It feels like Sheldon Lee Compton and I have been in and around the small press for about the same amount of time. I remember seeing his name in some of the pre-internet fold-and-staple journals, and while nothing jumps out right now , I’d be shocked if we didn’t share the occasional same issue of something (BULL, maybe?) over the years.

And maybe I flatter myself to think so, but I feel like we’ve both gone about our business in similar ways. By that I mean quietly off, trying our best, and publishing whenever we manage to get lucky enough to find folks who want to work together. Heck, we’ve both even dabbled with the publishing side of things, hoping to find and highlight the work of others. THE AIRGONAUT, for instance, is one of Compton’s projects, so it was fun reconnecting a bit, and digging up something new for it.

So what’s new? It’s the beginning of what I hope will be a small, paced little novel about my first bouncing job. I’ve got a lot of the groundwork laid, and have been ticking off and refining chapters whenever the feel strikes, though I’m no where near finished. But, I think I like the external pressure of glimpses and peeks, the way it commits us to seeing things through…so putting it out now is laying down a marker, saying that I’ll try like hell to see it through.

As for who or why anyone would want to read about bouncing…well, it ain’t for me to say. It’s just a thing I’ve long wondered how to pull off, and at long last maybe I’ve found the way.

Anyhow, the working title is DÜDH (short for Das Uber Draft Haus), and if it happens to sound like your 25 cent cup of swill, then enjoy!