A set of links to subscriber writing for August 2023. Christian Lorentzen, A Fortuitous Deviation A journey through the interior of Albania to the coastal village of Qeparo, with digressions Mark Newheiser, The Seven Suitors A story about an orphaned princess who must marry or lose everything, and risks losing it all to a murderer hiding among her prospective suitors
If you're wondering why I mangled your synopses, it's because this was the first one of these where the post grew too long for email and I had to work like hell to make it all fit.
"Cheating Isn't Empowering" was marvellous, subscribed immediately. The next time someone asks me why I don't call myself a feminist, I'm going to send them to that article.
I hope people enjoy my anti-capitalist sci-fi thriller! Agents praised it a fair amount during the querying process but kept saying things like it was "unmarketable" for a few reasons. But remembering what Freddie said about writing, hey, if you're going to put something online it should maybe be something the traditional world doesn't really 'get', right?
Thanks for putting these together, Freddie. It's a pleasure to be included.
Some standouts for me were Thomas Reilly's "Left-handedness in schizophrenia," BJ Campbell's, "Real Talk About Nicotine," and Carina's, "Fast Car is not about lesbians."
I'm also happy to have discovered M.E. Rothwell's "The Books That Made Us," which I'll apply to shortly.
> it seems to pull you into another dimension — of memory, of nostalgia, of friendship. This is unscientific, admittedly. And it sounds hokey, but I feel it, too. My prime example would be Oxford, Mississippi...it has an uncanny ability to act like a portal that leads to everyone else in Mississippi. I often joke that if you want to find someone in Mississippi, just go to Oxford and hang around for an hour. They will appear.
Apparently this works across the whole of time and space, or at least the span of same between where I live now and when I grew up there.
It is a somewhat small world in that respect, I find. The town seems to leave a mark on people whether they've been there or not, although this may be more than anything down to the work of Faulkner, whom I've never read but understand to have been a keenly accurate psychogeographer. As the most erudite among my long string of exes was once put it to me, "you don't need to read Faulkner; you *are* Faulkner."
I haven't been back home in a long time now, except inasmuch as where I am now is a lot like there; my mother, who still lives there, tells me the town has latterly changed not for the better, and become a bedroom community for retirees from all over the country. Much as I have always valued her perspective, I'm glad to hear that it doesn't take everyone that way.
If you're wondering why I mangled your synopses, it's because this was the first one of these where the post grew too long for email and I had to work like hell to make it all fit.
Thanks for putting in the extra work to squeeze us all in!
"Cheating Isn't Empowering" was marvellous, subscribed immediately. The next time someone asks me why I don't call myself a feminist, I'm going to send them to that article.
"Fast car isn't about lesbians" I'm so proud of this community.
Hooray there's a thing I wrote. I hope a couple of people enjoy it.
I hope people enjoy my anti-capitalist sci-fi thriller! Agents praised it a fair amount during the querying process but kept saying things like it was "unmarketable" for a few reasons. But remembering what Freddie said about writing, hey, if you're going to put something online it should maybe be something the traditional world doesn't really 'get', right?
If there is any place to market an 'anti-capitalist sci-fi thriller', it would have to be on this newsletter. I will check it out.
Great stuff here! As always, I love the variety.
Any questions about the Books That Made Us guest writing opportunity for Substack writers, please let me know!
Thanks for the offer - I will definitely consider it!
Thanks Freddie for this service! Appreciate your effort and generosity.
And once again a diverse and interesting set of topics.
Thanks for putting these together, Freddie. It's a pleasure to be included.
Some standouts for me were Thomas Reilly's "Left-handedness in schizophrenia," BJ Campbell's, "Real Talk About Nicotine," and Carina's, "Fast Car is not about lesbians."
I'm also happy to have discovered M.E. Rothwell's "The Books That Made Us," which I'll apply to shortly.
Do you actually read all of these, Freddie? If so, you're a heroic masochist, or a masochistic hero, or something.
From "Thick in Orlando":
> it seems to pull you into another dimension — of memory, of nostalgia, of friendship. This is unscientific, admittedly. And it sounds hokey, but I feel it, too. My prime example would be Oxford, Mississippi...it has an uncanny ability to act like a portal that leads to everyone else in Mississippi. I often joke that if you want to find someone in Mississippi, just go to Oxford and hang around for an hour. They will appear.
Apparently this works across the whole of time and space, or at least the span of same between where I live now and when I grew up there.
It is a somewhat small world in that respect, I find. The town seems to leave a mark on people whether they've been there or not, although this may be more than anything down to the work of Faulkner, whom I've never read but understand to have been a keenly accurate psychogeographer. As the most erudite among my long string of exes was once put it to me, "you don't need to read Faulkner; you *are* Faulkner."
I haven't been back home in a long time now, except inasmuch as where I am now is a lot like there; my mother, who still lives there, tells me the town has latterly changed not for the better, and become a bedroom community for retirees from all over the country. Much as I have always valued her perspective, I'm glad to hear that it doesn't take everyone that way.
The missing link for the Black Hole piece: https://www.blackgate.com/2021/02/06/when-worse-comes-to-worst-the-black-hole-and-saturn-3/
Was hoping someone had posted this. Might be my fave piece in this batch.