Under a Black Rainbow

JANUARY  (7 books | 2,036 pgs) 01.) The Game Master's Book of Villains, Minions, and Their Tactics (Game Manual, 256 pgs) | 4/5 02.)  The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons (Game Manual, 256 pgs) | 4/5 03.) Loteria by Cynthia Pelayo (Stories & Poetry, 344 pgs) | 3/5 04.) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (Novel, 528 pgs) | 2/5 05.) Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Graphic Novel, 384 pgs) | 3/5 06.) Root Rot by Saskia Nislow (Novella, 140 pgs) | 3/5 07.) The Undead by Johan Egerkrans (Art, 128 pgs) | 4/5 *     *     * I am late in posting my monthly reading list and personal updates. The new job is full of wonderful people and challenging work, but I often feel like my productivity is being used inefficiently. There are ways to mitigate this, and I'm working on it.  But this struggle makes for a crowded headspace. After being in the office all day most of the week, I yearn for the silence of...

JUNE  (11 books | 1,756 pgs) 14.) The Wolf Wants Answers by Joshua Mohr (Novel, 236 pgs) | 4/5 15.) Storyforge: Advanced Writing Prompts for Seasoned Storytellers, Book 1 (Workbook, 100 pgs) | 0/5* 16.)  Storyforge: Advanced Writing Prompts for Seasoned Storytellers, Book 2 (Workbook, 100 pgs) | 0/5* 17.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #20: The Mystery of Monster Mountain  by MV Carey (Young Adult, 172 pgs) | 3/5 18.) Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca (Stories, 281 pgs) | 2/5 19.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #21: The Secret of the Haunted Mirror  by MV Carey (Young Adult, 172 pgs) | 3/5 20.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #22: The Mystery of the Dead Man's Riddle  by William Arden (Young Adult, 145 pgs) | 3/5 21.) You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann (Novella, 128 pgs) | 2/5 22.) Strange Houses by Uketsu (Novel, 208 pags) | 4/5 23.) Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones (Novella...

Today was the fifth anniversary of my father's passing. Just like that day five years ago, today was my writing session with my writing partner. I didn't get much done, but that's how it goes sometimes. This Atlas of Bone & Sorrow project has a way of suckerpunching me repeatedly while trying to make my way through it. I may need to focus on something else for a little bit, return to it in short spurts here and there so I don't get caught up in my own swamps of despair.  After our session, I finished sorting through old boxes I'd pulled from the storage unit I emptied last week. Old photos and letters and report cards and art projects - from myself, my siblings, and even old shit from my mother's youth - have been sitting in my living room for over a week waiting to be sifted through and given some level of importance: keep for later review or toss in the trash.  Weird day of marinating in things of the past. Wasn't intending to do so, but here we are.  ...

AUGUST  (0 books | 0 pgs) Obviously, I was unable to read as much as I have in prior months. September, however, is looking nice and ripe for some catching up on the books I meant to complete this month. If nothing else, I've already read 93 books and had planned on reading 80 for the entire year, so...not a bad time to take a break for a minute while life has its way with me.  August found me busy with two of the remaining four stops on the 2024 "Book Tour" I've tried to complete, with one event in Blue Springs netting me 16 book sales and my reading/signing event in St. Louis netting me 8 more book sales. I had the pleasure of meeting a ton of great people at the local event and can't wait to meet more at the Phantom Pages Festival on Saturday, October 5th .  I was inspired by several of the authors seen at the Blue Springs event, and decided to up my own self-promo game by buying a collapsible vinyl banner and creating some excerpted bookmarks.  I began helping...

  While completing work on my latest book (which you can purchase HERE ), I made it a goal to have more readings and get involved with more literary events in the hopes of widening my reach and, hopefully, growing my audience outside of my normal circles.  I was fortunate to have my first book release party at Afterword Tavern & Shelves here in KC back in April. It was a fantastic event and I've never seen so many of my people in one place to help support my literary endeavors. Even the bartenders were shocked at the turnout.  I'm fortunate to, again, get to do a reading and signing at Subterranean Books in St. Louis this month. It's a great little store and I'm looking forward to a ton of my favorite STL people to show up (and snag dinner with afterward).  And now I've gotten to meet some great word nerds around town who are putting on regular events to hype local authors. Through Sarah Wakeman , the Karma Community Market, and others, I'm getting the cha...

The Gold Persimmon 274 pages $16.00 Order Your Copy HERE To be aboveboard, I've known Lindsay for a long, long time. We met back when I lived in San Francisco. She's always been a fantastic writer, but this is her debut novel. While I haven't finished it yet, her first chapter is some of the best and most interesting world-building I've seen in a long time.  The prose is fluid and moves across the page at a fantastic pace. The narrative is captivating and the characters even more so. I love that the cover so perfectly exemplifies the dual nature of the storylines without giving much of anything away, but with the more detailed version of the hotel displayed upside down to the reader.  From the first moment your eyes scan the cover, you know this book is unlike any other you'll read this year. You know you're about to be thrown into a world you've never seen before and run into characters that may end up haunting your days long after.  *     *     * Pub...

This was a fun one for me to write. Often, the mind of a lover can go to some interesting and irrational places, so I wanted to try and take that particular bit of truth and blend it with my brand of weirdness. Personally, I'm really happy with the final result and it's both sensual and strange. This one is also fun to read out loud, which I was able to do late last year here in Kansas City for a publisher's book release.  There's nothing too terribly explicit about the piece, but no one's gonna be confused about what's happening in the story, so maybe consider it NSFW in case you're trying to watch the video in public or at work.  Enjoy! "The Machinery of the Heart: Love Stories"   (A collection of interactive short stories) "Scaring the Stars into Submission" (A surrealist version of a science fiction collection of short stories) (1,647)

 I've been bad at updating things here, despite being pretty busy with both working on new DJ mixes and (finally) finishing another story that I began last year. I've since updated all the thumbnails for each of the new Story Time with Bucho videos I've posted, giving them a more thematic feel. I bought a new microphone to help with volume control (it's better, but not great).  Anyway, here's episode two. I'll post up the others every day this week for those of you that follow the blog. Feel free to subscribe to the YouTube channel if you like what you hear. Feel free to purchase a couple books as well (see below) to help a struggling fiction writer out.  Enjoy! "The Machinery of the Heart: Love Stories"   (A collection of interactive short stories) "Scaring the Stars into Submission" (A surrealist version of a science fiction collection of short stories) (1,644)

It’s rare that we get to witness the happening of someone or some event and know that it’s the beginning of a fundamental shift in that particular industry or part of time. Season 6, episode 18 of “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” titled “Where it All Began” is one of those lucky time capsules. It's been a year and a half since his suicide and it’s weird to not have new episodes of this or “The Layover.” It’s weird to not get his regular patios of “Gonzo journalism” meets punk rock “fuck you” meets dining of all social castes. For me, everyone else who’s attempted this kind of culinary reporting pales in comparison to his style and approach to illuminating the unbreakable bonds that exist between the history of nations, the blending of their taste buds, and the politics of their region. Whether you agreed with his personal politics or not, it’s hard to disagree that he made those connections clear with every episode. But with this one…this is the sheen of a fresh-face...

Kansas City Library, Downtown KCMO I've been having an interesting summer. Really, the last few years have been a long bit of a hard education in terms of how I approach my writing, how I *should* approach certain aspects of the writer's life, and learning the ins and outs of publishing in general. Getting Individual Stories Published My grad school program was great at offering up two end-of-semester talks about "Life after the MFA." Many of these were about finding an agent and how you find gainful employment with a writing degree, other kinds of work out there for writers, etc. All good things to know and many of the writers on the panel gave great information. I don't recall, however, a panel that ever discussed the nature of publishing stories. I may have missed that discussion or it never happened during my tenure. Regardless, I have an incredibly arduous process for this now that's taken me a couple years to perfect and implement. It work...

Author Adam "Bucho" Rodenberger will read excerpts and play special audio bits from his latest short story collection, "The Machinery of the Heart: Love Stories."  There will be time throughout the reading for questions and commentary.  Copies of both his current book and his previous book, "Scaring the Stars into Submission" will be available for sale through the fine folks at Subterranean Books.  The event is free and will be from 7pm-8pm.  To RSVP for the event, follow the invite link on Facebook HERE .  Subterranean Books is located at; 6275 Delmar Blvd.  St. Louis, MO. 63130 314-862-6100 (194)