Slice, Issue 4 — Going Home

My contributor copy of Slice Magazine, featuring my story “My Status,” came in the mail today.

It sure is purty. Looks- and size-wise it’s similar to The Believer. Lots of good stuff that I’ll hopefully be digging into soon.

Did pleasantly note, though, that the Paul Auster interview appears right before my story. Speaking of which, here’s the first paragraph of “My Status”:

“Pictures don’t lie. And there I am, in a photo that’s now prominently displayed on the fridge, among the magnets and coupons and crazed crayon drawings of my eight-year-old son. It took a while to recognize myself. Then it was like: Oh shit, that’s me. Bloated, drunk, ugly, looking like a man who’s made an all-star career of letting people down, including himself. Damn. Is that really me? Are my eyes really that close together, that guilty? And how long has the photo been up? I don’t live here anymore, so maybe it’s been a while and I just haven’t noticed it until now, here to pick up my son. Every other Saturday is the agreed upon arrangement. That’s when I’m still a dad.”

The story also features Trader Joe’s, tofu, a dognapping, regret, redemption (maybe), the 605 freeway and a karate instructor named Sensei Jerry.

Fellow contributors include Alex Littlefield, Sari Wilson, Caroline Woods, Maggie Veness, Matt Cook, Martha Clarkson, Alexi Zentner, Eric Vale, Scott Bowman, Sharon Harrigan, Knox Dupree, Karen Regen-Tuero, Melinda Clark, Monica Anzalone, Alison Kim, Yoon Sunwoo, Seung Ryoul Lee, Jennifer Yoon, Nikki Van Noy, Jessica Gomez, Anthony Carelli, Ben Gantcher, Elizabeth Schmidt, Tom Haushalter, Maria Gagliano, Ian McConnel and Celia Blue Johnson.

And, as usual, the editors have lined up some amazing interviews: the aforementiond Mr. Auster, plus Lisa See, Ed White, Aleskandar Hemon and Haven Kimmel.

If you’re interested in purchasing the issue directly from Slice, you can do that here.

Or look for a bookstore near you that carries Slice.