Lent on Thanksgiving

My poem "Lent" was accepted yesterday to Broken Circles, an upcoming anthology from Cave Moon Press benefiting food banks. Thinking about the season of fasting and abstinence, I appreciated Thanksgiving all the more.

Less Commercial Than Christmas, More Relaxing Than Labor Day...

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Its core concepts—gratitude, feasting, and pausing to reflect—haven't been commercialized like Christmas gift-giving, and I don't see that they can be.

I'm particularly grateful for the help of others. Writing is often called a solitary profession, and I love those private "Aha!" moments, but without an editor, without readers, I could never be certain I'm sending the message I intend.

Likewise, with four co-editors, The Lineup achieves a unique perspective. The finished product is seldom what I envision; it's better than I could possibly imagine. Thank you to this year's staff: Richie Narvaez, Sarah Cortez, and Reed Farrel Coleman. Thank you to the largest number of poets we've had yet.

Thank you to my friends, the few, the proud.

Thank you to those who enjoy my blog or Twitter posts.

Thank you to my family, who made me the grateful person I am.

Not Just Chat — Chatterrific.

Once upon a time, I created a blog to host DetecToday chats and otherwise moderate my discussion lists. That blog has since branched out to include interviews with people like my fellow Discount Noir contributors. Read away.

Drumroll, please...

Here are the twenty-five poets whose work will appear in The Lineup #4:

Ken Bruen
Michael Casey
Reed Farrel Coleman
David Corbett
Mary Agnes Dalrymple
Mary Christine Delea
Jeanne Dickey
H. Palmer Hall
Paul Hostovsky
David Jordan
Laura LeHew
Thomas Michael McDade
Peter Meinke
Keith Rawson
Chad Rohrbacher
Stephen Jay Schwartz
Nancy Scott
Kieran Shea
J.D. Smith
J.J. Steinfeld
John Stickney
Caitlin Elizabeth Thomson
Randall Watson
Charles Harper Webb
Steve Weddle
Germaine Welch

I Ain't Got Time to Blog

Actually, I've just been blogging elsewhere the past week, TV reviews at BSCreview, DVD reviews at Crimespree Cinema. Psych and Burn Notice return to the schedule this week and my BSC reviews will pick up in kind.

Also, previous Lois Lane Teri Hatcher appears on Smallville this week as the current Lois's mother, Ella.

Deja Vu All Over Again

This year, my town finally upgraded from levered voting booths to optical vote scanners evoking tense memories of standardized tests. If only I were as sure of the candidates' virtue as I was of some of those answers years ago.