Fantasy

The new issue of Waccamaw is up.

Not a huge fan of the design, but I love the content, and though I had to pull poems before they really had time to consider them, I'll be sending work during the next reading period.

Take a look.

*

Was wondering about the now-defunct and now dead-linked Red Morning Press the other day.

The site's been down for a while now. You can't even order books from the website anymore, which sucks. I don't know what happened to them. I'm not sure if anyone does. But it seems that they suddenly, and unfortunately, vanished.

I mention this because I was also thinking about Jason Bredle's second book, Pain Fantasy, the other day. I'm pretty sure it's still in a box in the closet, which I need to get out of the closet, but I also wanted to see if you could still get new copies on Amazon.

Turns out the cheapest copies available are those that Jason is selling currently, signed, for $12 each.

I say this, first off, because you should get the book if you haven't already, because most likely this will be your last chance. It seemed like RMP was headed for good things, and though I don't know what happened, secondly, I wonder about taking a chance with a press that's only been around for a few years, these days.

I'm sure there are stories like this with other presses that you know and I don't. But this is one that no one seems to be talking about, mainly because I'm not sure if many even knew the press before it was gone...

Though I'm thrilled to technically soon be sharing a press with Jason (his chapbook The Book of Evil will be coming out from Dream Horse Press in 2010), and though he's well on his way to his third book being published (I've seen that it's already been a finalist a few times for contests), it's sad to know that both the author of the book and the press have suffered, and that the book, at this point, is pretty much out of print.

I didn't intend to write a long post about this, and I won't, but it's certainly something to think about, especially if you're anxious to get any of your manuscripts out into the world as books. There are always factors in the publishing business beyond one's control, but with more presses in the world these days, especially those publishing poetry (or so it seems), though being cautious to the point of paralysis is not good, being cautious is certainly good.

Anyway, seriously, above all, get Pain Fantasy while you still can. It's awesome. It's a handsomely designed book, too.