He's Ba-a-ack

Yes, the blog is back. (You didn’t really think I fired it up just to interview Beau Johnson, did you? Not that it wouldn’t have been worth it. Beau’s a hoot.) “One Bite at a Time” is back because a few months away recharged my batteries. The release of Pushing Water on May 4 from Down & Out Books gave me a concrete reason. Setting up the online tour has gone better than in the past, so that helps, too. I’ve settled into a more stable situation with my vision now and, while I don’t read as fast or as much as I used to (or would like), my attitude has improved to the point where I have things to say and books to praise again.

The differences won’t be great, though the approach may vary a little. I’ll resume the capsule reviews of books I liked, though maybe not monthly. Movie reviews will probably only happen for things I really liked, or really didn’t like.

(“Why do I only review books I liked and will rip a movie?” you ask. Because I rarely read bestsellers and the publishing industry is already a harsh enough mistress for anyone else. And because we already have “CatLadyinDesMoines56,” who was okay with the fifteen ritual torture murders your book intimately described but you lost her when the killer dropped an egg and said, “Shit” so she stopped reading and gave the book one star and the title for her review is “If you like disgusting language you’ll love this book.” Multiple people have already said any movie you get to see is good enough to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on, so fuck them if I think it sucks.)

There will be interviews. Guest posts. It occurred to me some things I said years ago are still relevant, or have become relevant again, so I may repost for those who didn’t see them the first time. I may even do a little promotion of my own books. (Did I mention Pushing Water drops May 4 from Down & Out? Interested in pre-ordering? Step this way.)

Mostly, the resurrected OBAAT will be fun to write. What shut it down in the first place was it had become a chore. I realize now that the long-term solution is not to stop writing, but to make sure it doesn’t become too much like work. If I find something funny, or interesting, or worthy of snark, that’s what keyboards and blogs are for. I’ll keep to the regular Friday schedule but may drop in the occasional quick hitter during the week for a random thought that won’t keep.

In short, this iteration of the blog will better reflect my general attitude toward life in general: The world does a piss poor job of entertaining me, so I have to do it myself. Whatever happens to the rest of you is collateral damage.