Michael Schiavone

photo credit: Sarah Tew Photography

   Michael Schiavone's short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines and been recognized by dozens of award programs, including Glimmer Train's. His debut novel Call Me When You Land was released this October and received an early starred review from Library Journal. Schiavone worked as a stock broker in San Francisco and Boston during the late '90s dot-com boom. Following that bubble's burst, he tended bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He currently lives in Gloucester, MA, with his wife, son, and their three dogs, and is at work on his next novel, Wackers. When not writing, Schiavone works as an emergency medical technician and day trader.
 

Why I Don't Write Today

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  1. Because I have nothing to say. Because I'm bare. I don't write today because I'm tired of telling the same old story.

  2. I don't write today because of Google and Facebook, Hulu and FailBlog. I don't write today because of Craigslist.

  3. Because it's sunny. Because I should be outside. Because the page is blank and I'm terrified.

  4. I won't write today since he got published. Since her book's a bestseller. Since he went to Iowa and she's attractive. I won't write today since they're all a bunch of frauds.

  5. Not today because it's my only day off. Because I deserve to be numb. Not today because I'm aging.

  6. The lawn is overgrown, the gutters clogged. The dog needs a walk and the laundry's moldy. I can't write today because I'm being invaded.

  7. I won't write today because of car wrecks. Because of terrorism. I won't write today because of uncertainty and pain.

  8. Because my son is screaming. Because he wants his daddy. Because today isn't mine.

  9. I don't write today because of whispering neighbors and pointing fingers. I don't write today because I'm paranoid.

  10. I can't write today because I'm unbalanced, uneven. Because my serotonin is low. I can't write today because something is terribly wrong.

You'll say this too shall pass—that I've been here before, been here before plenty. The dark side of the process, you'll add. You'll tell me to suck it up, quit complaining. You'll say there's always tomorrow.

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