Ruth Ishbel Munro's "Jacuzzi"

Few things are more thrilling than having a piece of your writing illustrated by a capable artist, and while the story I had published a few years back by Suspense Magazine -- "The Problem with Men" -- never got that treatment, I can think of few more appropriate images than the one above by UK illustrator Ruth Ishbel Munro.

Titled "Jacuzzi," I found the illustration while browsing at Laconic Oration, which never seems to disappoint.

Check out all three -- my story, Munro's art and Laconic Orations vast library of images -- through their respective links. It's certainly my hope that my story will entertain you, but I know for sure that the latter will.

MLive interview with poet Joshua Marie Wilkinson

For the first of what I hope will be many Q&A pieces with writers, artists, actors and musicians for mlive.com, I sent a handful of questions by e-mail last week to poet Joshua Marie Wilkinson (that's him above) to preview an upcoming reading in the Kalamazoo area.

Among his responses:

"I write about desire, death, the imagined world of children, wilderness, violence, loss and pleasure."

Awesome.

For more, see the full interview on mlive.com: "Poet and filmmaker Joshua Marie Wilkinson discusses his influences, writing and poets he loves."