)
4. (NR) Innocence, Briefly by Jenny Arnold (10/2/08)
5. (NR) How Anything Got Done by Paul Elwork (10/2/08)
6. (NR) Asian Girl by W.P. Kinsella (10/2/08)
7. (NR) Tapioca O's by Natalie DeClerck (10/2/08)
8. (NR) Tenderoni by Kathy Fish (10/2/08)
9. (NR) Breathing Oysters by Stefanie Freele (10/2/08)
10. (NR) Campfire by Donna D. Vitucci (10/2/08)

Total page views for the month was... get this... 111,740! I'll be interested to see if the page views stay over 100,000 in months without a new issue going live. Here's hoping.

Submissions temporarily down

2008-11-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

To anyone who has tried to submit since October 30, you've probably noticed that you've gotten an error message. Our server was having issues on October 31 that took the whole site down, but got it fixed that same day. However, in getting the site back online, something went awry in the permissions on the database that houses submissions. We have a support ticket in with our hosting service, and have put in a payment to upgrade our hosting plan to include SQL Server, rather than just Microsoft Access, so that we can have a more robust submissions system in the future.

Thanks for your patience. We hope to have this fixed ASAMFP.

Edit: The permissions on the folder were set inccorectly when the servers were brought back online. Support has fixed this now and y'all can submit again!!! Thanks for your patience!

October Feature

2008-10-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

A discussion of the fear and self-loathing that stops writers from writing--and (maybe) some ways to overcome it. All this comes to you here, at To Write or Not To Write?.

stats for issue 21

2008-10-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm going to break out the stats for issue twenty-one two different ways since issue twenty-two was so late going live. I'll post one set of stats for what things would've looked like if 22 had come out on time and another set for when 22 actually went live.

Issue Twenty-One (live from 6/15/08-10/1/08)

6/15-6/30: 54343 page views
7/1-7/31: 87560 page views
8/1-8/31: 96892 page views
9/1-9/14: 38416 page views

9/15-10/1: 60385 page views
Total Issue 21 (through 9/14): 277211 page views
Total Issue 21 (through 10/1): 315627 page views

Even without the extra couple weeks, our birthday issue was clearly a monster: just through the 14th (when it should have finished its run), it broke the previous record for page views by 13.5%. And it seems clear that people were ready for that new issue to hit on the 15th, as the numbers at the end of the month were much higher than at the beginning of the month. I hope my inexcusable tardiness in getting 22 posted didn't cause us to lose readers. To all the writers in this issue, my deepest apologies. I'll do everything I can to make sure you're getting the kind of readership you deserve.

Top Ten Page Views for September 2008

2008-10-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well, Matt Bell owned the month of September, not only capturing the top spot with his most recent flash in SLQ, but also checking in at #8 for a flash published two years ago. You go, Matt!

1. (2) The Folk Singer Dreams of Time Machines by Matt Bell (6/15/08)
2. (5) This Is What You Left Behind by Tod Goldberg (3/15/07)
3. (9) Pornography by Steve Almond (6/15/05)
4. (8) Ten Very Short Stories by John Leary (3/15/07)
5. (NR) Feeling Sad by Darby Larson (6/15/08)
6. (4) Paper Mouse by Bob Arter (6/15/08)
7. (3) We Decided to Make Porn by Brian Allen Carr (6/15/08)
8. (NR) How the Broken Lead the Blind Until They Both Become Something Else Entirely by Matt Bell (6/15/06)
9. (10) The Bone Orchard by Randall Brown (6/15/08)
10. (NR) Handful of Dirt by Jim Ruland (6/15/08)

Total page views for the month? 96,057, another huge month. Woo!

Issue 22 is live

2008-10-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it's incredibly late (which is entirely my fault), but issue 21 is finally live! Check it out:

Issue Twenty-Two (October 2, 2008): Innocence, Briefly by Jenny Arnold «» Tapioca O's by Natalie DeClerck «» How Anything Got Done by Paul Elwork «» Tenderoni by Kathy Fish «» Breathing Oysters by Stefanie Freele «» The Mime's Dog by Steven Douglas Gullion «» Two Minute Silence by Sarah Hilary «» Constructing Birds by Jo Horsman «» Crazy Sun by Lauren Huckstadt «» One Night Out by Ashley Kaufman «» Asian Girl by W.P. Kinsella «» Fatback by Jeff Landon «» Bounty by Tricia Louvar «» Beautiful by Antonios Maltezos «» Private Room by M.E. Parker «» True Identity by Kevin Sampsell «» Campfire by Donna D. Vitucci «» Interviews: Jenny Arnold «» Paul Elwork «» Kathy Fish «» Stefanie Freele «» Steven Douglas Gullion «» Sarah Hilary «» Jo Horsman «» Ashley Kaufman «» Jeff Landon «» Tricia Louvar «» Antonios Maltezos «» M.E. Parker «» Kevin Sampsell «» Donna D. Vitucci «» Cover Art "November Leaves" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor

Smoking with..the newest SLQ staff members

2008-09-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Click here to meet and greet the newest additions to the SmokeLong Quarterly staff: "Smoking with...the Best Flash-itical Team on the Net".

Top Ten Page Views for August 2008

2008-09-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

August's top ten is a great example of why I'm such a huge fan of publishing online versus print publishing. Alexandra Fox's story was the most viewed piece of the month, with over 1000 page views last month. And it was published three years ago. And how did this come to pass? Apparently, somewhere along the way, it got tagged on StumbleUpon, and so users of that service wound up being directed to this work quite often. Lots of new readers for a story from 2005. When's the last time you saw print do that?

1. (NR) A Deep Desire for Blue by Alexandra Fox (6/15/05)
2. (3) The Folk Singer Dreams of Time Machines by Matt Bell (6/15/08)
3. (1) We Decided to Make Porn by Brian Allen Carr (6/15/08)
4. (2) Paper Mouse by Bob Arter (6/15/08)
5. (NR) This Is What You Left Behind by Tod Goldberg (3/15/07)
6. (8) The Cougar by Dave Clapper (6/15/08)
7. (6) Disease Relics by Blake Butler (6/15/08)
8. (4) Ten Very Short Stories by John Leary (3/15/07)
9. (7) Pornography by Steve Almond (6/15/05)
10. (5) The Bone Orchard by Randall Brown (6/15/08)

One other quick note: for the month, we had 96,892 page views, shattering our previous monthly record. Holy cow.

Smoking with...Chad Simpson

2008-08-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Join SLQ as we chat with flash writer, reader, teacher, and editor Chad Simpson about all his insights into [very] short fiction after serving as the Selecting Editor for the wigleaf top 50, introducing contemporary flash fiction into his college classes (gasp!), and just being an all-around flash kind of guy. It's time for Smoking with...Chad Simpson.

best of the web guest blogger

2008-08-20T09:56:00.001-07:00

I am excited to be the Best of the Web Guest Blogger today on the awesome lit blog: The Mumpsimus. Please check it out if you've got some time to spare. Thanks!

Narrative Magazine relaunch

2008-08-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

Narrative Magazine has relaunched with a smashing new web site and news of an upcoming contest: 2008 Fall Fiction Contest:

First Prize is $3,000, Second Prize is $1,500, and Third Prize is $750. The prize winners will be announced in Narrative and will be eligible for publication. Additionally, ten finalists will receive $100 each. We’ll announce finalists in the magazine as well. All entries will be considered for publication.

Top Ten Page Views for July 2008

2008-08-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last month was a huge month for the latest issue: nine of the top ten were from Issue 21. And total page views for the month was a big number again: 87,560. Looks like this year we aren't have the usual summer slump in visitors to the site. Woo!

1. (7) We Decided to Make Porn by Brian Allen Carr (6/15/08)
2. (5) Paper Mouse by Bob Arter (6/15/08)
3. (3) The Folk Singer Dreams of Time Machines by Matt Bell (6/15/08)
4. (2) Ten Very Short Stories by John Leary (3/15/07)
5. (6) The Bone Orchard by Randall Brown (6/15/08)
6. (4) Disease Relics by Blake Butler (6/15/08)
7. (1) Pornography by Steve Almond (6/15/05)
8. (NR) The Cougar by Dave Clapper (6/15/08)
9. (NR) Real Estate by Bonnie ZoBell (6/15/08)
10. (NR) Pen and Notebook by Natalie Goldberg (6/15/08)

The Smart One, by Ellen Meister -- order your copy today!

2008-08-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

Ellen Meister (a SmokeLong alum) is a friend of mine. I love her dearly, but I also love her books. Her newest release, The Smart One, (available now!) is no exception. I read this book in draft and loved it, but have yet to read the final version.

My copy should be arriving today or tomorrow and I will dig in immediately. Until then, I want to wish Ellen hearty congratulations on bringing another great read to the world! Keep 'em coming, Ellen!

A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness -- review at Quick Fiction

2008-08-03T14:40:00.003-07:00

I'm delighted to direct your attention to my review of A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women over at Quick Fiction.

I loved the book and so will you. So please do order yourself a copy. I promise you will be captivated.

Congratulations to Matt Bell

2008-07-21T04:11:00.000-07:00

for winning the Million Writers Award this year with his AMAZING story "Alex Trebeck Never Eats Fried Chicken." A well deserved honor for a fabulous story.

Smoking With...Jennifer Pieroni

2008-07-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Catch the interview with writer and editor extraordinaire Jennifer Pieroni in this month's Smokelong Features, Smoking With...

A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness Winner Announced

2008-07-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

Kathy Fish has chosen the winner of the A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness contest. Congratulations to Steven, who wrote:

"At 3 a.m., my molars stretch their tiny legs, strain to free themselves of my gums, whisper their plans to leave me and join my traitorous hair in some sunnier clime, some faraway paradise for the bits and pieces of slowly dismemembered heads, and all I can do is wish them well, wish I and my empty skull could go there too."

A Review and CONTEST for A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks by Four Women

2008-07-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks by Four Women
Published by Rose Metal Press

A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks by Four Women is a triumph for flash fiction. This is not your typical anthology, with one story per author. While those are good too, A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness provides a richer experience. Each author--Amy Clark, Elizabeth Ellen, Kathy Fish, and Claudia Smith--explode onto the page with an entire album of flashes. And as with any album, you'll discover a favorite "song," you'll learn the versatility of the artist--their range. You'll play the album again and again and learn the order of the songs, memorize the lyrics.

Each artist in A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness has a different voice, a distinct style. The book starts out with Kathy Fish's chapbook "Laughter, Applause, Laughter, Music, Applause." It's a wise choice for the lead. Kathy's flash is concise, surprising, and she has a gift for using words that will amaze you. Amy Clark's chapbook, "Waiting," follows. Amy takes more time with her work--her flashes tend to be longer, the timeframe more drawn out. Speaking of time, Amy likes to play with the concept. Many of her stories switch between the past, present, and future tense, which makes for an interesting read. Next up is Elizabeth Ellen with "Sixteen Miles Outside of Phoenix." Elizabeth's work is intimate. She gets right in there and gives you what she's got. Many of her stories focus on relationships and that tumultuous concept called love. Claudia Smith, the winner of Rose Metal Press' first annual chapbook contest, anchors the team with "The Sky is a Well." Claudia has a knack for nailing titles, and her writing is exceptionally eloquent. Like Kathy Fish, childhood is a common theme in her work, and often, her stories illustrate how the world can be a dangerous place for girls.

If you're a fan of flash fiction, A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness is a must-have. But if you're a fan, you already know this. You already know what it feels like to hold such a precious item in your hands. And you know that opening the cover for the first time is akin to that flutter you get during a hot kiss. If you're new to flash, this collection is a great introduction to the form. The stories within are engaging, thought-provoking, strong. They will force you to pay attention, to look closely, and deeply, at the subtleties of life. Like music with metaphor, the stories will demand you listen.

Interested? You can order A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness here, or, you can try and win a copy by entering the "My Own Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness Contest." Details are as follows...

WIN A COPY OF A PECULIAR FEELING OF RESTLESSNESS

In the comments section of this post, share your own "Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness." Be creative. You can write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, lyrics, etc., and interpret the theme widely. The ONE RULE is your entry must not be longer than ONE LINE. And please don't be clever and write three pages without any punctuation. One line, with a reasonable word count.

Deadline: Friday, July 11th
Judge: Kathy Fish
Winner Announced: Monday, July 14th

Top Ten Page Views for June 2008

2008-07-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Almond moves back on top again, and I'm sure that's due at least in part to Microsoft's pervy search engine results, but whatever. Lots of stuff from the anniversary issue appears here as well, and it was a huge traffic month: over 90,000 page views, our highest-traffic month ever. Can't complain about that!

1. (2) Pornography by Steve Almond (6/15/05)
2. (5) Ten Very Short Stories by John Leary (3/15/07)
3. (NR) The Folk Singer Dreams of Time Machines by Matt Bell (6/15/08)
4. (NR) Disease Relics by Blake Butler (6/15/08)
5. (NR) Paper Mouse by Bob Arter (6/15/08)
6. (NR) The Bone Orchard by Randall Brown (6/15/08)
7. (NR) We Decided to Make Porn by Brian Allen Carr (6/15/08)
8. (NR) Ethnic Lego Girls Carry Spears by Heidi W. Durrow (9/15/07)
9. (1) The Cockroach by David Barringer (3/15/08)
10. (NR) Memento Mori by Rosanne Grifeth (6/15/08)

One thing I really notice about the top ten is that a number of these pieces were highlighted in various blogs recently: Matt Bell's piece was featured by Dan Wickett here, Dogzplot here, and in Matt's own blog here (along with links to every other story in the issue); Matt and Blake Butler were featured by Josh Maday here; Blake is also featured by Keyhole Magazine here (as are Rosanne Griffeth and Shellie Zacharia), and in his own blog here; Randall Brown's piece appears on his blog here; and Rosanne, in addition to the Keyhole feature, is featured by The Angler here, Carolina On My Mind (the blog of the artist who illustrated the story) here, Dew on the Kudzu here, and in her own blog here.

In Profile: Thomas White

2008-06-25T09:00:00.001-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing SmokeLong's own Thomas White for the Writer Profile Project. Read what he has to say about the journal, his latest passion, his taste in books, his bed and breakfast, and more. Plus, find out who the cute pup is in this picture. Click here.

stats for issue 20

2008-06-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the stats for issue twenty:

Issue Twenty (live from 3/15/08-6/14/08)

3/15-3/31: 45649 page views
4/1-4/30: 78549 page views
5/1-5/31: 83898 page views
6/1-6/14: 36151 page views
Total Issue 20: 244247 page views

Wow. That's crazy how level that is. (Issue 19 had 244134 page views.) A whopping 0.05% increase in page views over the last issue. I'll be fascinated to see what the numbers look like come September—I'd normally expect a double issue like this to generate a lot more traffic, but our numbers have traditionally taken a dip during the summer, so... it'll be interesting.

Happy birthday to us!

2008-06-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrate our 5th birthday with a special double issue. Included in this issue:

Issue Twenty-One (June 15, 2008): Paper Mouse by Bob Arter «» The Folk Singer Dreams of Time Machines by Matt Bell «» The Bone Orchard by Randall Brown «» Disease Relics by Blake Butler «» We Decided to Make Porn by Brian Allen Carr «» The Baby Drop-Off by Natascia Casey-Dean «» The Cougar by Dave Clapper «» Anointed by Myfanwy Collins «» Sister Earth by John Colvin «» Soap by Katrina Denza «» The Interpretation of Light by Murray Dunlap «» The Hole by Ashley Farmer «» Repair Man by Kathy Fish «» In the Kitchen She Wakes by Stefanie Freele «» American Gothic by Scott Garson «» Lobster Girl by Alicia Gifford «» Pen and Notebook by Natalie Goldberg «» Memento Mori by Rosanne Griffeth «» BiC by Steven Gullion «» Parting by Evelyn Hampton «» Tuesday by Lindsay Hunter «» Waiting on Lombard Street by W.P. Kinsella «» Johnny by Nance Knauer «» Like Swimming by Jeff Landon «» Feeling Sad by Darby Larson «» Alone With Cooper by Ellen Meister «» The Angel's Visitation by Corey Mesler «» South Dakota by Mary Miller «» California Fruit by Meg Pokrass «» Home Made by Bruce Holland Rogers «» Handful of Dirt by Jim Ruland «» Steam City Girl by Paul Silverman «» Sugar by Claudia Smith «» The 13th Toast by Amy Sparks «» Gathering by Kelly Spitzer «» Tiny Shadows by Maryanne Stahl «» Double-Exposure by Thomas White «» Epistemology by Joseph Young «» Why This Isn't a Good Story to Tell by Shellie Zacharia «» Liquid by Michelle Zellers «» Real Estate by Bonnie ZoBell «» Interviews: Bob Arter «» Matt Bell «» Randall Brown «» Blake Butler «» Brian Allen Carr «» Natascia Casey-Dean «» Dave Clapper «» Myfanwy Collins «» John Colvin «» Katrina Denza «» Murray Dunlap «» Ashley Farmer «» Kathy Fish «» Stefanie Freele «» Scott Garson «» Alicia Gifford «» Rosanne Griffeth «» Steven Gullion «» Evelyn Hampton «» Lindsay Hunter «» Nance Knauer «» Jeff Landon «» Darby Larson «» Ellen Meister «» Corey Mesler «» Mary Miller «» Meg Pokrass «» Bruce Holland Rogers «» Jim Ruland «» Paul Silverman «» Claudia Smith «» Amy Sparks «» Kelly Spitzer «» Maryanne Stahl «» Thomas White «» Joseph Young «» Shellie Zacharia «» Michelle Zellers «» Bonnie ZoBell «» Cover Art "Five Years of SmokeLong" compiled from art by Marty D. Ison, Robert Dornberg, Malina, and Rebecca Gullickson «» Letter From the Editor

news and such

2008-06-04T06:16:00.001-07:00

Huge congratulations to Mary Miller for her forthcoming collection Big World. I can't wait to read it.

This week on Five-Star Literary Stories Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's story Half A Yellow Sun is reviewed. This beautiful story originally appeared in Beverly Jackson's Ink Pot (where I was once an editor) and then later in Zoetrope.

Top Ten Page Views for May 2008

2008-06-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, Almond's "Pornography" is back on top again. I think I always sort of knew that at least part of its page views were coming from folks who weren't necessarily looking for a good story to read. Now that we have our referrers being tracked, it's become a little clearer that that's the case. In looking at the top referrers for "Pornography," seven of the top ten referrers are searches for "Porno" on various different Microsoft search enginges. Ah, well. I hope that a few of them get over their disappointment at not finding pud-pulling material long enough to give it a read. It's a hell of a story.

1. (2) Pornography by Steve Almond (6/15/05)
2. (1) The Cockroach by David Barringer (3/15/08)
3. (5) Ten Very Short Stories by John Leary (3/15/07)
4. (4) Trestle by Matt Briggs (3/15/08)
5. (6) Scrape by Utahna Faith (3/15/08)
6. (3) Worried & Wondering by Aaron Burch (3/15/08)
7. (7) We by Patricia Parkinson (3/15/08)
8. (8) Dead Dog Rising by Kate Hill Cantrill (3/15/08)
9. (NR) The Last Stop by Jenny Halper (3/15/08)
10. (9) Last Fall by Katherine Grosjean (3/15/08)

Expect a shake-up next month, as our birthday issue goes live in a hair under two weeks, so there'll be lots of new content to read.