Fall 2026 Hoof & Antler!

  

I have an article in the new Hoof & Antler.  For this issue, I got assigned to write about Amish fiction, an interesting if odd literary genre.  The editor for space and other editorial reasons had to leave out a couple of sections, so I'll throw them in here because they were a bit insightful (maybe someday, I'll do a "director's cut" of all my freelance articles, but don't hold your proverbial breath).  At the beginning, I discussed how genres rise and fall:  "A collector was getting older and wanted to sell his collection of Western paperbacks.  He asked a book dealer about buying them and was told no because everyone who cared about Westerns was either dead or trying to sell their collections also.   Not quite the truth, as Westerns still get written and read, but literary genres do rise and fall in popularity, and Westerns are certainly not as ubiquitous as they once were, especially when compared with mysteries, science-fiction, and romance fiction.  One of the more unexpected literary genres to develop in recent decades is Amish fiction."

There was also a section on how ereaders affected genres which I think explains why some genres such as erotica grew in popularity in the early years of the century:  "Just as erotica grew in popularity in the first 21st Century with the advent of electronic books so no cover of a print book would give you away to let anyone know you were reading spicy stuff on the subway, perhaps the same phenomenon benefited Amish fiction, another genre some readers might be embarrassed to be caught reading.  For instance, a tough guy could read Davey's Daughter and no one would make fun of him because he just had to find out if Sarah would really leave her family and the Amish community to be with Matthew since no one would know about his Amish fiction addiction.  His manhood was safe.  He could always quickly switch over to that autobiography of George "The Animal" Steele on the Kindle if anyone got too nosy." 

I also quote Mellencamp and the quote got kept, but it's not obvious it's a quote, "in the words of the immortal Indiana poet Johnny Cougar, 'when holding hands meant so much, baby.'"  Don't want anyone to think I'm plagiarizing 1980s pop rock songs, so I'll note that here.

If you live in Ohio near a Mickey Mart, check it out.  The newspaper is very cool, and it is free, though Mickey The Moose hopes you'll buy some gas or coffee or something when you stop in to get it.

If you want to read something else by me, then get my new novel, The Front Yard War!