Piddling Drivel

  I just finished reading "The Photographer", Mary Dixie Carter's disturbing debut novel about a talented New York City photographer who, let's say, inserts herself into the lives and families of her clients in unsettling ways.  This was another one that was hard to put down once I dug into it, and I was intrigued with the way the protagonist was able to manipulate not only her photos, but her clients as well.  Another fantastically disquieting read.

  My wonderful, loving, caring much younger wife has helped me over the years convert my beerlove from an almost-12-pack-a-night cheap lite shit habit to a more refined occasional local-microbrew-or-two per week one, and my health's all the better for it.  Honestly.  I'm healthier and feel better in my fifties than I did in my twenties and thirties thanks to her.   Between the above-mentioned habit shift and an almost 80 lb. weight loss over a few years I quite literally owe her my life.  Stepping on our scale is a morning routine, and this morning I found myself feeling bloated while undressing for my shower.  Yesterday we picked up a sixer of one of many awesome local Octoberfests (wifey's a fiend) now that they're coming out, and we each sipped a couple while Netflixing and enjoying an intensely heavy thunderstorm.   So this morning I stripped naked and, after observing my paunch in the mirror reluctantly stepped on the old honesty meter....

  A little advice, please-  I've written dozens of flash- and short fiction tales, and most are not what one would consider mainstream and are a little offbeat for most "normal" literary journals.  I've spent way too much time searching for literary journals that accept darker pieces, but after perusing submission guideline after submission guideline I just can't seem to find a suitable home for my brief tales.  If anyone has any insights into who might be willing to look at darker fiction I'd appreciate the suggestion.  

  I just finished "The Widow", a twisty tale of abduction, pedophilia and secrets that, although a novel of fiction is, unfortunately all too real.  The things not spoken between a husband and wife can be unsettling, and there are those out there whose sympathy-seeking ploys fuck with one's mind.  Fiona Barton's debut novel was another creepy read that was hard to put down.