Jacke Wilson

March 22, 2014

Don’t Be Discouraged: You Are New!

Editor’s Note: In honor of springtime, I thought I’d rerun this post from last year, which remains one of the most popular posts we’ve had. Hope wins! In an interview with Tinhouse’s J.C. Hallman, Walter Kirn refers to a common anxiety among writers: J.C. Hallman: Do creative writers have an obligation to act as critics, to offer Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Writing

motivation, Optimism, Publishing, Writers, Writing

March 21, 2014

Who’s Cheating America: The Bad Penny

A penny sale! What could be cuter? In my family, we tell the story of my aunt climbing out of her crib, helping herself to my grandmother’s jewelry, and peddling it to neighborhood kids for a penny apiece. Luckily that was in small-town Wisconsin, and all the jewelry was recovered, with the exception of the Continue reading

Who’s Cheating America

cheating, fraud, penny auction, zeekler

March 19, 2014

Free Fiction: The Promotion Minisode #2

As announced last week, The Promotion: A Novella is now available for sale from Amazon as an e-book, and the print version should be up very soon (i.e., in the next few days). I’m also releasing sections of the book in a series of minisodes. Enjoy! Previously in The Promotion: Minisode #1: In Which the Narrator Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Novellas, Publishing, The Promotion

attorneys, Edgar Allan Poe, Fiction, Humor, lawyers, legal

March 18, 2014

Small Press Shout-Out: Les Figues Press!

Okay! We’re back from our foray into the world of B-Corporation small presses and are in the more familiar world of nonprofit small presses. This week: Les Figues Press! The first thing that jumped out at me on their website is that they have a link for membership. Become a member? Of a small press? Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Publishing

les figues, Publishing, Small press

March 17, 2014

Free Fiction: The Promotion Minisode #1

As announced last week, The Promotion: A Novella is now available for sale from Amazon as an e-book, and the print version should be up very soon (i.e., in the next few days). I’m also planning to release the book for you, the readers of the Jacke Blog, in a series of minisodes. Enjoy! The Promotion Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Novellas, Publishing, The Promotion

attorneys, Edgar Allan Poe, Fiction, Humor, lawyers, legal

March 16, 2014

What They Knew #29

“It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.” – Oscar Wilde Continue reading

Authors, What They Knew

information, Oscar Wilde

March 15, 2014

The Novella and the Tramp

Do you recognize this man? (Hint: He’s a genius.) If you guessed “Charlie Chaplin, film star,” you’re partially right. The correct answer is “Charlie Chaplin, film star and novella-ist. The Hollywood Reporter has the news: The only book Charlie Chaplin ever wrote has been restored and will soon be published by an Italian film restoration Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Novellas, Publishing, Writing

bologna, charlie chaplin, novella

March 14, 2014

Who’s Cheating America: Zip-A-Dee-Doo…D’Oh!

Oh man. The nicknames for bribe money continue. Last time it was thanks to some lovers of literature. This time, our corrupt officials are apparently Disney fans. Old-school Disney fans. As in, old-school pretty ugly more-or-less-racist Disney fans: According to prosecutors, the investigation revealed Mayor Mack colluded with Trenton sandwich shop owner Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni, Continue reading

Who’s Cheating America

cheating, disney, government corruption, mayor mack, racist, song of the south, uncle remus

March 12, 2014

Who’s Cheating America: Lovers of Literature!

Okay, okay. Government procurement officials have been corrupt since the beginning of time. It happens everywhere; America is no exception. Stories like this one… A Utah federal judge sentenced a former U.S. Department of Defense procurement official involved in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme with foreign military aircraft purchases to 24 months in prison, Continue reading

Who’s Cheating America

cheating, government corruption, lovers of literature

March 11, 2014

Small Press Shout-Out: Little Pickle Press!

Here we go, people. Ask and ye shall receive. We were looking for a small press brave and bold enough to venture into B Corporation* waters. *A fuller explanation of a B Corporation is here. The nutshell version is that it’s a legal entity that enables a company to adopt a broader mandate than the Continue reading

Authors, Fiction, Publishing

B Corporation, little pickle press, Publishing, Small press