"STRANDED..." TWITTER NOVEL: CROSSROADS BLUES

transmission from the satellite heart received 12:1:10

-radio on-

time factor nineteen twenty-nine

crossroads not true crossroads

graveyard just down the wayside

down the road from rosedale

night midnight exterior good country dark

before electric lights + stopsigns came to town

lil robert dusty walkin middle of the road

guitar slung back shoulders head down

low flyin dustcloud in the moonlight

shufflin along

shadow in the starlight perched on a headstone

black clad points a long silver sliver finger

at poor bob if you please

-hey boy-

like a shotgun thru the silence

lil robert dusty whips round almost down

-fuck you callin boy cracker-

white voice after midnight on a deep southern road

comin straight out the graveyard

lil robert dusty eight different kinds of scared

his voice shows no trace

the graveyard man he like that

hops off the tombstone raises his black hat brim

skin shinin like a brand new tailpipe

-fuck you callin cracker boy-

lil robert dusty face falls

breath freezes inside when he finds it again says

-what are you mister-

the chromed man laughs

a dry rustly chuckle like old leaves

-so its mister now then-

lil robert dont say nothin

-where you comin from boy-

bob shrugs tries to be blasé

-roadhouse-

the silver man nods at the guitar across his back

-did you play-

bob nods silver man grins

-+ how did it go-

lil robert juts his lower lip chin up

-went alright went alright-

the shining man peers out from under his black hat brim

-didnt go alright no pussy no whiskey for poor bob

you play like you got ham hocks for fingers-

lil robert dusty screwfaces the chromeskinned creature

-fuck you know about it-

the tall silver thing tilts his silver head

-i know that guitar of yrs is out of tune

give it here ill give you a new tunin you aint never heard before-

lil robert dusty is a country born hardhead

but he knows that silverskinned men lurkin in the graveyard

by the crossroads

at midnight

who ask to tune yr guitar

may not be the most trustworthy of folk

but he hands it over anyway + the shining man begins to tune

queer things happen steel strings ring out strange

moonlight glints funny off tuning pegs

shadows pass + fall

then he smiles says

-okay then ill show you what for on a tune-

lil robert shrugs again

the silver man begins to play

chrome fingers running up + down that fretboard

plays as easy as ringin a bell

rhythms drive shuffle + stop

bottleneck slide sleazy then lonely

moans in the moonlight like a howlin wolf

or a man on his knees on a killing floor

lil robert wide-eyed listens listens

writin notes in his head

+ when he finally gets that guitar back

it burns

voice even the graveyard man asks him

-you got what you need boy-

lil robert looks up to him eyes cloudy

confused scared + grateful

-aint we got a deal to do-

the shining man peers back at the black man

-kind of deal-

robert shrugs

-dont you want my soul-

the silver man chuckles a dry rustling sound

-you don't have to sell me your soul boy

im already in you-

dry rustle chuckles one last time

-you want to be adored-

then he sighs almost sad

-just do one thing for me bob

-stop callin yrself lil robert dusty

-no man alive gettin any pussy calls himself little

-start goin by yr fathers name-

bob say -i do go by my fathers name-

the silver man gets stern voiced

-yr real father boy

-find him ask yr mother

-dont take no for an answer-

bob nods pauses looks up

-whats yr name mister-

silver man smiles again

-dont have one son

-but if anyone asks you can call me ike

-ike zinneman-

bob says -thats a funny name for a guitar man-

but the silver man is gone

+ then a bone-white cadillac pulls out of the graveyard

out through the crossroads

on down the road

bob shakes off the chill + moves

in the opposite direction

in another dimension

he pulls the guitar around plays as he walks

+ the shit just drips off his fingers like honey

after a time he sings to himself

quietly first tentatively

-i dont have to sell my soul

-hes already in me

-i dont need to sell my soul

-hes already in me-

bob smiles big + deep

already knowin what he knows

so the next week when he goes back to that roadhouse

plays that guitar

the smokestack shakes with lightnin

the men all gaze in wonder

the air is heavy with female musk

sweat + whiskey + resentment

this time when he sings

he sings like he stuck his dick in the ground

+ turned the whole world around

so no one ever calls him

lil robert dusty

again

GM "LOYALTY" DRAMA UPDATE

My struggle with GM continues! Please go to http://bit.ly/chtMFc - scroll down for the update!

"STRANDED..." TWITTER NOVEL: INTRO

let me

let me hear you

let me hear you say YEAH

JUST THROW YR HANDS UP IN THE AIR

+ WAVE EM AROUND LIKE YOU JUST DONT CARE

let me

hear you

BROTHERS + SISTERS

ARE YOU READY TO TESTIFY

(let me)

CAN I GET A WITNESS

(hear you)

IS ANYONE HERE READY TO ROCK

(say yeah)

RIGHT NOW right now

RIGHT NOW right now

RIGHT NOW ITS TIME TO

KICK OUT THE JAMS MOTHERFUCKER

(let me

say yeah)

for those about to rock we salute you

+ its one

two

one two three FOUR

GM'S "LOYALTY" ONLY EXTENDS TO NEW CUSTOMERS

Hey folks,

Sorry about this but my blog post this week is up on TheSqueakyWheel.com. This is because I got screwed over by a local GM dealer and I can barely believe it. GM got bailed out by the goddamn federal government and now they are building customer loyalty by cheating their current customer base? Nice move, guys. Wonder why you're going out of business or why the Asian automakers are kicking your ass? Here's the answer.

Please, if you've ever enjoyed anything I've written here, go to http://bit.ly/chtMFc and read my piece. Every time someone clicks on it another notice goes to GM telling them that the word is spreading. As of tonight, I'm up to 304 reads. Thanks in advance for yr help.

MY LITTLE MELTDOWN

Okay, so about a week ago I had a little meltdown on the Twitter. I guess I was still pretty high from finishing 'Richie' and was in talks with the agent so I bit off way more than I could chew. Not only did I start two new Twitter novels (the other one was @zombie_vs_shark, which will still continue) but eventually realized once I got about two chapters into "Stranded..." that it simply wasn't very good. Or it is a transitional piece, and really shouldn't be posted without serious revision. Or something. Either way, "Stranded..." had/has problems and it needed to be discontinued.

The problem was that a lot of kind people had helped me pump up the new Twitter novel with 'retweets' and support and once I figured out that I had to discontinue "Stranded..." I felt like a huge asshole. So instead of posting more boring bits of "Stranded..." I just let loose about how stupid the whole thing made me feel, and I got some great advice from folks and, once again, some good support. The Twitter novel is actually a pretty harsh taskmistress, and I didn't realize until I attempted "Stranded..." how lucky I got the first time. Anyway, I'll be posting the two completed chapters on the blog over the next week and you can judge for yrselves.

GOOD NEWS!

Hey folks! Good news - there's an interview with me on the In To Views site - http://intoviews.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/jason-gusmann/ - pretty cool! Check out the whole site if you have time - they've got a really interesting cross-section of interviews on there.

Also, I have officially this date signed the contract to be represented by the Tribe Literary Agency and the estimable Cari Hawks Foulk - TribeLit is a really interesting grassroots experiment with the whole representation thing, and I'm honestly proud to be a part of it. We'll see what happens!

GOODBYE CIGARETTES

i know this love is over

but no one can know how hard it is

to let you go

because loving you is loving death

and thats been the sweetest

its always been the sweetest

all the warnings in the world just made it sweeter

this deferred embrace

-but daddy always told me

dont leave the girl yr with

until youve found a new one

to take her place-

so what then?

healthy

i will love healthy

i will love myself

vitamins + vitamin water

regular exercise

a balanced diet

goodbye sweetness

goodbye measured tinctures of death

so boring

you wanna put a bullet in yr brain

some will read this + laugh at all the romantic drama

but they will never know the joy

of having a drink with you

or sipping strong coffee in yr stronger atmosphere

or reaching across to kiss you in the car

when the perfect driving song comes on

you drew my attention

to every breath i took

even as you brought them ever shorter

you made me feel invulnerable

inhaling my armor

a tiny glowing weapon in my fist

never alone walking in the dark

yr other lovers

sprawled across time + space

never made me jealous

there was always enough love

(death)

to go around

but this relationship needs to end

when i havent seen you for awhile

that first kiss feels so good

but midway through

i forget im kissing you

and we cannot continue this way

i need you the most when yr away

but when yr back

so quickly we take each other for granted again

this relationship needs to end

how could i love you for so long

+ have it go this wrong

ive been trying to get back that first year

for the last eight

got to get used to being haunted by you

so i will bury my love

go different places

see other people

+ deny that we were ever lovers

when i see you

i will look away

+ when i smell yr scent

i will block it out

+ on the long drive

i will reach for you

+ you wont be there

i love you

i will always love you

but i know this relationship has to end

what love

could possibly take its place?