Tag: published

October 1, 2020

Publishing News: Two Stories for a World on Fire

Writing is a strange craft. You spend months or years with an idea rolling around in the dark recesses of your mind, weeks or months or years coaxing that idea out of the shadows, and months more chipping away at the rough edges before its time to shop a story around to find it a home. And then, out of nowhere, the pieces fall into place in the bizarre ways.

In September, I found out that two of my short stories were going to be published. One was a story that I’d been editing and submitting to various journals for almost three years. The other was an idea I had four or five years ago that crystallized in mid-summer and came pouring out onto the page over the course of a week. Despite their vastly different origins, they both revolve around a similar image: fire.

I love fire. My mom taught me how to build a fire when I was eight or nine years old on one of our camping trips to Zion National Park. To this day, I’m mesmerized by flickering of firelight and in awe of its power to create and destroy. Fire can forge, it can cleanse, it can make way for new life to take hold. Fire can also consume and kill. For me, fire is a metaphor for humanity. We, too, are capable of great beauty and equally terrible destruction.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that this idea should work its way into my short fiction. In “Firemaker,” fire is a symbol of humanity’s potential, as a time traveler discovers when he travels to a village on the verge of being wiped out at the dawn of the last Ice Age. “Pyrocene” embodies the other side of the coin as a character tries to save a house from burning down in a setting that could be the present day or the very near future.

I never thought of these stories as having anything to do with each other, but rereading them, the parallels are obvious. They are intertwined, each commenting on the other. I love being surprised by fiction — sometimes I even surprise myself with hidden themes I didn’t consciously incorporate. In a year when the world feels like it’s on fire (racial injustice, the presidential election, and the actual fires raging across much of the American West for a start), it’s fitting that these two stories will be published together in 2020.

“Pyrocene” will be published in Creative Colloquy’s seventh annual anthology, due out later this year. You can hear me read it at the Creative Colloquy Crawl on Saturday, October 3 at 2pm Pacific time (RSVP here to receive the Zoom link). “Firemaker” will be published in All World’s Wayfarer Issue VII, which will be available on Monday, December 21. You can preorder it for your Kindle at allworldswayfarer.com. The issue will also be free to read on their website until March 20, 2021.

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Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. His writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Creative Colloquy, All Worlds Wayfarer and Grit City Magazine. Follow him on Twitter and subscribe to the mailing list today for exclusive content delivered to your inbox once a month.
September 23, 2017

New Short Story: “How to Steal Copper Wire”

A few years ago, a news article caught my attention. An epidemic was sweeping the nation — copper wire theft. People were stealing wire from streetlights and utilities and many of them were getting killed by electrocution in the process. I remember thinking it was a strange kind of crime. Not long after, I saw another article. Copper thieves were popping up in Tacoma and were ripping wire from streetlights all over the city, causing 56 outages and raking in a few thousand dollars. The problem was so widespread, that the city was undertaking a huge effort to replace the copper in its streetlights with less valuable aluminum. There was a story there, so I wrote it down in my notebook.

Four years later, as I thought about writing a crime story from a criminal’s perspective, I remembered this curious bit of news. And I thought it might be interesting to frame it as a second-person how-to article, like one of the millions of lists all over the Internet, but a guide for criminals just starting out. “How to Steal Copper Wire” was born.

Now, despite the title, I’m not actually going to tell you how to commit this crime. That would be wrong and probably get me into trouble. I’m also not going to spoil it by telling you what it’s actually about. For that, you’ll just have to check it out for yourself:

Read “How to Steal Copper Wire”

Let me know what you think!

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Jonny Eberle is a writer, photographer, and fictional criminal mastermind in Tacoma, WA. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloquy.

Follow him on Twitter or subscribe to the monthly email newsletter to receive exclusive content.
June 21, 2016

New Short Story: “Inheritance”

My newest short story, “Inheritance,” was just published by Creative Colloquy. Two old friends take on a massive project when they renovate an old theatre and run into some unexpected trouble. I’d appreciate it if you’d take a few minutes to read it.

Read Inheritance now!

While you’re on CC’s site, you should also check out the stories and poems by Kristen Orlando, Cordell Corbin, Sharon Frame Gay, and Marck T. Wilder.

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Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. He can often be found writing, drinking tea, and looking wistfully out windows. If you liked that, join the mailing list.
April 14, 2015

New Short Story: “The Cannibals of Kitsap”

My newest short story, “The Cannibals of Kitsap,” was just published in this week’s Creative Colloquy. It has everything you could ever want — fourth grade intrigue, food that isn’t what it appears to be, and of course, cannibalism in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t want to give too much away, but I do want to encourage you to read it. I hope you enjoy it.

I’m humbled to be published alongside Nick Stillman, L. Lisa Lawrence, and Lawander Thompson. You should definitely check out their stories after you’ve read mine. I’m thrilled to have my fiction appear on Creative Colloquy’s website once more. CC is a Tacoma-based literary website that publishes South Sound writers and hosts a super fun live reading and open mic night once a month at B Sharp Cafe in Tacoma’s Theatre District. This month, I’ll be reading “The Cannibals of Kitsap” as one of the featured readers on Monday, April 27 at 7pm. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Thanks for reading!

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Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. His previous short story, The Observable Universe, was published by Creative Colloquy in July 2014. He is currently looking for a theatre company to stage his full-length play, Worm Food. You can find him on the Twitter.
July 30, 2014

Spotlight

I’ve performed before. I’ve been involved in theatre most of my life and for as long as I can remember, I never struggled with stage fright. But last night, it hit me. I was distracted; jittery; my hands shook. I was nervous when I took the stage. My own voice was blasting into my ear from a nearby amp. But slowly, I built momentum.

Last night, I read a short story for Creative Colloquy, a monthly live fiction and poetry reading held at B Sharp Coffee House in hilly downtown Tacoma. A couple dozen people crowd into a narrow industrial building with exposed beams and cement floors to share their stories. This month, I was one of the event’s featured writers, along with Christian Carvajal, Dan Rahe, Gabriel D. Roberts and Lory French. It was a pleasure to be counted among such great local talent.

Reading your own material is nerve-wracking. You’re shining a harsh spotlight on a bit of your soul, hoping for a good reaction. At the same time, reading your own material is exhilarating, because for once, you can see your audience’s reaction. After the first few halting paragraphs, I fell into a rhythm fed by the mood of the room. I had more control over the story than if it was being read on the website. I dictated the pace, the pauses, the highs and the lows. I got to connect with my listeners in a way I never had before — speaking directly to them like my distant forebears around the fire.

When it was over, they applauded, and all my worries about the piece melted away in a wash of approval. Yielding the stage for the next storyteller, I felt good. I felt like a writer. And I know I’ll be back to do it again.

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Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. His short story, The Observable Universe, was published by Creative Colloquy in July. You can follow him on Twitter at @jonnyeberle.
July 8, 2014

In Which I Become a Big-Time Published Writer

I have exciting news — I have a published short story out on the Interwebs. It’s called “The Observable Universe” and you can read it right now on Creative Colloquy.

It feels great to have my writing reach a larger audience, like hitting a grand slam while eating a pizza; like I’ve climbed to the mountaintop secret writing club, been accepted and received a jacket with my name embroidered on it. I’m certain that fame, fortune and lucrative book deals are in the mail as we speak.

This is the first time one of my stories has been published and I’m very proud of it. While you’re over on Creative Colloquy’s site, check out the other stories. CC is an awesome literary website that publishes new work by South Sound writers every two weeks. Once a month, they also host a reading and open mic night in Tacoma.

This month, I’ll be one of the featured writers. If you’re in the Seattle-Tacoma area, come down to the B Sharp Coffee House on Monday, July 28 at 7:00 pm. I be reading my short story alongside other talented storytellers. Come support local writers and artists!

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Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. You just read all about his new story, but did you know that he also has a Twitter feed? Once you’re done reading, you should follow him on Twitter and tweet him your thoughts. Thanks for reading!
April 9, 2014

Who Are You Calling An Expert?

A strange transformation happens after you’ve been doing something for a few years. Whether its writing or swing dancing, people around you start to notice. Maybe they can sense your comfort, or experience gives off a distinct odor, but others begin to gravitate toward you, seeking the source of your success. And they usually bring questions. For a writer with a few years of writerly toil under his belt, these questions generally take some form of, “Can you read this and tell me how to get it published?”

I had someone ask me that last week, someone I barely knew. I said I was a writer and the next thing I knew, I was being asked for professional advice. I don’t mind giving it, but am I qualified? I’m not a wise man or a guru. I haven’t found my big break. When the hot spotlight is on me, do I actually have anything useful to tell someone just starting to dabble in the words business?

In all fairness, I’m not new at this writing thing; I’ve been writing since before I could read. I have been doing this for years. Still, when someone asks me for advice, all I can think of are the things I don’t know. I don’t know how to get published (other than its really hard, probably requires a fair bit of luck and I haven’t done it yet). I feel like a cat holding a press conference (see image above).

But when the anxiety wears off, I realize that I do have one or two nuggets of wisdom. Always have someone edit your work with ruthlessness. Read everything you can about everything you can. Practice writing all the time. Those are good places to start. I don’t want to come off as arrogant to a new writer. Not too long ago, I was right where they’re standing. Like them, I sought out more experienced voices and even if they couldn’t answer all of my questions, they did the best they could.

After reading through my acquaintance’s piece, I didn’t have any earth-shattering insight to give. So, I did the best I could, pointing out edits I noticed and offering words of encouragement. We’ve all been there.

Writers are a close-knit community. If we refuse help to people on their way up the ladder, we may discourage promising new talent. Most of us made it this far with help. It only makes sense to pass our hard-won knowledge on to others.

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Jonny Eberle doesn’t have all the answers, but he does have a fancy Twitter feed. Please leave your comments below and thanks for reading!