Reject

Back to my life. I got two form rejection letters, one from "Zyzzyva," the other from "Glimmer Train." Actually, I couldn’t tell if the one from "Glimmer Train" was a form letter. It looked like one and said it was a "good read" but they may send that out to everyone. The one from "Zyzzyva" bugged me. "Dear Gentle Writer" it begins. It’s trying to break it gently but to me it seems patronizing. And I’m not even bitter. The great thing about getting published by Cloverfield is that I can let the rejection letters roll in and not feel that bad about it. I’m expecting around ten.

On an unrelated note, I feel somewhat guilty that I am on political blog lists like the Progressive Blog Alliance (lower right) when I don’t write much about politics these days. Left-leaning people may be more likely to get my fiction and songwriting, but that’s not enough of a reason. I’m on another list at American Samizdat, a site I like more than the Koses of the world because they’re not afraid of conspiracy. But I haven’t been writing about politics so much. I think I overdosed with the election. While I am a progressive politically, it really doesn’t interest me to nitpick daily politics. I’ll let other people do it for me, which may be what that list is for. When something really hits me, I’ll write about it.

I’ll admit it, getting on that blog list was a way to get traffic. That’s not saying much, it’s the same for everybody. I just don’t consider myself a political person--at least not in the daily activist way. When Samantha and I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, we knew some people through my brother’s ex-girlfriend. They were very helpful to us--showing us around town and the like. I remember the first car ride around town. The guy--looked like Kris Kristofferson, a kind of golden hippie--asked us, "So, are you guys political?" It was like he was asking us, "So, are you guys smart?" This was not the only time we were asked that question. It was kind of laughable and alienating. I am not political in the way he was asking.

Some of the fiction I’ve written has political ideas in it--especially the religious cult novel I mentioned earlier. The cult is actually a sort of revolutionary, terrorist cult bent on making a socialist America. It’s also mixed in with a weird religion and a charismatic cult leader named after my ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend after we broke up. So I guess that’s where I put my politics, but that’s off stage.

Not to jump on the Progressive Blog Alliance, but I don't feel the need to link to the same story that a thousand other blogs are linking to. I guess people feel there’s strength in numbers, especially these days, and might call my attitude a kind of apathy. It’s just not where my brain’s at right now. Anyway, I felt I had to write a disclaimer--to people from those political lists who might come by here. Maybe I should just remove the thing.