Story-wise, I'm a little over 4,000 words into a horror short inspired by Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers. I've always thought it would be kind of cool to open a SMB-themed gym. Put a bunch of turtle-shaped trampolines all over the room, get some papier mache bricks for people to punch (maybe fill them with single serving packets of protein? Or steroids. Yeah, steroids). What red-blooded Gen X or Yer wouldn't want to spend their afternoon bouncing around a room pretending to be Mario, Luigi, or Princess Toadstool?
I also finished editing a story for the anthology "Zombie Punks Fuck Off." "Mall Punk Meltdown" clocks in around 2200 words. Brutal and to the point. We'll see what happens...
I'm still reading slush for the first issue of Deciduous Tales. We've gotten some great stuff so far that I'm really excited about. The main thing I've noticed so far after reading dozens of stories is the high level of competency in most submissions. The competition is stiff out there, people. Which means if your piece has a single sentence that lands awkwardly, that could be the difference between literary life and death. Polish. Then polish some more.
Finally, I've been sketching out an actual logo for this site. Something along these lines I think...except, y'know, professionally done.
