"one of literature’s most unreliable narrators: a murderous, narcissistic, yet oddly appealing young woman"

Brent Terry reviews Bombyonder at Cleaver Magazine:

Welcome to the crater. Keep your head down, your eyes open, and try not to lose your lunch…or your mind. Your guide on this journey is one of literature’s most unreliable narrators: a murderous, narcissistic, yet oddly appealing young woman on a quest through the bombed-out wreckage of her own psyche, in search of a past she can hang her hat on, a future that tells the truth, the real nature of her bomb-maker father’s legacy, and a little birdy that might make everything turn out okay.

Reb Livingston’s literary forbears are legion. In this compellingly daft, lyrical, and mind-expanding novel we find traces of Sophocles, Lewis Carrol, Vonnegut, the Nabokov of Pale Fire, Hunter S. Thompson, Gertrude Stein, and Shelley—both of them—all run through the cerebral cortex of Tim Burton, put in a pill and swallowed whole by Livingston, the effect of which is an acid-trip of a novel that requires every bit of guile and courage a reader can muster. Livingston is best known as a poet, (with two critically acclaimed books and a Best American Poetry appearance to her credit) and her poetic sensibilities guide this book: not magical realism, but hyper-realism smashed to bits and reassembled, reanimated, and turned loose among the unsuspecting villagers.

READ ENTIRE REVIEW

All Kinds of Hijinks at Queen Mob's

Russell Bennetts and I talk about Bombyonder, coffee and Kid Rock as part of his on-going series, Poets Online Talk About Coffee.

Spoiler: I don't like coffee.

By popular demand (snort) I did a Tarot Spat regarding a Patton Oswalt tweet from earlier this week.

I asked the Bibliomancy Oracle to make some literary prophecies for 2015. As usual, it did not disappoint.

Queen Mob's Teahouse has only been open for a little over 2 months, but I'm in awe of all the pieces appearing there. I'm not aware of any arts/literary magazine with both the range and willingness to cover important subjects all while being so vibrant. Of course, I'm biased, but I'm really thrilled to be a part of it.

There's poems, fiction and weird advice, oh my!

Here's just a handful of recent posts I'm recommending (it's in no way a complete list):

Essay: NEW YORK, 2014 by Rebecca Loudon
Essay: 2015: THE YEAR WE GET ANGRY AGAIN by Sarah Certa
Satire: ‘JE SUIS!’ STARRING THE KU KLUX KLAN: A VERY (VERY) POORLY DRAWN COMIC STRIP by Rion Scott
Essay: WARMAN WRITES ABOUT SEX by Laura Warman
Review: FORCE MAJEURE (2014): A PORTRAIT OF DISHARMONY by Jacqueline Valencia
Essay: SHAME AND THE RUIN OF THE ARISTOCRACY by Daniel Tutt
Interview: PUTIN TEST: VLADIMIR SAVICH (interviewed by Russell Bennetts)
Review: I WENT TO THE SAME MFA SCHOOL AS JOANNA RUOCCO by Mark Baumer
Art: HAUTE PORTRAITURE by Greg Bem 
Sight Unseen Review: ANTICHRIST 2 by Gary J Shipley
Sight Unseen Review: TARZAN (2016) by Rachel Milligan
Sight Unseen Review: MR TURNER by Erik Kennedy
Poems: POEMHACK: “BELTED GALLOWAYS OF FEARRINGTON VILLAGE” by Donald Dunbar
Essay: ZONE HOLES ARE REAL, OR POET PARENTING: AN EXAMINING POLEMIC IN COMPARISONS by Russell Jaffe
Essay: WOLVES & SHEEP: SOME “BAD” SEX WRITING – WISDOM – by Rauan Klassnik
Fiction: THE HEALER by João Cerqueira (translated by Chris Mingay)


Ok, I better stop, I could go on forever.

Queen Mob's Teahouse

I have a new Dreamsplaining with Jeannine Hall Gailey up at Queen Mob's Teahouse where I discuss the dreaded "death" dream.

If you haven't been to Queen Mob's Teahouse recently, you should really check it out. Especially if you enjoy quirky. There's an engaging and diverse group of regular contributors, as well as a number of guest writers offering up a lot of compelling pieces. It's introduced to me a number of folks I wasn't familiar with before. This is something I appreciate because I'd been wanting (and working towards) expanding what I've been reading as well as hoping to expand my own audience.

If you're looking to write for a literary website, there's a number of opportunities: essays, reviews (of all kinds of things, including films you HAVEN'T seen), fiction, poetry, satire/humor, art, you name it. If there's something else you'd like to write about the editors, Rauan Klassnik and Russell Bennetts, are open to pitches.

If you're on Tumblr, please follow us there. I'm managing it and feeling a little lonely. Would love a bigger audience.

Bombyonder is a Fiction Bestseller

So says Small Press Distribution! Somehow the book managed to eek onto their bestseller list for the months of November & December 2014.

It would be wonderful to move up the list, or just remain on it during January. If you haven't got your copy yet, now would be a great time to do so. SPD is a really good option to purchase from (better for both the press & the author). It's also available elsewhere (both in paperback and ebook format), like Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple Bookstore and Kobo.

Thank you to everyone who helped put the book on the bestseller list!