Link: [LitHaven.com] – News.

"Michael Canfield’s “Flight to L.A.” reminded me of Albert Camus’ The Stranger, both in style and character. Keep in mind that The Stranger is one of my favorite novels. Add this to the fact that the style of this story also reminded me of Donald Barthelme’s fiction, a person who just happens to be one of my favorite short fiction writers, then you could venture a guess to just how pretty damned impressed I was with this story. Like many great stories, the concept is simple: An apathetic character goes on a flight to L.A. and sits next to a self-important businessman who feels the need to impress others with how powerful he is. The story is both weird and sharply written, and intrigues the reader all the way through its downward spiral in the rabbit hole." — Simon Owens

  "Super-Villains" will appear this November (I believe) in the premier issue of SonAndFoe. This story is a special one to me. Written a while ago, it was a true breakthrough for me — not in terms of technique or style or subject or anything like that — but this is the piece I can specifically point to as the point where I decided — fuck it — I’m just going to do what I want to do from now on. I had a lot of fun writing it, and it’s meant to be fun for you too (time will tell). I’m  happy an editor has finally decided to put it out in the world.

I also this week got word that another milestone story of mine will be appearing in an e-anthology, though I don’t have many details yet. This was the 2nd or 3rd coherent sf or f story I ever completed, an homage to fifties movie sci-fi. How old is it. Let’s just say "Attack of the 50ft. Cosmonaut" was not a historical when I wrote it. Details on publication will appear sometime at News: Daikaiju!2: Giant Monster E-Tales.

Books: Read Nick Hornby’s 4th novel A Long Way Down this week and loved it, although I could have done without the middle section. Still, Hornby’s ability to handle profound life questions with the lightest touch makes him a pleasure to read. I’ve read everything he’s published in book form (fiction and non-fiction) except — amazingly enough — High Fidelity. In fact, just today, I passed up buying it yet again. I can’t bring myself to do it, because then there will be no more Hornby for me to look forward too — at least for another year or two. I can’t stand the thought of that, being Hornby-less for the foreseeable future, so there High Fidelity rests, like an aluminum drum of emergency graham crackers in an ancient bomb shelter, never to be opened, but available just in case.

Books: Read Nick Hornby’s 4th novel A Long Way Down this week and loved it, although I could have done without the middle section. Still, Hornby’s ability to handle profound life questions with the lightest touch makes him a pleasure to read. I’ve read everything he’s published in book form (fiction and non-fiction) except — amazingly enough — High Fidelity. In fact, just today, I passed up buying it yet again. I can’t bring myself to do it, because then there will be no more Hornby for me to look forward too — at least for another year or two. I can’t stand the thought of that, being Hornby-less for the foreseeable future, so there High Fidelity rests, like an aluminum drum of emergency graham crackers in an ancient bomb shelter, never to be opened, but available just in case.