Posted in ASUS e-reader, Apple mediapad, Astak e-reader, Black Dog Press, Books, Christianity, Comparative religion, Dark fantasy, Dark fantasy/horror, Dread, Dreams, Early Christians, Fear, Garageband, Horror, Jesus Christ, Literature, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket, Monologues, New release, Poetry, Prose poems, Reading, Religion, Science fiction, Short Stories, Sony e-Reader, audio recording, depression, download free podcast, e-reader, fiction, free download, free fiction, free fiction for e-reader, free fiction for iPhone, free fiction for iPod, free reading for iPhone, free reading for iPod, free short story, iMac, iMovie, iPhone, journal, literary, new literary fiction, new short fiction, new short story, personal, podcast, short story, space age, spoken word, suspense, suspense story, writer, writing, writing life, tagged audio stories, download stories, free fiction for iPhone, free fiction for iPod, free reading for iPhone, free reading for iPod, free stories, Garageband, iMac, MP3 stories, podcast stories, short short stories, stories on tape on September 28, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I warned you I had fallen in love with Garageband and that there would be more of my stuff recorded and set to music.
Here are four short-short stories, my version of “flash fiction”. Ethereal, odd, evocative. Literary and auditory Rorschach tests. Give them a listen…and then tell me what you see.
Submitted for your approval, as [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Creative Commons, Dark fantasy, Dark fantasy/horror, Garageband, Horror, Literature, Live concert, Mobipocket, Monologues, Music, Prose poems, Reading, Science fiction, Surrealism, audio recording, blog post #100, blogging, download free podcast, fiction, free download, free fiction, free short story, global village, iMovie, iPhone, literary, live drama, new short fiction, new short story, podcast, radio drama, short story, short story on radio, spoken word, suspense, suspense story, writer, writing, writing life, tagged 50000 hits, 50000 visits to blog, audio, Cliff Burns reading, flash fiction, free download, free fiction, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Literature, live reading, MP3, podcast, popular blog, Prose poems, recorded reading, short short stories, Short Stories, spoken word, surreal fiction on September 20, 2009 | 11 Comments »
Well, this is cause to celebrate.
This happens to be blog post #100 and, if that isn’t enough, later on this week this site will receive its 50,000th visit.
Wow. That’s an overwhelming number of people coming to a blog devoted to a Canuck writer who has eschewed the big time, stubbornly maintained his singular vision with [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in 1960's, 40th anniversary, Apollo, Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, Heller model kit, Neil Armstrong, Short Stories, humor, humour, lunar landing, moon landing, nostalgia, plastic model kit, sixties, space age, space race, workaholic, writing, writing life, tagged 40th anniversary, Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, childhood, Heller model kit, lunar landing, moon, Neil Armstrong, nostalgia, Orson Welles, plastic model kit on September 1, 2009 | 8 Comments »
I know, it seems like I’ve had the moon on my mind since the beginning of the year. The whole 40th anniversary thingee really got to me for some reason. Made me ponder how much time has passed and (perhaps) how little time remains.
A busy, creative, exhausting summer and those 4 linked short stories grow [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Books, Cliff Burns, Creative Commons, Literature, Reading, Science fiction, Short Stories, best science fiction stories, cyberpunk, fiction, free download, free short story, leisure, literary, post apocalypse, short story collection, technology, video games, virtual reality, writer, writing, tagged fiction, new fiction, free fiction, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Science fiction, Reading, free reading, free short story, virtual reality, near future, "New World man", Goldmann Publishing, William Gibson, download free fiction, All time best science fiction stories, best SF stories, street kids, Rancid, head shop, Isaac Asimov, free science fiction, cyberpunk, science fiction short story, SF, SF short story, video games on August 10, 2009 | 8 Comments »
What? More free reading for you? Why not? It’s summertime, kick back, take it easy. And here’s a mind-blowing little gem, a short story from my Reality Machine collection that I think, in all honesty, is one of the ten best I’ve ever written.
“New World Man” owes its origins to some time I spent [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Apollo, Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, Cliff Burns, Essay, Mars, Michael Collins, New release, Poetry, Pride, Reading, Science fiction, amateur writers, editing, fiction, lunar landing, moon landing, personal, publishing, radio drama, space age, space race, spoken word, summer reading, wannabe writers, wannabes, writer, writing, writing life, tagged "The Innocent Moon", Apollo, Apollo 11, BBC Radio, editing, free download, free fiction, free reading, lunar landing, moon landing, Neil Armstrong, perfectionism, radio drama, radio play, Science fiction on August 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Finally, I have some new work to share with you. Recently I’ve been moaning about this being a blog that’s supposed to prominently feature my fiction, drama and poetry and, meanwhile, I’ve been debuting very little new material on this site for some time.
But that’s about to change.
Expect a flurry of stuff in the coming [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in BBC Radio, Essay, Essays and Non Fiction, Essays and reviews, Literature, Paul Auster, Poetry, Reading, Short Stories, editing, fiction, iMac, inspiration, journal, literary, love, marriage, personal, relationship, romance, summer reading, time for reading, writer, writing, writing life, tagged short story, fiction, short fiction, Paul Auster, editing, New novel, writing life, writing, summer, iMac, Short Stories, fiction contest, Esquire magazine, Man in the Dark, anniversary, marriage, writing exercise, BBC, Saskatchewan on July 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Took yesterday off…sort of. I mean, I did some writing (poetry and journaling) but I didn’t so much as glance at the trio of stories I’ve been editing like a demon for most of the past month.
Speaking of which, I’d better explain what I’m up to:
This year Esquire magazine is promoting a fiction contest where [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Books, Essay, Essays and Non Fiction, Essays and reviews, Kindle, Kindle 2, Literature, Reading, Short Stories, blogging, boring life, confession, dull, e-readers, editing, fiction, film, foreign films, iPhone, inspiration, journal, leisure, literary, perseverence, personal, summer reading, writer, writing, writing life, tagged new writing, Short Stories, summer, vacation, Vancouver Island, West Coast, work, workaholic on July 9, 2009 | 8 Comments »
My wife and sons are on the West Coast–getting their first dose of rain after a week of great weather–and I’ve stopped answering the phone, shaving, checking e-mails and visiting some of my favorite sites and forums. It’s summertime and that means WORK.
It must be a hormonal thing. While everyone else is seized by an [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Apollo, Apollo 11, Essay, Essays and Non Fiction, Essays and reviews, Literature, Poetry, heroes, literary, memoir, moon landing, personal, space age, space race, technology, writer, writing, writing life, tagged 40th anniversary, Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, free poem, July 20 1969, lunar landing, man on the moon, Michael Collins, moon, NASA, Neil Armstrong, poem, Tranquility Base, tribute on June 30, 2009 | 11 Comments »
Iconic
The First Man must be humble
yet self-possessed in times of crisis
confident, as one who’s been sorely tried.
Drop him, spin him, shake him
race his heart,
see if he dies.
Undaunted by fame,
puzzled by all the fuss,
natural in the glare.
Stick him in a close compartment,
sling it into the girding dark;
crown him with hero’s laurels
should he return.
*******************************************************************************************************
Real space nuts know [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Dread, Essay, Essays and Non Fiction, Essays and reviews, Fear, God, Horror, Opinions and Rants, Religion, Spleen, confession, depression, humor, humour, inspiration, literary, love, marriage, memoir, personal, relationship, writer, writing, tagged catastrophe, catastrophist, children, confession, Death, despair, Dread, family, Fear, hypochondria, irrational fear, life, mental illness, neurosis, personal, personal essay, psychosis, terminal illness on June 23, 2009 | 9 Comments »
You don’t know what it’s like.
Or…maybe you do.
Living in abject fear, a state of near unbearable suspense, day after day. How wearing that can be. Because that’s what we’re talking about here. A mindset centred around dread, a soul-sucking sense that things are about to fall to pieces and there’s absolutely nothing you can do [...]
Read Full Post »
Posted in Essay, Essays and Non Fiction, Essays and reviews, Literature, computer, iMac, literary, movies, podcast, spoken word, technology, writing, writing life, writing room, tagged Apple, changes, FDR, fiction, film, Garageband, iMac, Imovie, internet, Macintosh, maverick, new computer, NIN, Nine Inch Nails, outsider, PC, podcast, reader, readers, spoken word, Steve Jobs, technology, Trent Reznor, trolls, upgrade, writing on June 17, 2009 | 9 Comments »
It’s time.
Time to take that next step and address some of the stagnation that I believe has crept into my writing, seek out new modes of expression.
First of all, that means upgrading the technology I’ve been working with. My old Mac no longer made the nut; it was slow and lacked sufficient memory. Obsolete. [...]
Read Full Post »
