Smoke

SmokeLong is one of my favorite websites (if you're a smoker and you find yourself bored while you smoke, then this is the site for you). I hadn't planned to mention the new issue of SmokeLong since it's been all over my RSS reader today, but I was happy to see Rosanne Griffeth in the list of contributors and wanted to direct you to her story, Memento Mori. She lives in the eastern part of Tennessee, which is where I spent just about every weekend and large chunks of summers growing up. Her stories are like memories. And they're really good. Be sure to check out the interview too. Four of her stories are in the current issue of Keyhole.

And of course these two SmokeLongs are great: Blake Butler and Shellie Zacharia--both are in Keyhole 3 as well.

A SmokeLong editor had this to say about Shellie Zacharia, and I'm going to have to agree...I'm usually just about this happy to see her name anywhere: "I have a bit of a crush on Shellie Zacharia. It's kind of embarrassing, actually. I see a story by her and I clap my hands and squirm in my seat and lean in closer to the screen, or the page, until the words enter me as if through osmosis. See? I'm excited just by the thought of a Shellie Zacharia story!!...What is it that I like so much about her? She's fun. She never bores me. Even when her stories are serious, they still have that authentically delightful Shellie Zacharia quality. (Apparently her name is pretty spectacular, too, because I can't quit saying it.) Anyway... thank you, Shellie, for gracing us with your presence."