A Trio of Decoy Flares

I don’t know about y’all but I feel like the last quarter inch on a sparkler right about now. Sputtering and diminishing, a few desultory sparks like a half dozen starlings struggling vainly to murmurate. The year was year-sized, but the time packed into it has been leaking out the seams and emitting a terrible smell like rotten sardines.

My self-imposed schedule says I’m supposed to have a cool 1,600 or so words for you today, but unless I write “All work and no play makes Fletch a dull boy” a couple hundred times, it ain’t gonna happen. You know how December is. They call Christmas a holiday but to me it’s always felt like a to-do list.

That said, a glance at the calendar shows me that two weeks from today is New Year’s Eve, and that seems like an auspicious moment, so that’s my new target. I’ll probably do one of those end of year wraps like Spotify. Congratulations, you’re in the top 0.1% of Red Clay Bestiary readers.

I do have a couple things to highlight in the meantime. I published a piece in the winter issue of Georgia Backroads. You’ll have to haul yourself over to a magazine stand, if such establishments still exist, or buy a copy from their website. I’m pretty jazzed; three weeks’ worth of trips to my favorite bar/writing-office paid for. I’ve got a much bigger thing coming for them in the spring, but we’ll talk about that later.

I also published a (very (very)) short story in the Book of 42^2. It’s an anthology of 42-word stories arranged in 42 genres consisting of 42 stories each, for a grand total of 1,764 stories. Good luck finding mine, should you be crazy enough to buy the book.

Also put together a new Instagram account (channel? hole?) for my band, Front Porch Session Players. I recorded a bit of a recent rehearsal and was right pleased with the results. You don’t have to buy anything, just go give it a listen and a follow. We’ll put up a tune every week. Or so.

How’s that for value? You thought you were getting nothing, and here I went and gave you three things. That should tide you over until next time. Take care and for those who indulge in sectarian holidays, Happy Yule or whatever.