Steven M. Finkelstein

Hello all. I’m very pleased and excited to announce the posting of my new short story collection “The Great Divide,” here on the website. Included in this collection are two years of work, including a novella and several stories, many of which have never been seen before by anyone, anywhere. And you, lucky readers, can enjoy them absolutely free. Just go to the “Collected Editions,” icon on the left hand side of the screen for the main site, click it, and you’ll find all the stories in the collection, along with an introduction and special notes on each piece by yours truly. I’m proud of these stories, which, I feel,  encompass some of my best work to date. Perhaps you will feel the same. In any case, I’d be happy to hear any and all comments regarding individual pieces or the collection as a whole. Thank you all very much for your continued support of me and the site. Cheers.

Hello all. I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays and isn’t too stressed out. I’m pleased to announce that I’m having three new stories published. The first two are erotica stories that are going to appear on the pay website Grace and Beauty. G and B is an atypical site, one that focuses on promoting tasteful, elegant exploration of sexuality. The stories are titled “Yard Work” and “Fun with Jane,” and they will  be posted on the site in the next few days; it should be noted that although there is pay-per-view content on the site, such as pictures and videos, my two stories will be available for viewing without a membership, in the public area. For all those interested, the site address is www.graceandbeauty.com. Obviously, viewing of this site is intended for adults of legal age.

I also have another story, “One of the Family,” appearing now in the publication Babel Lit. Babel Lit is based in New Orleans, and my story will be in their second issue. It can be viewed both online, at www.babellit.com, and also in print. If you want to order a print version of the second issue featuring my story, full details on how to do so are available on the website.  

That’s it for now. Keep an eye out for the new collection, “The Great Divide,” which will be posted here shortly. Cheers.

Heads up, true believers. I just wanted to mention that my story “The Red Convertible,” can now be seen in the online ‘zine Glass Cases. This story is part of the series “Several Sorrows,” which originally appeared in my collection The Lean Years. This is the third of those six stories to be published. To view this story, you can go to www.bigglasscases.blogspot.com, and while there, you can check out other author contributions and blogs by Sarah, the administrator.

In other news, I’m continuing work on my new short story collection, The Great Divide, which should hopefully be available here on the website around the end of the month. I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays, whichever ones you celebrate. More soon.

Hello again. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve had a story accepted for publication on an online blog called Glass Cases, which is operated by an administrator living right here in New York. The story, entitled “The Red Convertible,” appeared previously in my collection The Lean Years. The website for Glass Cases is www.bigglasscases.blogspot.com, and I’m told my story should be featured there in the next three to four weeks. When it does, I’ll mention it here on the site.

In other news, I’m hard at work on my new collection The Great Divide, which hopefully will appear here in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that, as well as my annual year-in-review blog. Thank you, everyone, for supporting the site in 2009. More soon.

Hello all. The publishers of the U.K. magazine Scarlet have informed me that the November issue, which contains my new erotic story in the Cliterature section, will hit news stands the first week of October. I know it’s widely available across the pond; I don’t know how many stores over here carry it, but if you’re in New York you probably stand the best chance of finding it at a Barns and Noble or something similar. You can also order issues at www.scarletmagazine.co.uk. The story is being published under my pen name, Thad Mitchell.

In other news, I’m working on new material, dividing time between short stories and larger projects. Working forty hours, six days a week, I have to fit in writing time when I can…I’m not thrilled about the situation, but what can you do. I need the money; New York is expensive. I’m also getting my new collection together, and it should appear here on the website, as promised, around the holidays. That’s it for now, folks. Keep on truckin’.

So, it looks like I’m going international. I’ve been contacted by the British publication Scarlet, who apparently wants to use a piece of erotica I wrote for their November issue. From what I’ve gathered online, it seems that Scarlet is sort of like the English version of Cosmo, except perhaps a bit more risque and sexually liberated. There’s a section called Cliterature in each issue, and that’s where my story is being used. Assuming everybody is on the same page, the issue should be hitting newsstands in November at some point; I’m not sure more specifically than that, but when I hear more, I’ll post it on the site. If you’re trying to get your hands on a copy, I think you can order one through the website, www.scarletmagazine.co.uk. There should be a link that tells you how to get an issue through the mail, or I believe you can also download a digital one. This story will most likely be published under my pen name, Thad Mitchell. In any event, I was pleased to hear that I’m going to be in print across the pond for the first time, and of course, always good to have another paying gig.

In other news, I’m very busy with my new job…still waiting to hear back about possible publication of the new novel, though responses often take a long time, so that could still be weeks or months away. I’m working on new material, mostly short stories right now, and generally enjoying the New York life, particularly the Yankees charging at full speed toward the postseason. Hope everyone is well, wherever you are, and enjoying the onset of fall. More soon.

Well, it’s certainly been an eventful few weeks. Congratulations again to my sister Ann, the new Dr. Finkelstein, and to Jackie Blizman, now Jackie Damp. Nothing like a graduation and a wedding to make one mindful of the ongoing passage of time. There’s nothing that dramatic happening in my life right now, unless you count the New York move in seventeen days, coupled with the search for a new job. That’s more than enough to keep me busy, and while I’m anxious to get situated in the Big Apple again, I’m also glad of the time to prepare myself. I think I’m ready this time. Back in ‘06, when I first lived in New York, I didn’t have the website up and running yet, and it’s just as well, because my posts would have been unbearably dreary. I was having a tough time, and I was in an unhealthy mindset. This time, things will be different. Megan is moving with me, and the cats, and I’m confident that’s all the support network I’ll need. I’ll be close to my Dad’s side of the family again, and also, through the magic of Facebook, I’ve become aware of friends of mine in the area. It’s interesting, there’s people I know in N.Y. from several different eras of my life. I’m not sure how much I have in common with some of them anymore, but I’m eager to find out, and to renew old relationships in a new context.

Megan and I have signed a lease in Borough Park, an area of Brooklyn that I didn’t know a whole lot about prior to visiting it this past week. For those of you who don’t know, Borough Park is one of the biggest communities of Orthodox Jews in the world, approximately eighty percent, and most of the rest of the population is Asian. Not to put too much stock in stereotypes, but that sounds like a safe, quiet combination, and that’s what we were looking for. It’s about half an hour to Manhattan by train, off the beaten track a bit, but still plenty close to the action. I think it’s going to work out well. The apartment is nothing special, but perfectly serviceable, for New York, and it’s a starter apartment. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the first apartment (and job) doesn’t need to be ideal. Right now, it’s all about getting our feet in the door. The pursuit of loftier aspirations will follow. This is just the beginning.

Indeed, it does seem like a time for rejuvenation, and I am tremendously excited. Megan and I were talking about when it’s going to all sink in. Will it be when we pack up our things into the U-Haul and make the drive, or will it be the first time I’m on the train, going to my new job, no longer a tourist, but a resident again? Will it be in six months, pressed up with the throng in Time’s Square when the ball drops on a new decade? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out. I asked Megan if she ever thought she’d actually move to New York, and she said she didn’t think she would. I had already told her I knew I’d be coming back. I looked at it as inevitable. This had to happen. All the possibilities are there, for both of us. And I am gratified for the opportunity to pursue them.

This month, in addition to my story being featured in the Patchwork Path anthology, and the two stories of mine in the Perceptions publication, I’ve also learned that my story “While Peter’s Away” will be published by Oysters and Chocolate, the online erotica mag. The story will go live this Monday, the 15th. This is the second time my work has appeared there. This is also the second time that this particular story has been published; the first was by Bareback, last year, though since I wasn’t paid for its use on that occasion, I retained ownership of it. You can check it out at www.oystersandchocolate.com, once again, if you are not bothered by graphic sexual content.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll be posting again with move related updates, as we draw closer to the date. It’s been a somewhat turbulent first half of ‘09, and I wonder what the second half has in store. I find it fortuitous, possibly, that the move will come about at precisely the halfway point of the year. How much bigger and better will the second half be, at least as it relates to my writing? Moving to New York can’t possibly hurt my chances of future publication, and I will be redoubling my efforts. The third novel is well underway, and I also wanted to mention again that I look to put out my new collection of short stories, The Great Divide, this coming winter. Stay tuned for that. Any advice or suggestions on cheap things to do in N.Y. are much appreciated, and I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. Cheers.

I’ve just received notice that I’ll be having another piece of erotica published by the online site Oysters and Chocolate. This is the second time they’ve accepted my work, as I had a story featured there earlier this month. This is another paying piece of work, also, my fourth one this year, and while I’m not making loads of cash on any of them yet, still nice to see them piling up, and my publishing credits ever increasing. I’m not sure exactly when this latest story will be up on the O and C website, but when it does, I’ll mention it here.

This Thursday I’ll be driving to New York with Megan to look at apartments in Brooklyn, and to job hunt. Our lease here in Myrtle Beach is up on June 30th, so the countdown is well and truly on. I’ll try to post regularly, to let everyone know how things are progressing. Cheers, all.

Hello again. I just wanted to let everyone know that my erotica story, entitled “Long Distance,” is now available for viewing on the website Oysters and Chocolate. You can check it out, free of charge, at www.oystersandchocolate.com. Of course, this story features adult content of a graphic nature, so no underage viewers, please.

Also, in addition to my trips to Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and New York in the next few weeks, I can also now confirm that my summer tour will be stopping in Philadelphia late in July for the Dragon Gate wrestling event being held at The Arena, (formerly the ECW Arena). There are still a limited number of tickets for Dragon Gate’s inaugural U.S. show, and you can get your hands on one at www.dgusa.tv/liveevents.htm. I hope everyone is enjoying their spring. More soon.

Hello again, huddled masses. I just received word that I’ve had a new story accepted. This one is another piece of erotica, and it will be featured on the website www.threepillows.com. This is a pay only site that you must be a member of to access, so you can only read this story if you pay the fee, which I believe is $29.95 for thirty days. I don’t actually know a whole lot about the site, since I’m not a member, but it looks like it features videos and photo galleries in addition to stories and articles. My story is going to be up sometime either this month or next month; new content is added every week. If you’re interested in checking it out, the title of my story is “Mattress Shopping,” and it is published under my pen name, Thad Mitchell. Also, this should go without saying, but I’m saying it anyway: this story, and from the looks of it, this website, includes content of an extremely graphic sexual nature. Seriously, folks. The story is filthy. I guarantee it. That Thad Mitchell has an active imagination. It’s nice once again to be validated, as this is another PAID acceptance, my favorite kind. Thanks for the continued support, and I promise, I’ll get back to legitimate fiction soon. In the meantime, don’t judge me, people. I’m trying to pay the rent here.