The Antigonish Review 176 ...

arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Actually, three copies arrived, because of course the issue contains my short story "The Fantasy", and you always get a couple of extras when you're a contributor. It's a real beaut of an issue, with a wonderfully apropos winterscape on the cover and lots of interesting stuff inside. I'm excited to read new works by John Wall Barger, Matt Robinson, and Shane Neilson, and there are a ton of unfamiliar names for me to discover as well.

"The Fantasy"will be included in the short story collection I'm releasing next spring with Now or Never Publishing in Vancouver. In terms of the writing, the piece was the rarest of experiences for me: it didn't require rewriting four or six or eleven times over; it pretty much came out in its final form in one shot in December 2012. This has never happened in my 23 years of writing fiction. It also got picked up by the first place I sent it, which is becoming a more regular occurrence, thankfully. It makes me feel like I'm on the right track.

Anyway, The Antigonish Review 176 is available on better news stands around the country. Give it a read and then come back here and let me know what you think.