Seems Reasonable
A work in progress. Said novel was written in Barcelona in January and February of 2003. It revolves around a young novelist with cash and a deep desire to escape the environs of the United States of Bush (as he likes to call America). His goal, unwittingly, is to deceive and convince himself into believing that his lifestyle of nonsense and misdemeanor decadence is in fact relevant and worthwhile.
The main character's central problem is his refusal to refuse. He finds himself dating a few girls in Barcelona (an American loner and a Catalan beauty) while struggling to make amends with his ex-girlfriend, who lives in Manhattan. He struggles to find a balance, as if he knew what balance was, as if a balancing act in his obtuse and misdirected world had any meaning whatsoever.
This novel is not yet completed, even so, here is a quick excerpt:
LOST
Written almost entirely in Western Philadelphia in 1999, LOST is the story of a disenchanted youth, lost within his own evolving mind. An American who can't stand American, a love-stricken fool who can't justify love, and a profound thinker who cannot make sense of his thoughts are the traits of the main character.
An intense study of emotion and life combines with a driving plot developing in Easton, PA, Barcelona, and Prague.
LOST and its 170,000 words (some 600 pages or so) was represented for two years by Cambridge Literary Associates, but the bastards (head bastard: Mike Valentino) could not find a publisher for the exhaustive piece.
Eventually, the truth (in this case, The LOST), will come out. Until then, a few LOST tidbits:
pulling a train.
Before there was a pulse of understanding, there was Karen O'Malley, Lucia Miranda, and Mary Carney. My first novel. Written in 1997 in Barcelona and revised and finished in Easton, PA in 1998. A difficult tale that employs stream-of-conscious prose and an ambiguous plot. The story is basically that of a narrator writing about his past in a miserable attempt to make sense of it.
It does not go very well. The narrator is trapped in his past, unable to get it out of his head clearly, unable to accept a rapidly approaching future. His confusion makes for some choppy, if effective, prose. It is most certainly a joy to read, if only for its Joyce-like honesty and its youthful vigor, and its heady conclusion.
The conclusion: A failed novel, three failed romances, and a decision made. Said decision, of course, is open to interpretation from given reader.
Excerpt coming soon...
Long Dead & Other Tales of Inane Insanity
A collection of short stories, all of which will are online in entirety...
This collection derives from novels, failed novels, and projects that never seemed to pan out, yet the stories, though ostensibly failures, are in fact some of the greatest writing that I believe I've done.
Hence...failure is perfection...enjoy the hysteria:
Near
Blind Heaven
Splendor
The Devil Is On Ecstasy
Meeting Gabby
In Sarriá
The Agony Of The Action
Long Dead