Short Story Discussions

Dima Alzayat was born in Damascus, Syria, grew up in San Jose, California, and now lives in Manchester. She talks with us in this episode about the title story of her debut collection of short stories called Alligator and Other Stories.

In “Alligator,” Alzayat tackles race and the police through an intricate collection of media. Put together, they tell the story of an immigrant family in Florida whose lives are changed forever when the mother is murdered by a police officer and the father swept out of jail by a mob on the hunt for blood. Alzayat’s retelling of this series of events–part true and part fiction–gives commentary to race relations in America from times past and today.

Her timely narrative gives the world pause. How far has America come with its race relations? How far has our faith in the police been shaken? Without judgement, Alzayat makes space to consider these and other questions.

Alzayat is a notable writer of the twenty-first century. She was the winner of the 2019 Society of Authors’ ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award, a 2018 Northern Writers’ Award, the 2017 Bristol Short Story Prize, and the 2015 Bernice Slote Award, runner-up in the 2018 Deborah Rogers Award and the 2018 Zoetrope: All-Story Competition, and was Highly Commended in the 2013 Bridport Prize.

Her stories have appeared in Esquire, the Bristol Short Story Award Anthology, Prairie Schooner, Enizagam, and the Bridport Prize Anthology. Her story “In the Land of Kan’an” was included in artist Jenny Holzer’s projection For Aarhus and was part of Holzer’s 2017 exhibition For North Adams at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Her articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Flaunt, The Skinny, and Variety Arabia.

Alligator and Other Stories was published by Picador and Two Dollar Radio.

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On today’s episode, we chat with Lynn Thorne, author of Who Am I If You’re Not You? The book chronicles the all-true story of unconditional love between Jennifer and Marc, a couple whose marriage would seem certain to fail because of its unusual nature. But as Thorne shows in this powerful book, true love can survive almost any tide.

In this interview, Lynn reveals how she learned about the couple and why she became so passionate about their story that she had to put it on paper. And she answers readers’ burning questions about the book, including the backstory behind Marc’s dramatic gender transformation, Jennifer’s triumph over anorexia, and the sacrifices the couple made to keep their marriage together.

Thorne is an award-winning writer, LGBT ally, and an active blogger on thatswhatlynnsaid.com. Learn more about these and other writings at lynnthorne.com.

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On this week’s Podcast with Short Story Book Club, we speak with author Andy Plattner. He specializes in fictional stories that capture detail and showcase older characters in a way most writers are not capable of.

Andy tells us how he came to be a writer and honed his skills throughout his career. He gives advice on how to become a great writer and offers encouragement in that today is “the golden age” for writers. The podcast talks about how there are so many mediums for writers to get their work out into the world today that it’s impossible not to get noticed if you’re a good writer. Plattner discusses how when he is working on a book, he becomes truly encompassed in the work, and his entire life is engulfed by it.

Lastly, we talk about Plattner’s manuscript, “Terminal” from Dixie Luck, and how it really delves into the older generation while depicting a very vivid story. Plattner’s number one piece of advice to writers is that writing is all about details; there is no story without details. See for yourself how Plattner captures even the slightest details in his novels, as well as listen to his advice on this week’s podcast with Short Story Book Club.

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On this week’s podcast of Short Story Book Club, we speak with Author Ruth Franklin. Ruth talks about everything from her award-winning biography Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, her career as a book critic, as well as everything that goes into writing a biography. 

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life is a biography you won’t want to miss out on. Having won numerous awards including the New York Times Notable Book of 2016, Time Magazine’s top nonfiction book of 2016, and “best book of 2016” by The Boston Globe, it will not disappoint. This sympathetic biography uncovers Jackson’s secret haunting life and the challenges that women faced in the 1950s. It took Ruth six full years to write this biography, and it deeply encompasses Jackson’s life and career as a writer. 

In the biography, Franklin keeps readers engaged by painting a picture of Shirley Jackson’s life. Many of us have read The Lottery, written by Jackson, and Franklin’s biography dives into how she wrote the novel in just one morning with little to no mistakes, which is unheard of for most authors.

Listen for yourself on the Short Story Book Club Podcast to hear more about Ruth Franklin and her other works. You can also find Ruth Franklin online at http://ruthfranklin.net/author/bio/ on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ruthfranklin/ or Twitter:: https://twitter.com/ruth_franklin?lang=en

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Thank Your Lucky Stars is the latest collection of short stories by author Sherrie Flick. It’s a beautiful collection featuring the stories of women and men who are exquisite perhaps because of their imperfection. You can’t help but feel judgmental one minute and sorry the next for some of these characters. I recall one story: “Sweetie Pie.” It’s a short story about infidelity written with less than 100 words, but it got my husband and I talking for hours. That story is just one small example of how engaging all of Flick’s stories are. Her collection is a treasure trove of experiences and emotion, and it was a pleasure to discuss it with her on the podcast.

On the show, we talk with Flick about her short story writing, food writing, and some of the projects she has lined up for the months ahead.

You can also learn more about Flick on her website at http://sherrieflick.com/.

Enjoy the show!

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In the latest episode of the Short Story Discussions podcast, we chat with short-story writer Holiday Reinhorn. She is the author of Big Cats: Stories from Free Press. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she is also the author of award-winning fiction that has been featured in numerous literary magazines and anthologies, including This Is Not Chick Lit (Random House), The Worst Years of Your Life (Simon & Schuster), and Naming the World (Random House).

Holiday’s fiction has received a Tobias Wolff Award, a PEN/Amazon.com Short Story Award, and a Carl Djerassi Fiction Fellowship.

On the podcast, Holiday chats with us about her experiences as an actor turned writer and storyteller, experimenting with a variety of creative avenues before settling on short stories as her medium. She also tells us about the creative and social secret she uses to keep writing regularly (a great tip for aspiring writers), and how she manages to find the time to write with a busy schedule, which includes co-founding Lide Haiti, an arts and literacy program that provides scholarships, tutoring, and educational support to over 850 girls in 14 rural villages.

You can find Holiday online at www.holidayreinhorn.com and learn more about Lide Haiti at www.lidehaiti.org.

Enjoy the show!

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Bob Mustin joins Short Story Book Club on the latest episode of Short Story Discussions. Bob is the author of The Blue Bicycle, which was chosen as the SSBC Short Story of the Month for December 2018.

In this author chat, Bob speaks with us about where the craft of writing is heading, how it is today’s readers that create tomorrow’s writers, and the serious issue of PTSD.

Get your own copy of The Blue Bicycle from Gridley Fires Books at http://www.gridleyfiresbooks.com.

You can learn how to join us live for the next author chat when you subscribe to Short Story Book Club. Visit http://www.shortstorybookclub.com to join now.

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Short-story author Leslie-Ann Murray chats with us about writing, immigration, race, and the importance of travel for developing a well-rounded understanding of the world. She also reveals the inspiration for her latest story titled Plastic City, which was published in the Spring 2017 issue of the literary journal Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora.

Her new collection of short stories is anticipated for release in February 2019.

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In the latest episode of the podcast, SSBC features a review of John Waters’s Make Trouble and an interview with filmmakers Sam Saper and Lynn Tomlinson for their award-winning film Elephant’s Song.

Make Trouble is the printed graduation address of creative genius and Baltimore native John Waters to students at the Rhode Island School of Design. In his speech, he speaks of going against the crowd or finding a place in conventional society and using it subversively to stir things up. Waters has a lot of advice for how to navigate the world, and it is as true for recent graduates as it is for anyone trying to make their mark in an industry.

Every time I read Make Trouble, I walk away thinking about something new. This is what makes this book so wonderful. It’s a short book worth reading several times, both in the sullen moods and in the joyous times punctuating the sweetness of life. It’s the pep talk you wish you had been given that day when you said you’d give up, and the speech you wish you’d received right after you accomplished your latest goal.

As much as Waters has been heralded for his counterculture approach to the world, it’s surprising just how much of what he says fits in line with today’s mainstream wisdom. In fact, Waters speaks the new language of today’s entrepreneurs. When speaking of being your own boss, he shares this experience:

‘But how can you be so disciplined?’ friends always ask when I tell them my job is to get up every day at 6 a.m. Monday to Friday and think up insane stuff.

Easy! If I didn’t work this hard for myself, I’d have to go to work for somebody else.

Later, he acknowledges that sometimes artists can’t always work for themselves. So, he offers this advice to those in an office:

Hopefully, you have been taught never to fear rejection in the workplace.

Remember, a “no” is free. Ask for the world and pay no mind if you are initially turned down.

There are motivational gems like this all through Waters’s speech. Perhaps my favorite is this one:

Remember: You must participate in the creative world you want to become part of.

What does this mean? It means that if you want to be an artist, you have to go out and meet with artistic people. If you want to be in business, you have to get out from behind your comfortable computer screen with your spreadsheets and “marketing” on social media, and instead spend time talking with others in your industry. If you want to be a better person, seek out people living with integrity and learn how to emulate them.

It’s all really simple advice, but sometimes, it’s the simplest messages that can be the most powerful.

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On today’s episode, we’ll review The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, listen in on a post-movie chat about American Animals with myself and Steven, and take a look at the calendar for literary events around the country.

Short Story Book Review

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

It becomes more apparent that it’s true what they say about lifestyle changes being required to achieve financial success. Nowhere does it say that you can just think your way to riches or think your way to having the money you want without doing any work. So, when I found a copy of The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, I wasn’t too surprised by what I’d read.

In fact, The Richest Man in Babylon seems to have been one of the earliest books on personal finance if you don’t count the Bible itself. It seems Clason may have written The Richest Man in Babylon with the Bible in mind. It is set in about the same period and Middle Eastern location of the Christian Bible and uses parables as a means of teaching financial lessons in the same way that Jesus taught moral and spiritual lessons through parables to his disciples and others. Yet Clason’s parables aren’t religious. You might think that since it echoes the Bible that it would have religious undertones. It turns out to be just the opposite.

The Richest Man in Babylon is a nondenominational book with straightforward financial lessons that anyone seeking the freedom that comes with wealth will need to learn.

The name of the richest man in Babylon happens to be Arkad. Each chapter of Clason’s collection of parables illustrates lessons that either Arkad learned or that others learned from Arkad’s teachings. In this manner, the book also reminds me of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. There is an everyday man with real access to wealth who others turn to for wisdom about how to build to real wealth.

In one parable, there is a man with much work to do. However, rather than do his work, he sits off to the side thinking about how he could be rich. A friend walks by and sees him thinking. The friend reasons that the man must have finished his work since he is sitting by idly. The man shares his thoughts with his friend, and his friend, who is apparently quite wise, says that rather than sitting there muddling maybe he should get back to work or, even better, talk to Arkad and ask how he became so wealthy. They agree that this is a great idea, and upon receiving their request, Arkad agrees to teach them without hesitation.

Among the many lessons that Arkad teaches the men is that they should:

* Save 10 percent of everything they earn

* Put their money to work and have it bring interest or multiply

* Avoid deals with swindlers

* Ensure a passive income

* Increase their ability to earn

Of course, I am paraphrasing, but those were some of the main teachings from Arkad put in everyday language.

The Richest Man in Babylon goes on like this throughout the book. Every chapter and every parable has a new set of life lessons. These are essentially the new financial behaviors that anyone looking to financial freedom would be wise to develop.

As a financial book, The Richest Man in Babylon is a good primer for people who are new to finance. This is not to say that the book is simple any more than the parables of Jesus were. Rather, if you are someone who has never had more than a few hundred dollars to your name, then Clason’s book meets you where you are.