Nothing To See Here

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That's right. Just keep moving along...

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

To be honest, I've been a bit busy the last couple of years. For the most part, though, not with writing or artwork. I'm hoping that will change soon. 

The last story I had accepted, Closure, has disappeared into limbo. My story, Closure, was accepted by Thirteen O'Clock Press for inclusion in their X6 anthology. Editing was finished. The cover artwork had been revealed. All the stories had been sent to the editor for publication, including a tiny poem I'd written that had been missed in an earlier anthology. And we waited for it to appear in print. And then we waited some more. The publisher has vanished. Nobody is sure if he is still alive. Attempts by myself and the editor to reach this person have not been successful. In this era of COVID, that might be a bad sign. The website hasn't been updated lately. The last Facebook post is over a year old, and shows the cover of the anthology.

Facebook post from March 28, 2021

So, it looks like I'm out of luck on this one. I haven't decided if I'll submit the story elsewhere or save it for inclusion in a self-published collection. The same goes for the poem.

I had submitted another short story, The Dark Side of the Moon, to an anthology back in February. I received a rejection just a couple of weeks ago. Although it's difficult to get a read on how a publisher feels about a story from a short rejection letter, I have the distinct impression they were not impressed. That might end up on Patreon. If the story really is that bad, it won't matter if I post it there. Nobody reads my Patreon posts anyway. 

All of this means you can read my latest stories absolutely nowhere!

I still have old stuff out there. You can find anthologies published on Amazon with my stories HERE.

There are a few anthologies via Lulu, too, with my stories:

Lonesome Train

Death & Decorations

Beyond the Shroud

There you have it! Everything you need to know!

Someday, I'll have some real news to report. Until then, you'll have to rely on the brief musings I have on Medium. 

Thanks for stopping by!

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© 2022 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 42 - For Real This Year?

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Some of you may know that I've attended the Shore Leave Star Trek / Sci-Fi convention in the past. For the last two years, the physical convention has been cancelled due to COVID and only Zoom interviews and such have taken place. It appears Shore Leave will be live in 2022 as long as nothing changes.

What does this mean?

Live guests and authors will appear and there will be the chance to talk with them, get pictures and autographs, and have a more normal con than has been possible for some time. 

Note: I had just pasted their photos into this post when the line-up changed. Denis Lawson and Jewel Staite will no longer be able to attend due to other commitments. But the Shore Leave folks have arranged for a few other actors to come instead (Summer Glau, Laz Alonso, and Jessie Usher)!

Here are the guests currently expected for Shore Leave 42:

Shore Leave 42 actor guests.
Image from the Shore Leave web site.

The convention doesn't have a schedule yet, but more than 40 authors have stated they plan to attend. It's likely there will be many of the same panels as in the past, but as so much time has gone by since the last convention, I'm hoping for a few new and interesting ones.

As always, I plan to have a few pieces of artwork ready for the art show. I will also be giving away a few books. I'll have more on that at a later date.

Shore Leave 42 will take place at the Delta Hotels Baltimore Hunt Valley from July 15 - 17, 2022, but the website states that the room block for the convention is already sold out. So, if you're planning to go and don't have a reservation, you'll have to find rooms elsewhere. 

You can download the current flyer HERE.

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© 2022 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Dark Fantasy On Sale! Dead Lake

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Okay, the sale is over, but you can still check out Dead Lake with the links below!

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If you're looking for a little dark fantasy to read, do I have a deal for you!

Miranda Kate, author of many horror and science fiction stories, is offering her latest book, Dead Lake, for only $.99 for the next week! It already has 3 five-star reviews!

Dead Lake is a dark paranormal fantasy novel set a few hundred years from now in a post-apocalyptic world. After a massive shift of the tectonic plates decimated the world and its population, life on the remaining landmass has returned to simple living, with money, rulers and religion no longer tolerated. If you've followed Miranda's blog you may already be familiar with the protagonist of this novel, Tricky. 

For a little bit more of what to expect, here's Tricky's situation:

Sometimes it pays to be tricky

 

Damn and blast! That rancid piece of excrement, Carter, has had her ransacked out of Clancy!

Tricky returns to her cottage to find it turned upside down. An action that means she’s got three days to leave the district or face punishment. Randolf Carter, head of the district, is spreading lies and suspicion about her kind, making life difficult. But it wasn’t just an ordinary ransacking – they were searching for something.

Using her gifts, Tricky traces the energy left by the men and spies another creature’s energy among it: a jackdaw. Swift and wily, it’s pinched her precious gemstone, a piece of black obsidian. But at whose bidding? Communicating with birds is a rare ability and she knows all who possess it.

Tricky wants her stone back, but coming up against people like Carter won’t be easy, especially when he’s got one of her kind in his employ. But she’ll handle it, oh yes she will. She'll just have to be careful and a little bit tricky. Good thing she is then, isn’t it?

Adept at working with energy and time as well as communicating with trees, Tricky is lured into something bigger than ownership of a gemstone, and finds out that sometimes it pays to be a little bit tricky.

The book will only be on sale for a week, so don't delay! 

Miranda Kate

Here are a few of her books available on Amazon!

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© 2022 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Mid-Week Flash Challenge on Medium - Customer Service

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NOTE: This week, I've posted an entry for Miranda Kate's Weekly Flash Fiction Challenge on Medium (with free access so you don't have to be a member to view it). It is titled Customer Service. So few people are looking at my blog these days I have a better chance of someone reading it on Medium or Patreon. I chose Medium this time. So, after the intro below, you'll find a link to the story on Medium.

Intro:

The story that follows is for a flash fiction writing challenge posted each week by author Miranda Kate. This is week number 235! You can click on this link to see the prompt image and rules.

This is from Miranda's post:

"This week's picture prompt is by artist Dan Luvisi over on Deviant Art. He made this for his science fiction book, Last Man Standing: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter - this is the character Hex. I initially only found a picture of the head of this saved, and it is all over the internet as wallpaper with all the colours enhanced, but when I found the entire original, I much preferred it as it offers so much more. Plus, crediting is SO necessary, so that the artist gets recognised and in this case, a fellow writer gets referenced. Sadly it looks like the book is out of print otherwise I would have bought a copy." 

The challenge asks for a story less than 750 words. My story has 479 words (not including the title), just in case you were counting. This week's tale has a bit of light humor...

Link to Customer Service on Medium (free access)

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© 2022 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Mid-Week Flash Challenge On Medium - Dark Winds

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NOTE: This week, I've posted an entry for Miranda Kate's Weekly Flash Fiction Challenge on Medium (with free access so you don't have to be a member to view it). It is titled Dark Winds. So few people are looking at my blog these days I have a better chance of someone reading it on Medium or Patreon. I chose Medium this time. So, after the intro below, you'll find a link to the story on Medium.

Intro:

The story that follows is for a flash fiction writing challenge posted each week by author Miranda Kate. This is week number 234! You can click on this link to see the prompt image and rules.

The prompt image brought to mind the 1928 silent film titled The Wind starring Lillian Gish (her last silent film role). This is a flash fiction tale along those lines, but with a dark ending more like the original story than the movie.

The challenge asks for a story less than 750 words. My story has 596 words (not including the title), just in case you were counting.

Link to DARK WINDS on Medium

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© 2022 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 232 - The Fishing Trip

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This story is for Miranda Kate's weekly flash challenge. She posts an image as an inspirational prompt for writing a story. This is from Miranda's post:

This week's photo is another by Florence Caplain, a French photographer. She says about it: 'I would be a princess and I would sail on the emerald on a prodigious throne.'

Here's a link to the prompt image. Sometimes the story makes more sense if you see the prompt image. If I'm lucky, it might make sense whether you see it or not. Please note that anyone can join in with a story up to 750 words. Mine has 662 words for those who are counting. A little Southern noir this week.

The Fishing Trip

Bobby pulled his bass boat up to the dock. He turned to slip a line over a piling when a large, black boot came down on top of it. Bobby looked up to see Sheriff McCauley staring down at him.

"Been doin' a little fishin', Bobby?"

"What's it look like?"

The sheriff looked into the boat. "I don't see no fish."

"Weren't bitin'."

"Well, when it's hot like this, sometimes they don't. Bite, that is." The sheriff fanned himself with his hat as damselflies circled the dock, then leaned over and smiled at Bobby. "You know, if I was a young man your age with a pretty girlfriend, I'd be sittin' in the shade with her sippin' an iced tea. Or maybe a lemonade. That's what I'd be doing'. And it's a hot day. Hot enough to make a fella sweat."

Bobby tossed the line around the piling to avoid the sheriff's boot, the tied a knot. He never looked up. 

"And yet here you are, Bobby Higgins, on the hottest day of the year, fishin'. I don't even see any bait."

"Threw it in the water. Wasn't catchin' nothin' anyways."

"I see."

"Look, Sheriff, I got things to do."

Bobby tried to step onto the pier, but the sheriff put up his hand to stop him.

"Now, Bobby, I'm just trying to understand things here," Sheriff McCauley pleaded, holding out his hands. "Instead of spending time with your girl, you're out here working up a sweat. Of course, that might be because nobody's seen Cassie since last night. I don't suppose you've seen her, have you?"

"Nope."

"Come to think of it, the last person she was seen with was Steve Taylor. They were dancin' down at the Gator's Nest until almost midnight, so maybe you're not the best person to ask anyway."

"Maybe you should ask Stevie, then, shouldn't you?" Bobby paced as much as he could in the tiny boat. "He's your little golden boy, isn't he? What is he? A cousin, twice removed? I'm just here so you have someone's ass to kick every now and then."

"Trust me, Bobby. If all I wanted was an ass to kick, there's plenty of 'em around these parts that deserve it. I'm just havin' a polite conversation with a fishin' buddy—especially since I haven't been able to locate Steve Taylor, either."

"Buddy? I ain't never been your buddy."

"Sorry you feel that way, Bobby." The sheriff scrutinized the boat again. "You'd think you would have at least brought a cooler full of beer along. Plenty of room up front there," the sheriff said, pointing towards the bow.

"Didn't have the money."

"Curious," the sheriff said as he pondered the open space. As he did, a damselfly landed on the bow. "You know, there's an old wives' tale that says a damselfly won't land anyplace except where a damsel herself would sit." He smiled at Bobby. "Think that's true?"

"Wouldn't know, Sheriff."

"Yes sir, lots of empty space in that little boat. Not even an anchor. I was sure you'd at least have an anchor."

Bobby shrugged. "Maybe I lost it."

"I'm not much of a boatin' man, but I hear anchors are pretty useful things. They can help hold your place when you're in a current." The sheriff looked directly at Bobby. "Or they can hold things down."

"Sounds like you're on a little fishin' trip yourself, Sheriff. So, if you don't mind, I got places to be."

"Well, I just have one more question before you go." The sheriff bent down and pulled a small piece of crinoline stuck on a screw on the side of the boat. "If two people get into a boat at the dock, don't you think it's best if two people get off a boat at the dock?" There was a pause. Bobby swallowed hard. "You know, Bobby, it really would be in your own interest to remember where you 'lost' that anchor."

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© 2022 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

And The Results Are In

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I recently used a poll to ask the Twitterverse what I type of writing I should do. Since it was a Twitter poll, I was limited as to the number of items I could include. The categories were: Poetry/Haiku, Fiction, Non-fiction, and Just please stop. Here's how it all came out...

Although eleven isn't a tremendous number of votes, it was more than I expected. And I'm grateful to all those who participated! 

In addition, I received a comment from author Beth Rhodes (no longer on Twitter) who suggested I do stories with a bit of humor in them. She's known me longer than almost anyone on social media, and since I respect her work, I also respect her opinion. The idea of including a touch of comedy seems to hold true for the articles I write on Medium as the ones with some humor in them seem to get noticed the most (and have even earned a few pennies!). 

Author Miranda Kate mentioned she would like to see more horror stories from me. I've written a few flash fiction tales for her weekly challenge. Many of those were of the horror genre, so Miranda has a good idea what I can do there. So, that will have to be considered.

And while I don't know for certain, I'd guess Terri Deno may have been one of the votes for Haiku/Poetry. She has read several of my poetic attempts and hasn't blocked me on Twitter. Yet.

But now that I have this info, what do I do with it?

Apparently, the answer is more complicated than I'd hoped. I'm a simple guy; I like simple answers. Unfortunately, life isn't always (usually?) like that.

I have the impression I'll have to divide any new work up depending upon where it's published. On Medium, haiku and humorous articles have drawn the most interest. Non-haiku poetry hasn't done the best, or is inconsistent. It doesn't seem to matter if it rhymes, is free-form, or whatever. On Blogger or published anthologies, I've had my best luck with horror and rhyming poetry. In a way, this all sort of fits in with the poll and the additional comments. 

Kindle Vella is also in my sights, but I'm heading into that a bit blind as to genre. And, someday, I will publish a book on my own (either traditional or self-published, I don't care which). I'm hoping life slows down so I can do enough writing to get a longer story out. Or get that collection of flash fiction organized. The short items on Medium don't take long (and articles seldom have subplots) which is why a lot of my writing has ended up there lately. 

In all, the poll was useful. I suppose any feedback helps point the way. I have a backlog of tales (and poetry) to finish. I think I have to decide where they need to go. And, again, I want to thank everyone who participated in my poll. And for being kind enough not to choose the last selection on the list...

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© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 226 - The Darkening

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This story is for Miranda Kate's weekly flash challenge. She posts an image as an inspirational prompt for writing a story. This is from Miranda's post:

This week's picture prompt is from Italian photographer Sergio Pessolano. This is a salt flat in Bolivia - Salar de Uyuni. Sergio calls this 'Just Salt'. He also suggests that the viewer scroll up and down fast. You should see light/shadow changing, depending on the gamma value of your monitor. 

Here's a link to the prompt image. Sometimes the story makes more sense if you see the prompt image. Or it might not make any sense whether you see it or not. I'll leave that to you. Please note that anyone can join in with a story up to 750 words. Another short one this week. Mine has 356 words for those who are counting.

The Darkening

Marnik lived on the salt flats. He wandered across them, leading his tribe from oasis to oasis, hunting the lizards and small animals that could make a home there, too. They would dig them from their burrows under the salt, drying their flesh beneath the sun. It was a simple life, and the days seldom varied from one to the next.

He had seen the change in the sky a few sun-cycles ago. He didn't understand the meaning at first. He had heard the stories, of course, but had not been alive during the time of the last darkening. When more than a wisp of a cloud hovered in the air, he should have realized what was coming. But the omen was dismissed. Some thought the darkening was nothing more than an old tale told at evening camp to pass the time. Marnik didn't want to believe it, either. 

Now, the clouds were thickening. If the legend was true, water would soon fall from the sky. It was said to happen with every generation, but no one in the tribe remembered it. Perhaps something had changed. It didn't matter now. If the sky-water came before they could reach the great hill, the flats would be covered in brine. It might only be ankle deep, but it would soften, then dissolve, their sandals. The skin on their feet would be next. There would be no place to lay a mat to sleep, no way to dig for food. The water in the oases would go bad.

They marched as fast as they could, guessing the direction as they went. The stars that once guided them had faded. As the morning haze subsided, there was a cheer when the great hill was spotted in the distance. Marnik's people were confused when he did not cheer, too.

Marnik had spent his life guiding the tribe and knew how to judge the deceptive distances through the dancing heat. He understood how long it would take for his tribe to reach the great hill. And the drop of water he felt on his face told him they were already too late.

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© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Don't Tell Me What To Do

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But you can give me a hint.

Photo by Cyrus Crossan on Unsplash

I've posted a Twitter poll asking what people would like me to write. At the moment the choices are quite broad: 

• Poetry/Haiku
• Fiction
• Non-fiction
• Just please stop

If I get enough responses, I'll put out a new poll to ask about genre or format, depending on what folks are interested in. I'm doing this because I'm not sure what sort of writing people might like to see from me and, of what I've done, what do they like.

It doesn’t mean I’ll write exactly what the poll respondents want. If it’s fiction or poetry, I still have to have the idea appear in my brain. And if it’s non-fiction, it has to be something I find interesting. I don’t do political stuff. If that’s what you want, you can find plenty of that on the internet without me adding my two cents. Perhaps folks might prefer I hang up my typewriter altogether! It’s a valid opinion.

So, if you're interested, here's a link to the poll: My Twitter Poll

And if you don't do Twitter, you can  always leave a comment here!

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© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 224

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This story is for Miranda Kate's weekly flash challenge. She posts an image as an inspirational prompt for writing a story. This is from Miranda's post: This week's photo prompt was taken by Jonathan Steele, an American photographer. He calls it Winter Train. He says: Essex Steam Train passing through Deep River Ct during a snowstorm. (that's Essex in Connecticut in the US).

Here's a link to the prompt image. Please note that anyone can join in with a story up to 750 words. Mine has 351 words for those who are counting, a bit on the short side.

Great Expectations

K. R. Smith

When the nights are cold and the wind is still, sound can travel a long way. You can hear a branch crack under the weight of the ice a mile away. Or the cry of a fox. The whistle of a train on the other side of the valley can sound like it's right next to you. And you heard it again tonight.

You'd expected to, though, hadn't you? But you're never sure quite when. You down a glass of whisky and think, maybe not this time. And just as you start to drift off, it comes, piercing your mind with its shrill blast. So, you put on your coat and boots and walk into a frigid winter's evening.

Remember the time you decided to play it smart, to outwit them all? On that special day, one week before Christmas, you packed a little food in a sack and went down to the station and waited. It's busy, as people are traveling for the holiday. Shivering and shuddering in the snow, feet half frozen, the time dragged on until it was dark. And when you thought you'd finally broken the cycle and decided to head home? That damned whistle blew again.

Still, it's worth it all to see her, even if it's only for a moment. At least you try to convince yourself so.  Sweet and young, beautiful and smiling, she's waiting at the station. You smile back and start to run towards her. Her arms are outstretched, reaching for you as the train arrives, but you can't run fast enough, can you? There's ice and snow on the platform. No matter how many times you try, you're always just a second too late.

She screams as she slips beneath the wheels, then it's all over. In an instant, she's gone. It's all gone. There's no train, no Emily, no crowd waiting to board. It's back to the rusty tracks of a rotting station closed almost twenty years ago.

And what remains is cold silence—except for the crack of a branch or the cry of a fox—until next year.

 

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© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

The First Dollar I Ever Earned

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No, I don't mean that initial greenback I was paid in a previous century. 

I'm talking about a monetary milestone for on-line writing, Medium to be precise. While I've sold stories and poems for considerably more, breaking the dollar barrier for web content was a big thing for me.

I've been writing on Medium for a while now, mostly haiku and other poetry with a few flash fiction stories thrown in for good measure. For all my efforts, I had only earned a few pennies through the Medium Partner Program and I had just two followers. I wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. 

Then in August, Medium changed the rules. To stay in the Medium Partner Program, I needed to have 100 followers by the end of 2021. I had been on Medium since July of 2020 and had garnered only two. Doing a quick calculation, I determined it would require a bit over fifty years to reach that goal at my current pace. Although I figured this was the end of my time on Medium, I could understand their reasoning. It probably cost more than a penny to pay me that penny every month. My slow-and-steady plan was not going to cut it. 

Still, I wanted my pennies. I wasn't sure what to do. The chances of reaching 100 followers by year's end seemed slim and none. Then, two events took place, rather serendipitously. 

The first was the Medium Writer's Challenge. I'm sure the folks at Medium sent me an e-mail about it. I'm also sure I ignored it. It wasn't until writer Terri Deno mentioned she was entering that I decided to take a look. There wasn't a lot of time left in the contest, but I wrote articles for three of the four categories. I didn't get any new followers, but I did get a lot more people reading my stories and my earnings soared. By "soared" I mean that instead of pennies, I was up into nickel and dime range. All three of my contest articles had been selected for what Medium calls "further distribution." This means they promote the story to other readers. Without this, you're basically hoping someone stumbles over your writing and reads it. This limited success pushed me to write more articles and stories for Medium.

The second  event was a post by JL Matthews titled Who Needs 100 Followers? He said that if you had less than 100 followers to leave a comment on the article and he would follow back and encourage others to do the same. He was an interesting writer, so I did. 

That's when it all started to snowball. The people in the responses started to look at each other and follow other writers there. Within a few weeks, I had over 60 followers. I reviewed these and followed back almost all of them. There were a good number of interesting articles by these folks and I will need to go back and do a bit of reading!

My next step was to search for and follow writers who had similar interests. I found and followed them. Many of them followed back. And quite a few others followed me on their own. Some of these I followed back, too. I'm not on Medium to get into politics or to promote someone's personal cause du jour, so I didn't follow them all, yet I was soon above the Medium Partner Program cutoff number. I went from 2 to over 130 in a single month (I'm currently at 155). And I've learned a few things from the articles I've been able to read from my new followers (unless you're a paying member, you get three free reads per month). I think this will work out well.

Most amazing of all was that I not only earned my first dollar on Medium, but my second as well.

Whether or not I can continue (or perhaps increase) this earnings pace remains to be seen. But it is nice to know I have the chance. I'll have to keep writing there to keep up reader interest, but I've never had a case of writer's block in my life. So, I'll keep at it for a while and see how things go.

I don't know if Medium is where I need/want to be long-term, but now I have a reason to give it a try. Maybe in another year I'll have a better idea where to concentrate my efforts. I want to try Kindle Vella. And I continue to work on my flash fiction collection (albeit at a glacial rate). And I need to get back to doing artwork. And my guitar hasn't been picked up in how many months? 

So, yes, there's a lot going on. But it's nice to have options.

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© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Organic Gardening

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This story is for Miranda Kate's weekly flash challenge. She posts an image as an inspirational prompt for writing a story. This is from Miranda's post:

This week's picture prompt was a photograph taken by someone called @hasmodia on instagram. In the link to their IG page, it takes you the shot of the whole tree. It's quite extraordinary as the image has not been altered and it is exactly as they found it.  

Here's a link to the prompt image. It's been a while since I've had time to do one of these, so when the story popped into my brain, I quickly wrote it down before I was distracted by other obligations. Horror, for sure.

Please note that anyone can join in with a story up to 750 words. Mine has 659 words (not including the title) for those who are counting.

Organic Gardening

K. R. Smith

"So, tell me. What do you think?"

"Oh, Joshua, this place is amazing! I've never seen trees like this. Some of them even look like they have faces. And this glade! The moss, the flowers—it's so lovely."

"You know, Miriam, somehow I knew you would like it here. I suppose being an artist you can appreciate the forms, the shapes, the colors."

"I could spend months just drawing and painting them."

"Well, let me spread the blanket out. We can have our lunch here and enjoy their beauty. I have some bread and cheese," Joshua said, holding up a basket. "And a small bottle of wine."

With the blanket unfurled and the basket opened, the couple sat together. Joshua opened the wine and poured some for them both.

"I do apologize. I only brought paper cups. I didn't want to risk breaking glasses on our little hike."

"I'm sure they'll do."

"Not quite as romantic, though."

"I probably shouldn't drink at all," she said, taking a sip. "You know how it makes me sleepy." Miriam looked up at the branches swaying in the breeze. "Has this land always been in your family?"

"As far back as I can trace. But this particular spot is special. I try to take care of it as best I can. I only share its beauty with those who can appreciate it—and are beautiful, too."

Joshua brushed a dangling lock of coppery hair away from Miriam's face, leaned over, and kissed her.

"Perhaps you're the one who's had too much wine. You're getting a bit bold, aren't you?"

Joshua grinned and replied, "Perhaps."

"It does makes me wonder if I'm the first girl you've brought to this glade."

Joshua sighed and said, "I suppose I should be truthful. There was one other. But that was years ago. She really didn't understand this place. I don't think she could see the forest for the trees, if you know what I mean."

"I suppose. Were you in love with her?"

"I thought so. But I was young—and foolish. There was so much I didn't understand then."

"About what?"

"Oh, everything. The world, her, this land—even myself."

"But now you're all grown up?"

"Well, I'm older," Joshua laughed. "Still a bit foolish. I guess that's why I kissed you."

Miriam took another sip then licked her lips. "I didn't mind."

"Would you like more?"

Miriam blushed.

"No, I meant the wine," Joshua said, holding up the bottle.

"Oh, my!" Miriam giggled. "I think I misunderstood. Which means I've probably had more than enough." She paused for a moment. "Wine, that is."

"I could use something to eat."

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea." Miriam looked up into the branches again. "They almost look alive. More so than just trees, I mean. The wind makes them appear to be moving, doesn't it?"

"It does," he replied while cutting slices of bread from the loaf. "Perhaps they're as excited to see you as I am."

"You have had too much to drink, flattering me like that! I have to admit, though—this wonderful place—I could stay here forever."

"And so you shall."

Miriam looked directly at Joshua. "Did you just ask me to—"

Her sentence was cut short by the blade in Joshua's hand that had found its mark across her slender neck. As Miriam's life oozed away, he took a bite of cheese. The leaves above them shook. He walked to a tree a short distance away where a shovel and an axe where hidden, having been leaned against the far side of its trunk. He returned to Miriam with both. As he raised the axe over her body, the branches waved to-and-fro, and more than the gentle breeze could muster.

"All right, just calm down. We're all hungry here. I know it's been a long time since you were properly fertilized, but there's still work to do."

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© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

The Business of the Arts is Rebounding

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Perhaps you've wondered how the arts are recovering from the depths of the pandemic. Or, if you've noticed a rebound, were curious as to how much it has been able to spring back.

Fortunately, the U.S. government does gather some data on this. They are collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a part of the U. S. Department of Commerce. The unfortunate part (if you're a writer or media artist) is that BEA groups arts, entertainment, spectator sports, and even gambling together. That makes it difficult to extract data for your particular area of interest.

From the BEA website:

Arts, entertainment, and recreation (71) includes performing arts, spectator sports, museums, and related activities (711AS); and amusements, gambling, and recreation industries (713). Establishments in this industry produce, organize, and promote live presentations; as well as operate facilities related to sports, recreation, amusement, gambling; and other amusement or recreation services. NAICS 711-712 are included in industry 711AS.

NAICS stands for the North American Industry Classification System which is used by U. S. Government statistical agencies to identify, track, and report activities by industry.

From the following graph, you can see that the gross output of arts, entertainment, and recreation has not yet matched pre-pandemic values, but have increased by about $100 billion since their low point and appear to be trending upwards. Nominal Gross Output* stood at $248.4 billion at the end of 1st quarter of 2021 (last date statistics are currently available). Chained dollars (orange line) are adjusted for inflation based on a base year, currently 2012.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, [“BEA Industry Facts,”] news release (Jun 24 2021 12:00AM), https://apps.bea.gov/industry/factsheet/factsheet.cfm?IndustryId=7.

You can use their interactive tables for GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to eliminate the gambling and recreational portion, but that is about as detailed as you can get. You can see, however, that the numbers are going up since the dark days of 2020. That's a hopeful sign. You can also see that this is smaller than the amount designated as gambling and recreational. Gambling is big business these days.

• Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Industry Economic Account Data: GDP by Industry,” https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm (accessed [August 25, 2021]).

You can also see that the Value Added* by the arts, entertainment, and recreation industries is recovering, though not as much as one might hope.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, [“BEA Industry Facts,”] news release (Jun 24 2021 12:00AM), https://apps.bea.gov/industry/factsheet/factsheet.cfm?IndustryId=7.

What does all this say to the small writer, artist, or poet?

It does show that the arts industry is recovering, but still has a long way to go. It is trending upwards by all measures, so things look to be getting better for those working in the arts. The numbers won't include everything, however. If you have a tiny income from the arts, it may not be reflected in the data as there are cut-offs where small businesses are not required to report. Some of this may be brought in through other channels, but it doesn't pull in all of the numbers from the gig economy. And that can be substantial.

The fact that the entire industry seems to be recovering should be looked upon as an optimistic sign. In a few months, we can check the number again to see if the trend continues.

Notes:

* Nominal Gross Output is defined as the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy. It is principally measured using industry sales or receipts, including sales to final users (GDP) and sales to other industries (intermediate inputs).

** Value Added is defined as the gross output of an industry less its intermediate inputs. It is the contribution of an industry to gross domestic product (GDP). Value added by industry can also be measured as the sum of compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, and gross operating surplus.

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