What a beautiful way to wake up this morning. I’m a curmudgeon about politicians, but this is what leading with love looks like.

If the message is not just dem party business as usual and is instead about how to improve the lives of working people practically and meaningfully, about inclusivity and dignity, delivered with freshness and authenticity, people will show up! Democratic socialism! Mamdani! Yay!

people in a lot of states are about to lose their SNAP benefits. If you are in a position to help with food aid, please do. Donate to a local food pantry, reach out to people you know who are food insecure and share meals, whatever you can do!

Foggy morning drive

all these republicans claiming the private messages of their young republicans don't represent their party's ethos. look who they elected. look what he's said on the record. look at the policy he's driving each day. those messages are exactly who they are as a party.

My younger kid, Ben Patterson, has a flash piece up @januaryhouselit.bsky.social! If you like weird little college towns, generalized eccentricity, and birds, I hope you'll read it: januaryhouselit.com/2025/10/13/n...

Free shipping today at @bookshop.org which means that yes now is a perfect time to pick up MAGIC CAN'T SAVE US! bookshop.org/p/books/magi...

Free shipping on @bookshop.org today! I'd recommend picking up anything you've had yours eyes on, but here's some specific, recent indie press story collections I've loved:

Excited to be on this Ingram Spark "Short Story Standouts" list (via @bookshop.org), alongside the amazing @writesloud.bsky.social & Stillhouse press-mate @kristinaten.bsky.social

dragging people (some children) out of their homes in the middle of the night - ICE is uniformly despicable, but this feels like the next level of horror www.wbez.org/immigration/...

My book came out October 8, 2024. (After 30+ years of writing, a book!) I've been so grateful to anyone who has read it. I had a little goal of reaching 1000 copies sold (small press goals!), and we're close to that. I hope you'll consider ordering, reading, sharing reviewing on Goodreads, etc.💙

this picture of my older child - long ago - popped up on my phone, and i love it so

Coming up on the one-year anniversary of my book’s release. If you’d like a copy, I have three to send - comment and I’ll send to you!

Reminder! We're looking for volunteer Fiction and Flash Fiction Readers! Join the SLM FAM! This weekend would be a great time to apply! 😉

I printed up a big chunk of my in-progress novel, and it felt like something! So it seems like a good time to say that I'm so happy and grateful to be working with @mlwyd.bsky.social on this and any other projects! (@tridentmediagroup.bsky.social)

I started at @splitlipthemag.bsky.social in 2018. It changed my trajectory as a reader & writer. I'm beyond grateful to @maureenlangloss.bsky.social & Split Lip! I'm stepping down this month bc of work obligations. But: volunteer at litmags! The community&experience will change you in the best ways!

My mom: I’m having my rat girl summer. Me: what? My mom (she’s 85): you don’t know anything.

I learned SAD GROWNUPS was removed from consideration for Kansas Notable Books (along w other books the deciders worried might endanger future federal funding). This isn't a bitter post. More sad that libraries feel compelled to make choices like these in these censor-y times.

My children are listening to Pavement and reading Joy Williams and Denis Johnson as if fully inhabited by the ghost of my 90s self

there have been 36k gun deaths this year. only one has gotten republicans' attention, and still they don't want to change gun regulations

firing someone for simply quoting the supposed free speech champion? for using his own words to demonstrate what he thought? @karenattiah.bsky.social karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washin...

JR Fenn's quietly disquieting and beautifully lush flash, "Cassandra" is up at @splitlipthemag.bsky.social today, and I really hope you will read it and share it!

white supremacists and right-wing extremists are responsible for the majority of extremist or politically-motivated shootings in the US. This is easily verifiable to anyone who cares about facts.

Love these thoughts about novel writing and reading, from Renee Gladman’s MY LESBIAN NOVEL @dorothyproject.bsky.social

immediately after MN lawmakers were killed by a right-wing extremist, democratic leaders called for gun regulations to try to curtail gun deaths immediately after Charlie Kirk was killed, republican lawmakers (without evidence) blame and target democrats and call for more violence.

I will not be lectured about violence by the people funding genocide, by people who protect guns more than humans, who send troops into cities to chase working people across parking lots, whose entire agenda is divisiveness and cruelty.

I've been thinking a lot today about how to reconcile the very good, kind, caring men I know with the deep wall of men who've abused & assaulted so many of us, most of us really, who voted for a predator to be president, and who continue to make excuses for him and all the men like him.

arrogance plus mediocrity plus privilege minus empathy. so tired of all these entitled, dangerous men

There are no laws. There are only the subjective whims of a few people whose loyalties were basically purchased

are you a person who revises a novel as you go or who gets the whole draft completed and then revises, and is the fact that I'm the former the reason why I can't finish this?

it's been forever since my book came out (nearly a year?!). if anyone wants to buy a story collection that i think is apt in these weird, hard times, here it is!

one really nice/good thing is patti smith's substack

Wherein I try to speak semi-intelligently about SAD GROWNUPS while Chris Holmes brings all the best questions and so much generosity. (Thank you, @burnedbybooks.bsky.social!) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

the Israeli government is intentionally starving people to death in Gaza, intentionally withholding medical aid. Call your representatives about this. Contact news outlets to urge them to report on this accurately.

White men already get priority and privilege in college admissions in various ways, so what is even changing? More privilege?

every time a submitter says they read @amystuber.com's "Swans" and it made them pick up SAD GROWNUPS, I kinda feel like I won a little award

Stalled out at page 100 of novel writing so sure let’s start writing a memoir

Little thing: if you are a person who likes notebooks, this is a very good one (bit of a notebook splurge). Also Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS, has all the good notebooks and pens, and they ship anywhere and quickly.

56 today. Family, walks, food, worked on the novel, talked, read, laughed, tried for a little to forget the world.

I’m turning 56 Sunday, and maybe it’s time, finally, to stop doubting and second guessing myself about every single thing. The world is full of enough shit - self sabotage feels ridiculous in the midst of it. Now to figure out how not to.

I’ve never felt any patriotism. Loyal mainly to the idea of taking care of the earth and each other.

The fact that these cuts mainly start after the 2026 elections shows they know exactly how cruel it all is.

called Jerry Moran's office and was told he voted to "support border provisions and modernize the military." (no concern for loss of food/healthcare/wind energy/jobs/university funding + increase in taxes for most Kansans). Pretty clear to whom he's loyal.

will the democratic party pay attention to what happened in NY? (probably not)

Doctored US intelligence to support unwanted, unapproved military action. I lived in DC during the Iraq war and remember this playbook well. Key difference: this time, we are doing the bidding of a country simultaneously perpetrating a genocide,

More cruelty. More lost lives. More anxiety and threats and risk and hypocrisy and fear and instability. Why do people have to live like this? Oh yeah: a tiny subset of greedy, power-hungry men.

No surprise that the nationalist gun death cult is spawning political violence. Expect more and worse.

Honestly, just so sick of all these fucking men and their wars

Having someone like @aaronburch.bsky.social read and share my book so generously has been an amazing highlight of this whole first book process. Also: you should read all the books on this list! (Thank you, Aaron)

The National Guard? Marines? For what? Because people are speaking up for and protecting their neighbors and friends and coworkers who are being dragged away by masked, armed men? Abolish ICE.