finding the lit: vol. 3

reviews

Welcome to finding the lit, where I share the fiction I’ve been reading and enjoying on Substack.

The gap between vol. 2 and vol. 3 is a bit longer than between vol. 1 and vol. 2, but I imagine there will be even longer gaps as this thing goes on. It all depends on how much personal and work stuff I’ve got going and whether that allows the time to carve out some thoughts on some of the stuff that sticks out to me. Holiday season is going to be slow.

I once again sat here and typed a much longer intro that I think should maybe be a non-fic post of its own, so there is currently a very rough first pass at an essay sitting in my drafts about fiction on Substack in general and what it really means to re-stack someone’s fiction and the power that has in growing our community. Maybe I’ll post that by next weekend.

Remember, this is just lit fic that I’ve found and enjoyed this week — I don’t claim to be an authority, nor should I be considered one. If you don’t give a fuck about what a random, anonymous, non-credentialed literature enjoyer thinks about Substack posts, this probably isn’t for you. But at least read some of my stories first to see what you think of those.

I’m particularly proud of the haul I’m presenting this week as while you may have read a few of them, I don’t think I’m mistaken in saying all of these have less than 1k subscribers, and some may even have a hundred or less or thereabouts, and it never ceases to stagger me some of the quality that lurks on this website, if you can weed through the not-so-good, which I’ve done here for you.

Without further ado — here’s vol. 3 —

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Cobol

has a cool thing going with these modern myths. It may seem formulaic, but each one manages to be unique, fitting, and espouse some moral of our times from a perspective you may not have considered. They describe their blog as ‘pulp mythology’ — now that is an idea.

Cobol has been posting for a long while, so there are a lot of these bite-sized pieces of mythos to chew on. I dug through their posts to find this one I particularly liked.

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I have to say, this was my favorite short story of the past week and a half or so. This was a 25 minute read I stowed away for a quiet moment (remember to use the SAVE button!) and I am glad I did. Violet later confirmed for me that she does not consider this autofiction, but I think that my two points in the Note stand — this is a short story with powerful yet subtle messaging about what online communities can mean to us, how we find ourselves reflected in them and, sometimes, don’t recognize the characters from those communities come to life.

And the prose is great. Trying to think of a published author to compare it to, but I’m not sure at the moment. Read it and help me out.

Violet so far only has two posts, and this one was posted over a month ago on August 9th. Their bio says she has an MA, so I am wondering if that is in something writing adjacent. Whatever the case, I hope Violet graces us with some stories again soon, so maybe subscribe to Love Letters, Corrected For Grammar (great name) and maybe we’ll encourage her and gain another in the fiction community.

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Ah,

Victor D. Sandiego

. What can I say that I haven’t already said. Most of you have probably read me waxing about Victor’s command of metaphor in the past. His latest story takes figurative aim at “words” and is a particularly pertinent warning in our charged times full of careless speech.

Victor was one of my first Substack loves so I didn’t have to delve too deep for him, but I’m always looking to help others recognize his prowess.

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Ray Downs

usually has a tongue-in-cheek, humorous side to his writing, but this one was dark and serious, and I was glad to see Ray thrive in that new tone.

I’ve been on Ray’s podcast and we had a great convo about writing, so if you’re curious what my voice sounds like, go have a listen. It’s true that he said he doesn’t re-read what he publishes, which boggles me.

I think this must have been Ray’s most popular post, and I’m happy for it. Ray’s work typically focuses on masculinity and the relations between the sexes as well as between men, much like this most recent tale.

Read this and think about how you’d feel in the narrator’s shoes.

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Now, this is what finding the lit is all about. I am totally down for people to mention me on Notes with something good they’ve read. I take

Deirdre Lewis

and her recommendation very seriously since I bought her book and everything, and she did not disappoint with this short fiction from

J.K. Ghillis

. I really liked the imagery like I said in this Note, and also the collision of themes that are all sort of strung together and tangentially related. There are slight quirks and twists to the typical veteran’s tale, so check it out.

After reading this short sampling, I dove into one of Ghillis’s recent short stories. For those of you that enjoy my work, which often involves nostalgia and the embarrassment of growing out of boyhood, check that one out as well, you’ll like the vibe.

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That’s a wrap on vol. 3! When I started this series I thought there might be a dearth of good lit-fic out there and instead more genre stuff, but so far I’ve been able to find a lot. I’ll eventually include some genre picks here — definitely some horror and maybe some sci-fi as well, as some of my favorite writers on Substack are in that genre. I think that will be my goal in the next edition.

I’ll leave you with this:

And a short story I wrote a while back for your perusal: