Confessions: Fact or Fiction? a collection of memoir and short fiction written by award-winning authors from around the country. These 22 stories of love, lies, loss and betrayal explore the fragile boundary between truth and fiction.

Stories run the gamut: A priest sleeps with a parishioner.  A girl ruins her cousin’s marriage.  A man is imprisoned with frog woman.  A boy loses faith in his father.  A young woman betrays her best friend over a man.  A love story is written in the style of Kafka.

So often we read a story and wonder: is this fiction or did this really happen?  Or, events are so unbelievable they couldn’t possibly be real?  Or, you might think, of course this is based on the author’s life. Do you ever find yourself hoping that a story that’s sexy, gritty or revealing will turn out to be true?  In this unique anthology we invite you to test your literary sleuthing skills and discover which were “made up” and which actually happened.

The stories’ genres appear in a key at the back of the book, so don’t cheat.  Along with the key, authors discuss the genesis of their stories and their thoughts on the issue of fact vs. fiction, allowing you to gain insight into the author’s writing and your responses to their stories, and also to examine the accuracy of your insights and guesses.

The anthology is available in both paperback and in Kindle/Nook format for purchase at: www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or http://booklocker.com/books/5144.html, and other major retailers’ websites.

Visit us at: www.confessionsanthology.com The official Confessions: Fact or Fiction? website, where you can also buy the book, read excerpts, meet the authors.

View of Dubrovnik from the ancient city wall

Visiting family, most of whom you haven’t seen in 40 years, was, in a word, moving. It was a feast of food, love, and a trek down memory lane. My father, Fritz Burbach (1922-2001), was the oldest of 9 siblings, and beloved by his 5 brothers and 3 sisters, as they told me again and again. There’s so much I could say about him, and I know how much he would have enjoyed being there, but this isn’t about Fritz, it’s just a bit about my journey.

If you haven’t made a pilgrimage to your place of origin, I highly recommend it. I couldn’t believe how welcoming and gracious they were. How different their lives are, and how much the same. We are after all humans first, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, fathers and mothers, second. We connected, re-connected, and our love for one another was renewed. In my honor each sibling (5 still live in Serbia) prepared a table groaning with platters of meat, salads, and side dishes. They prepared the most delicious food–fresh and out of the garden–and served the best wine–made from their own grapes–and created cakes and fruit delicacies that were finger-licking good. I ate and ate, yet somehow avoided gaining a pound, which I attribute to eating the main meal at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon!

The final delight was a visit to Dubrovnik, the “pearl of the Adriatic,” according to a famous British author (I can’t remember who). And that it was. The red-tiled houses rose into the hills and overlooked an incredibly dramatic view of the sea. The ancient city center hugs the water, and its protective wall features a walkway soaring above the structures’ roofs and is open to the public. It’s the most fantastic place from which to see the city, old and new.

Not that it matters, but John Malkovich stayed at “my” hotel and I happened to see him after dinner on the terrace. I realized with a name like that his roots must emanate from here or somewhere within the former Yugoslavia. It would be written Malkovic (without the “h” and a little accent over the “c”). So I wondered if he was visiting or making a film, or just enjoying this enchanting place.

Places that allow us to dream, get lost in the views, experience something new, give us ammunition to keep the quills scribbling. So, here’s to travel! Do it!

Dubrovnik--that's me in the Hotel Neptune restaurant.

** Untitled

by Julie Yeager

I Think of birds growing i think of rainbows after a good wet cry. When the sun finally decides to come out from under a pile of gray socks nothing really matters. A sip of your milk and a thought comes to mind. A blink a stare and emotion closing your eyes to stop the world dreams come true when your spirit becomes a simple act of kindness. Lights beyond the stars in the sky brings me hope and luck for what i know that is true something i believe in is why i stand up to show that it is important to be heard.

My poetry does not always need a theme or rhyme it requires a person who knows god’s grace and true meaning of souls connecting to each other.

A walk and a new poem comes to mind about the birds and the bees but as you know i know about the moon and stars shining over me. Do you know about everything i do i check out a shake or two when you come around i know you drive me crazy.

Everyday at work i try as hard as i can just to ring up my number and i hear a voice i try to avoid it i talked to my friends and now i wanna find angels singing i am waiting for my life to be shared and now it is complete.

i started with birds growing and rainbows now i am ending with sunlight and smiles to be everywhere in your heart and by your side all day long.

**From Julie’s mother Gail: Julie is 23 and has Downs Syndrome. She has just moved into her own apartment, and she is also writing a lot of poetry, especially in coffee shops. Yes, can you picture a young bohemian girl with her journal and a cup of joe? 23 years ago who knew that she would blossom into the woman that she is.

Note from Herta at Chrysalis Editorial: when Darrell Ortmann sent me this poem (Gail is a friend of his), I felt uplifted and wanted to share it with you, my writer friends…and of course anyone who needs a bit of inspiration and sunshine. Hope you enjoy it as i did. Let  Julie and me know what you think and how you felt on reading it.

So you’ve spent your whole summer writing new material, right? Now it’s time for submit! To help you out, here are a few upcoming deadlines for contests and anthologies, as well as some magazines you may not have submitted to in the past:

• Shadowbox. Lit mag seeks literary nonfiction & prose poems. www.shadowboxmagazine.org. Deadline: Oct 15.
• 2010 Nisqually Prize for Fiction from A River & Sound Review. www.riverandsoundreview.org. $500 prize, $15 entry fee.
• Rio Grande Review. Lit Mag, accepts work of all kinds in English and Spanish. www.riograndereview.com
• South Loop Review. Lit mag seaks Creative Nonfiction.< english.colum.edu/southloop.>
• Rough Copy. Fiction Contest. http://roughcopy.net/?page_id=91. $100 prize, $15 entry fee. Deadline: Sept 1.
• SLAB. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, text-based graphic art. slablitmag.org.
• Rose Metal Press. Hybrid genres. 5th Annual Short Short Chapbook Contes<1000 words). www.rosemetal press.com. $10 entry fee.
• Hawai’i Pacific Review. Poetry, fiction, short essays. Request guidelines @ hprsubmissions@hpu.edu.
• Fourth Genre. Lit Mag. www.msupress.msu.edu/journals/fg.
• Ellipsis. Lit mag. Poetry, short fiction, CNF, and art. www.westminstercollege.edu/ellipsis.
• Trajectory. Lit Journal. Short stories, poetry, CNF, photos and art. www.trajectoryjournal.com.
• Muse & Stone. First annual fall issue.  Poems, fiction, CNF. Waynesburg University, 51 W. College St, Waynesburng PA 15370.

By Caitlin MacDougall, Intern

You never forget your first read of your favorite novel—at least I don’t.  In the wake of your first reading, you remember how the book became a part of you, how it shaped and defined that one period in your life, and the painful separation anxiety you felt when you realized you were on the last chapter.  It’s about as good as falling in love.

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird was that first love for many, but I never got the chance to read it.  I remember showing my mother my reading list in junior high and her puzzled look when she realized Lee’s one and only masterpiece, a coming-of-age prerequisite, did not make the cut.  “What kind of middle school doesn’t have To Kill A Mockingbird as required reading?” she asked.  I felt excluded from this literary secret that everyone seemed to relish, but I made it my personal responsibility to read the book on my own.

Years went by and as I checked the American classics off my unofficial reading list (F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, Flannery O’Connor, J.D. Salinger), To Kill A Mockingbird lingered as the itch that had not been scratched.  Walking around Politics and Prose recently, I noticed a re-print of the novel in honor of its 50^th anniversary (I’ll let the baby-boomers take a moment to let that settle in).  As a recent college graduate experiencing my first taste of funemployment, I knew that this summer was my chance to finally fulfill the experience I had missed out on when I was thirteen.

I read the entire book during a weekend with my family in Lake George.  Instead of sailing, hiking, or biking, I spent hours sitting on a hammock on the porch, engrossed in the story.  What I love most about Lee’s writing is her mastery of place.  The passage in which Scout first describes the town of Macomb is unforgettable:

“Macomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oak on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.” (5)

How beautiful.  The description completely sets the tone for the entire novel.  As we follow Scout, Jem, and Dill through the seasons, through their neighbors’ yards and the through heartwrenching trial of Tom Robinson, we are reminded of the heat and listlessness in that first passage about Macomb in the summertime—a description of stagnancy that was sure to be torn apart as the town’s racial epithets are challenged and the characters are drained of their innocence.

Lee’s masterpiece is a testament to the importance of setting certainly, but it is also a reminder to re-read the books that inspire you.  Ask yourself: why is this story so important to me?  What makes it magnificent?  You can read as many How-To books about writing or getting published as you want, but the best lessons are those hidden in the sleeves of that dusty hardcover you love so much.

I have received this year’s American Independent Writers award for best published memoir piece (”The Wall,” which is my immigration story and more broadly that of immigrants now). I feel honored and a bit proud. At a luncheon during the AIW’s conference in DC (mid-June) all the award winners (in various categories) received recognition.

What’s the reason for mentioning this besides wanting to share my good fortune? This: All you writers out there slogging away churning out short stories, essays, novels and non-fiction books should apply for grants and submit your work to contests and award opportunities. You don’t need to do it often, but every so often check the contest & grant sections of Poets & Writers, The Writer, and Writer’s Digest, find one that interests you (some awards are regional, giving you a better chance at winning) and submit your work! Really. DO IT!

Over the past few years, I have received a grant and a fellowship ($6,000) from the DC Commission on the Arts, the James Jones First Novel Fellowship ($10,000) and now this. I’ve applied to other contests and have not “won.”

Pursuing awards and contests is not just for the money, though those are fantastic, it’s more about getting recognized for hard work, having someone acknowledge that your writing is interesting and/or valuable. I have found that receiving such a “prize” is incredibly motivating and heartening, as you might imagine.

A plug for the AIW conference in June. Check it out online: American Independent Writers Conference.

And a plug for my services. I can help you win prizes, land an agent and get published. It’s all possible. GO FOR IT!

Mary Collins was recently awarded the Grand Prize for Nonfiction from the Indie Book Awards for her book American Idle.  Below, she describes her inspiration for writing the book, her journey finding a publisher, and the reasons she chose to embrace a small press.

—

I am often skeptical of writing contests but I must admit that I started my most recent book, American Idle: A Journey Through Our Sedentary Culture, because an essay I did about the culture of sitting for the Health section of the Washington Post won Best Essay of the Year from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), which convinced me a cultural take on the health crisis (rather than purely medical) could work.

I came to write American Idle as well as the essay on sitting because I had a horrible bicycle accident that took away my previously active life as an athlete. I could not sit for more than a few minutes; I dragged my left leg when I walked. Back surgery (and a lot of swimming and PT over many years) helped me recoup about 80 percent of what I lost, but the impact of being forced into a sedentary life—and all the resulting consequences, including depression, a huge decline in my social life and work life—made me want to explore why the majority of Americans choose such a life.

So I set off across the country to talk to factory workers, poor Hispanic women with diabetic children, health care specialists, even the director of the Olympic Center. Along the way I came to believe that the right to move in healthy ways through our landscape is a civic right, which is currently denied a huge portion of the population. Most people do not CHOOSE their unhealthy sedentary lifestyle—as I had supposed—they get boxed into it because of lack of time, unsafe public spaces in their neighborhoods and more.

As a writer with plenty of experience under my belt, I thought it would be easy to sell American Idle, which reads like a memoir but includes plenty of fresh health science. But I quickly learned that the big publishers really dislike blended books—does this belong on the Health shelf or the Cultural shelf, editors would ask? My agent and I did not have a clear answer, which killed my chances. I did find the trade divisions of university presses like Rutgers and Oxford University Press, very eager, but they also take forever (as much as two years to get through outside readers) and often charge way too much.

So I embraced a small press (Capital Books in Washington, DC) and found out a few weeks ago that American Idle won the Grand Prize for Nonfiction from the Indie Book Awards, which just validates in my eyes my decision to go small, quick, low cost (cover price under $20) and with a blended approach. If your product is good, it will get recognized.

You can find out more about my book and my own background at www.marycollinswriter.net. You can order the book at Amazon or contact Jean Westcott at Jean.westcott@booksintl.com directly.

(Being read by Editorial Assistant, Amanda)

Generation X, by Douglas Coupland
Published: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1991, ISBN-10: 031205436X

The inside flap of my faded library copy of Generation X hails the book as a “salute to the generation born in the late 1950s and 1960s—a…suspiciously hushed generation known vaguely up to now as twentysomething.” Having picked up the book on a recommendation, I was immediately worried about the story’s relevance to today—I wanted a book criticizing the culture of now, and this book heralded what Wikipedia defines as the generation born between 1961 and 1983. While some books are timeless, others are only relevant in which the time they are written. This sounded like one of the latter.

The book trails three people (in their twenties) as they drift through the California desert, working (or having quit) pointless jobs and seemingly feeling ambivalent about where they’re headed. It is only through the stories they tell each other–made up renditions of alien planets or of the last man on earth—that we are made aware of just how much they actually expect from life, just how deeply they crave love, stability, and purpose.

I’ve now blazed through the first eighty pages of Generation X. As someone who has spent the last four years drifting down the East coast, who is now contemplating traveling across the world to “find my culture”, I find reading about Coupland’s trio both enlightening and insanely painful.  Coupland has peppered the margins with “vocabulary” that every time stings me with its bitter honesty and makes me question my own life’s importance–from “Cult of Aloneness” (The need for autonomy at all costs…often brought about by overly high expectations of others”) to “Semi-disposable Swedish Furniture” (self-explanatory). And the stories that the three wanderers tell are dripping with the same fears and desires I hide away before bed every night.

It’s not just relevant for me, of course—it’s the majority of my generation. Almost everyone I’ve talked to from my graduating class has expressed their dissatisfaction with the “real world”, or bemoaned their lack of excitement about the future. Many of us have both loved and hated Ikea. The book could have been published yesterday.

I haven’t finished the book yet, but it’s definitely relevant to now, and a definite must-read for any recent graduate. Perhaps even not-so-recent graduates. It seems maybe we’ve all been there.

MATTERHORN: A Novel of the Vietnam War (Karl Marlantes)

The description of the novel on Kindle (yes, I have one) is as follows: “Intense, powerful, and compelling. MATTERHORN is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead and James Jones’s The Thin Red Line.”

That sums it up. I couldn’t do better. I’m about 2/3 of the way through, and I can’t put it down. Riveting is the relationship between the decision-makers and the soldiers in the field (make that jungle and a small mountain they are commanded to defend). Commanders make decisions based on what their superiors want to hear. How many gooks have been killed. Interrupting ammunition and supply lines. Regaining control of that damn hill. Anything that makes them look good despite the consequences to the men out there.

For example, at one point the men have not been resupplied for a week. They are starving, almost out of ammunition, medical supplies, water. They try to capture condensation on their ponchos from the surrounding fog. The higher-ups could give a shit! Recapture the hill. Do this do that, though it will cost the lives of half the troops! That’s what fascinates me. That they would sacrifice their men simply to advance their military careers, and they make these decisions from the safety and comfort of the bases miles removed from the grunts. They smoke, they drink fine whiskey, they converse, check maps, and send out orders. “Fucking do it!”

I admit I’m a bit obsessed with the Vietnam War. It was my war. I protested and fought with state troopers and city police screaming for the US to get out. What I did not understand was the soldiers’ suffering. The horrible conditions they had to fight in. The devastation, deprivation, and the sadness.  I lumped the soldiers in with the military/govt conducting the war. As if the men wanted to be there. I must have been daft. The draft was in effect. Most soldiers, or at least many, many, were there against their will.

The man who wrote the book–Karl Marlantes–was there. He fought and afterwards sat down and typed a novel based on his experiences. He tried to sell it 30 years ago, but no publisher bought it. Thank God they finally saw value in it and someone had the sense to publish it. Though I suppose the time factor has something to do with it. Thirty years ago with the war in the recent past, it was too close, and people may not have bought it. Waiting 30 years, on the other hand, was too long.

As if you couldn’t tell, this book gets five stars from me. It’s terrific. If anyone wants to understand that war, and likely many wars, it’s a must read.

p.s. My next book is Sebastian Junger’s non-fiction WAR. Recently, I had a chance to hear him speak at Politics & Prose here in DC, and he was terrific. This one is about our war in Afghanistan, where he spent five months with the soldiers in a remote valley. Check out the reviews, they are fantastic.

First read article, then I’ll comment on why it’s on a blog about writing.

The Cornell v Loyola lax game, on Saturday (May 15th), was aired on ESPN-U, then made ESPN news, was featured in numerous newspapers, and Max’s (#33) goal made top 10 on ESPN’s sports center the following day.

Max Feely’s Goal In Triple Overtime Advances Cornell Men’s Lax Past Loyola In NCAA Tourney

5/15/2010 5:25:23 PM

Feely #33-in foreground

5/15/2010 5:25:23 PM

ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior Max Feely (#33) picked an opportune time to score his first career goal, as the All-Ivy defender took the ball coast-to-coast for a clear before depositing a shot past the Loyola goalkeeper 1:55 into the third overtime to give Cornell an 11-10 victory on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The win advances the seventh-seeded Big Red into an NCAA quarterfinal contest next Sunday at Stony Brook against the winner of tomorrow’s contest between No. 2 Syracuse and No. 16 Army. Cornell improves to 11-5, while the Greyhounds ended their season at 9-5.

Feely’s goal ended the longest NCAA tournament contest in both school’s history and the longest game on record in Loyola’s storied lacrosse program. Cornell last went into a third overtime against Yale in 1996, falling to the Bulldogs 11-10.

* Box Score
* Cornell Postgame Notes
* Cornell Postgame Press Conference (check it out–Feely answers Qs)
* Loyola Postgame Notes
* Photo Gallery

Okay, I’ll admit it. Max Feely is my son. And this is a ‘proud mom’ moment. Sorry for the brag, but hey, I’m a mom.

A quick disclaimer: The point I want to make may be a bit of a stretch, but this was the thought that came to mind the more I thought about my son’s feat, and that of so many people who succeed at what they set out to do: YOU can accomplish what you set out to do. Even amazing things. It takes hard work, perseverance, discipline, more hard work, perseverance, and faith in yourself. It takes a vision of success.

This morning there was a story on the Today Show about a girl, who at age 8 was kidnapped and brutally raped. The rapist then slit her throat from ear to ear and left her bleeding in a field. She was lucky to have been found 14 hours later by some kids playing nearby. She couldn’t call out because her vocal cords had been sliced. She was told she would never be able to speak again. The next day she spoke. She recovered physically, but was traumatized, as you might expect.

This beautiful little girl set a goal. She would find the killer. Everyday she thought about him and worked to achieve justice. She never gave up, certain that she would succeed. About 18 years later they found her killer! He was convicted and sentenced to life w/o parole. In the cell he hung himself.

Writers and artists: set goals, envision them, keep writing and creating. It’s not easy; it requires diligence, a dedicated work ethic, training, faith.

But there’s one more thing. Make sure you read the following paragraph before moving on to the next blog.

These days there are far too many people who think they can simply write a novel or a memoir, or a work of non-fiction without putting in the time getting training, working at the craft, honing their writing skills, etc. They think a draft or two will do. They think they don’t need a class or a workshop. They think they were born writers. (Okay, for a few that’s true. Sorta’.)

So, like Max Feely, who puts in several hours a day training, who then has to study to get grades (he gets good grades…okay, I’m bragging again), and who then has to find time to sleep, and like the little 8 year old girl, who worked each day to find her killer, you have to put in the time, you have to be disciplined, and you have to believe in yourself.

In the same vein, it is possible to write a story or a book that gets published or wins a prize or both.  So keep at it. Good luck!

Love to hear from you. chrysaliseditorial@rcn.com. Or comment below.