James D. McCallister

author of the Edgewater County series

Story Collections 2013 — Part 2

In the previous installment, we took a look at a newly sequenced, sort-of non-linked collection called PATTERNS OF RECOGNITION. This time, let’s take a gander at THE NIGHT I PRAYED TO ELVIS—the stories contained within its pages all concern the lives and growth of a rural Southern brother and sister, Timmy and Lucy (a/k/a ‘Sissy’) […]

Featured Short Story: FOREVER 27

My first short story publication, this tribute to the grinding life of the traveling merch vendor set me on my current path of authorial success—when ‘Vendor’ won the Pearl 2006 Fiction Award (the apropos title ‘Forever 27’ was suggested by the astute editor, Marilyn Johnson), I knew in my heart that I was on my way. […]

2013 Story Collections — Part 1

A new year seems to invariably bring a new sequencing of my short stories, and 2013 is no different. It’s not that I’m producing a completely new collection of material every year, but a couple more pieces seem to get published (or else simply revised into better condition), and then there’s usually a new story […]

The Next Big Thing: DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW

I was tagged on Facebook and did this exercise for my current book, Fellow Traveler, which being in print makes it technically a Current Big Thing rather than the Next Big Thing. So, you may find yourself asking, what IS the next big thing from the dmac literary universe? Answers below. What is the working […]

Workshopping LET THE GLORY PASS AWAY

Last night I attended the second meeting of a new writer’s support group here in Columbia, SC called ‘Write Club’—the first rule of Write Club is that there are no rules, and the second rule of Write Club is that there are some rules, if that’s at all edifying—and I came away from the experience […]

Short Story Publication Alert!

On March 2, 2013, Fiction365 will feature my short story ‘Patterns of Recognition.’ Please be sure to click through tomorrow to check out this story, and to ‘like’ Fiction365 on Facebook!

UPDATED: DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW Screenplay Progress

UPDATED 2/27/13 11:20am EST All right! The first draft of DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW, the screenplay, is in the can. Thank goodness. At 131 pages I feel that it’s too long, but a revision will sort out problems of pacing and length. In any case, it’s a wonderful feeling to yet again realize a long-held […]

Edgewater County Map

Here’s something fun for Monday morning… a WIP sketch of the layout of my fictional Edgewater County, SC. Needs more detail and a couple of town names yet, but this is good enough for the moment. Looking forward to seeing this fully rendered. NOTE: The action in DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW takes place in the […]

FELLOW TRAVELER Review in Dead Studies Vol. 3

Among the reviews featured in the 2013 edition of Dead Studies, the third volume, is one of Fellow Traveler—a very strong and positive review. Here is a pull-quote. “The novel is to a large degree about not only how first- and second-generation Deadheads keep in touch with what they learned from the Dead but also […]

More DOGS Requests!

To balance out the minor setback of a pass earlier in the week from Bantam/RH, Friday brings three new requests for the manuscript of DOGS OF PARSONS HOLLOW, any of which could deliver results. Pitches by my agent at Inklings Literary, Michelle L. Johnson, have gone out to a few more editors as well, so these requests […]