"Both hard hitting and mournfully yearning at the same time." Repetition Patterns gets some Goodreads love. And likes it. A lot.

It does. It is. And big thanks to the David S. Atkinson for that. Excerpt? Cool.

"Tanzer manages to be both hard hitting and mournfully yearning at the same time, the stories being extremely tender gut-shots. This is a marvelous short collection and I'm definitely going to check out more of Tanzer's work." 

"So sadly beautiful." Repetition Patterns receives some Goodreads love. And likes it. A lot.

Quite like. So, big thanks, many, to the Miranda for that, and drinks, many, on us, when we next, and somehow meet. Excerpt? Word.

"These eight stories seduces one and grow sharper, more impressive with each turn of the pages. Tanzer deserves the 5 star rating for the last two stories alone: ´Life as he had known it´ and ´Shooting stick´. My favorites and one of the finest writing I have ever the pleasure to read. Subtle, with a nostalgic tear in the eye accompanied by melancholy they had me sobbing."

We are INSTAFICTION.org. And we are having a day. Part Two.

We definitely think we are having a day and we are most definitely quite digging it. "The Gift," also of THE2NDHAND fame, as well as, the Repetition Patterns, got quite nicely highlighted today at the INSTAFICTION. Most sweet that and much appreciated.   

"Like a modern Carver." Repetitions Patterns gets some Goodreads love. And likes it. A lot.

Quite liking it. It being the most kind Carveresque comparisons for Repetition Patterns at the Goodreads from Alexis C. Meanwhile, big thanks to the Alexis C. and drinks on us for sure, somewhere, some time. Cool? Cool. 

A much appreciated Lori Hettler Friday's Five Book Repetition Patterns Prize Winners mash-up. Of sorts.

Massive hugs to the always awesome Lori Hettler from TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog for not only including Repetition Patterns on her quite stellar Friday's Five Books list at the Between the Covers... blog, but for listing it along with the Prize Winners by TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Ryan Bradley, which we should add we will report on soon, real soon, for real.

"Ok, so I know I am totally cheating here, but there was no way I was going to pick between these two. They are equally awesome and deserving of your attention and here is why – Both are incredible short story collections that hold a mirror up to the strange, secretive lives we human beings live. Both have a strong, unifying theme that weaves its way through their respective stories. And both were written by authors that I am honored to have gotten to know through their work."

Yo, check it out, Pac Man Fever in Polish at the MINIMALBOOKS. Whoot.

Yes, its true, we were going to talk Top Ten movies today, we were, really, but then Piotr Siwecki at MINIMALBOOKS let us know that they have translated "Pac Man Fever" from Repetition Patterns into Polish for the new issue of MINIMALBOOKS, which also includes TBWCYL, Inc. favorites Peter Schwartz, Aleathia Drehmer and Jason Jordan among other fine writers, and we were so geeked that we let the marketing people in our film department know that the movies will have to wait. Meanwhile, this is the second story from the Repetition Patterns that Piotr and his crew have translated, the first being "The Gift" which appeared in the first issue of MINIMALBOOKS. To say we are most appreciative of the support and interest is understatement, and to say we think this is quite cool is also an understatement, but to say it has changed our life is not an understatement at all, it has, does, will, and we are digging it.

Some quite unexpected Karen the Small Press Librarian Repetition Patterns love.

The always awesome Karen Lillis has a way cool project going on at her blog Karen the Small Press Librarian where she is inviting indie writers to list their three favorite indie releases of the last two years. We have been working on our submission and were quite, quite geeked to see Repetition Patterns make an appearance on today's dual posting by long-time TBWCYL, Inc. favorites Ken Wohlrob and Tim Hall. Big thanks all-around some excerpt below, and look for our list soon, so, so soon.

"In many ways, Ben's writing reminds me of Mike's (Faloon) in how unforced it all is. There seems no effort behind it. And the stories are always great. This e-only collection was a nice step up for Ben. He took it to a whole different level compared to his previous work. And I always like that he writes good female characters, something too many male writers can't do very well. I also liked that CCLaP was experimenting with a different publishing model for this release and doing it as a digital- only release."

The Gift. In Minimal Books. In Polish. And freaking cool.

It is freaking coolness. Piotr Siwecki and his crew at MinimalBooks have translated our story The Gift into Polish and it is now available starting on page sixty of the October issue of MinimalBooks along with work by longtime friends and TBWCYL, Inc. favorites Corey Mesler and Peter Schwartz among others. We couldn't be more appreciative or floored by this and we most definitely hope you will take a look. If you interested in reading the story in English as well, it can be found in our collection Repetition Patterns or in its most original form in the most excellent THE2NDHAND. Big thanks to MinimalBooks and drinks on us for sure, somewhere, some time, soon, yes, maybe, wonderful.

New joint. Ain't No Reason. Binghamton story. Full of Crow.

Quite happy we are to have a new piece Ain't No Reason in the new edition of Full of Crow, the final version of which was highly influenced by the repetitious ebb and flow of the fabulous noir novel Beautiful Piece by Joseph G. Peterson. We are also happy to share that this is the final Binghamton story to find a home in the group of stories we wrote following and in reaction to discussing the stories in Repetition Patterns, and yes we know this is a lot of repetition, during the Repetition Patterns blog tour. Those stories include among others, Goddess at Annalemma and Never Said at Girls with Insurance. Big thanks to the crew at Full of Crow and for your reading pleasure a brief excerpt below.

"I am in bed and staring at the ceiling as I always do at bedtime. I am not sleeping and I am never going to be sleeping. I am thinking about the endless things that keep me up at night, school, war, my looks, sex, being cool and my parents’ voices that I can always hear drifting up the stairs as they talk, and talk, long into the night.

I am on the little league field down by MacArthur where I go to elementary school, and it’s hot, upstate New York hot, all humid and moist, the air thick and full of gnats, endless gnats getting in my ears and nose, flying around my face, and sticking to my forehead when they get too close and their wings no longer work."

A sort of meta, all narcissistic 99 Problems thing.

Okay, so the new joint is coming soon. It is a collection of essays on running and writing from the CCLaP titled 99 Problems, and it will be released as Repetition Patterns was before it, e-book Radiohead-style pay what you want. Much hype is sure to come, from us anyway, but in a bout of early hypeness we were quite appreciative to see our good friends at TNBCC's The Next Best Book Blog riffing on their experience proofreading the ms, and so in the most meta narcissistic fashion we can think of, we thought we would hype their riff hyping the collection, a celebration of sorts of us, them and the work to come. Did you follow that? And did we say we were most appreciative? Good.

Repetition Patterns is iPhone. Breathe. Rejoice. Read.

It's true, CCLaP books are now available on the iPhone, and so after that fully sinks in, please feel free to rejoice whenever it feels right.

Everything you ever wanted to know about dating, but we're afraid to ask. Well, that and a guest post on TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog.

Following their quite fine, and most appreciated, review of Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine, the quite fine and endlessly cool team behind TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog asked if TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer if he might be willing to talk dating in a guest post on the blog. Apparently, the fact that Ben knows near nothing about dating wasn't an issue for them, or Ben, and so we invite you to take a look at the post and enjoy the below excerpt. We also want to thank TNBBC for their ongoing support, we're not sure if its changing their lives, but it is most definitely changing ours.

"I have barely dated as an adult and whatever I was doing before getting where I am now, fourteen years and two little children into a marriage with someone I met as a teenager, probably had less to do with dating acumen, than meeting someone, or someone’s, sometimes sober, sometimes not, and getting as much action as possible, all the while trying to both hold on until things terribly imploded, and futilely avoid the inevitable tears and anguish, usually mine, though also those of whoever's mother I was refusing to let go of and borderline stalk, though back then we called it courting."

"This book was one of the best things I've read so far this year." Repetition Patterns gets Vinnie the Vole'd. And likes it. A lot.

We are most happy to let you know that Repetition Patterns got a really thoughtful review today from Chicago writer, fellow upstate New Yorker and TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Mark Brand and we most appreciate it. Please do take a look, please enjoy the below excerpt and definitely look out for our upcoming review of Mark's science fiction novel Red Ivy Afternoon. Cool? Cool.

"Anyway, for every father I know of young children, and every couple I know who grew up when I did and has seen the world change the way Tanzer and I have, I thought "this person really needs to read this book." Technically, it's like biscuits and gravy; understated, rich, and satisfying. The metaphorical subtext is present enough to color the whole thing beautifully the way some great indie films manage to do. You read it and you can't exactly put your finger on it, but you need little encouragement to devour it. Writing about my generation, the generation neither firmly Gen X nor Millenials but rather something more like "Garbage Pail Kids" where our first movie at the movie theater wasn't Star Wars but rather E.T. or The Return of the Jedi, is nothing new, but I've rarely seen it done this well, and usually when it was it was in the form of a screenplay."

"Ben Tanzer is a writer with enough heart to pump life into nearly any literary scene." We get PopMatters'd. And like it. A lot.

Most humbled we are. Rock star author and TBWCYL, Inc. favorite David Masciotra has written a quite awesome essay on the pop culture and psychological implications of TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer's fiction and we are most appreciative. The title of the essay is "Ben Tanzer’s Fiction: A Tragicomic Exploration of Life and Pop Culture" and it appears at the most excellent PopMatters blog. We hope you check it out and we have printed an excerpt below for your reading pleasure. By the way did we mention that we are humbled? Because we are. Way.

"The pop cultural references and witty banter in Tanzer’s fiction is not merely some slick game intended to show off literary skills and trivia knowledge for the audience. It is an attempt to contribute to literature’s finest inquiry: What makes the individual affectionate, lonely, satisfied, and terrified?"

The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.

Writer. Thinker. All-around cool dude. Jason R. Riley is all of that and so it should be no surprise that he is a real favorite of ours here at TBWCYL, Inc. It also shouldn't surprise you then that we were very excited to see him launch his new blog The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, with its quite intriguing tag line - A Penny Cyclopædia for the Educated and Inquisitive, Illustrated with Wood-Cuts. That's right, wood cuts. Too cool. Now, do we think you just might want to take a look? Totally. Do we think it could very well change your life? For sure. Are we biased? Always. But should that stop you from taking a look? No, meanwhile, as a bonus Jason is re-running the interview we did during the Repetition Patterns virtual book tour last year and so you can get some of that as well. Cool, right? Right, and as a bonus, please feel free to enjoy the below excerpt from our interview before diving in.

JRR: Any final words of wisdom for the writers out there among us, preferably that one thing we’ve all been searching for, yet you’ve already discovered?

BT: I don’t think I know anything, not really, but I always feel that way. If anything, what I know is cliché, but I remain amazed how often I find myself saying it and people shake their heads in agreement. If you want to write, just write, don’t worry about audience or sales or publishing, just sit down, day after day, find your voice, get advice, write and rewrite, but keep at it, no excuses, you can’t be too tired, or scared or indecisive, don’t get bogged down in the best place to write or time, just force yourself to do it even if nothing happens, because something will happen eventually, it has to. I promise.

New piece. Never Said. Girls With Insurance. Nice.

Yes, quite geeked we are. We have a new piece up at the Girls with Insurance titled Never Said and it is part of the recent group of stories written by TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer following and inspired by the Repetition Patterns virtual book tour. Some of the stories from the group already published include Goddess at Annalemma, That's It at CellStories and So Different Now at Dogzplot. We want to thank P.H. Madore and the crew at Girls with Insurance for running with this one and for your reading pleasure, please enjoy a brief excerpt below.

"We’re at the Park Diner. My dad Tommie is sitting across from me. He looks haggard, tired. His skin is pasty and washed-out. He’s not talking, so I’m not talking either, but it doesn’t matter because it’s hanging there between us.

Cancer.

Motherfucker.

“Don’t look so upset kid,” my dad finally says, “it’s going to be fine.”

I look away so he won’t notice that I’m crying and I see the painting of Icarus across the room. The painting has been there forever which means that Icarus has been falling forever as well, no respite in sight.

“What’s next?” I ask.

“I could go home and die,” my dad says, “one doctor already suggested that, or I can try this new experimental trial they are starting at Lourdes.”

I don’t say anything.

“Look bud, I’m past normal shit, its experimental or its nothing, but there’s this hot shot doctor that just moved here and he’s bringing the trial with him.”

I’m still at a loss, how am I supposed to react to something like this, especially since I have spent a significant chunk of my life hating him and hoping he would die."

The Asleep book tour 2010 is coming. You want some? Of course you do.

TBWCYL, Inc. favorite and CCLaP stablemate, is that right, or is it label mate, that doesn't sound right either frankly, anyway, Sally Weigel of Too Young to Fall Asleep fame, and a This Zine Will Change Your Life contributor, is embarking on a virtual book tour in support of Too Young to Fall Asleep, which is not so dissimilar from the tour TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer went on following the release of Repetition Patterns, and we here to not only hype it, but let you know that we will be participating in it as well, with Sally appearing here at This Blog Will Change Your Life on April 1st and then with our support at Mud Luscious on April 7th. We expect good times to be had by all. We also expect lives to change, many, many lives.

How about some self-aggrandizement and name-dropping? Cool, then please do check out our new interview at TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog.

Many thanks to Lori Hettler and TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog for their interview with TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer. This is the same outfit that recently had some quite kind words for Repetition Patterns and we are happy to say that they are now our best friends in the whole world. We are also happy to say that when Ben isn't reflecting on his faux-awesomeness much name-dropping ensues, so please feel free to take a look and if you need a little teaser please feel free to take a look at the excerpt below.

How would you describe your online blog and 'zine?

"They are related and yet not. The blog was created because I thought I needed a platform for hustling my books and I wanted to create a vibe like the monorail episode of The Simpsons. In that episode which is based on the Music Man this guy convinces the citizens Springfield that they need a monorail because it will not just make their lives better it will make the whole world a beautiful place. Of course they don't need one and it won't make their lives better. Building on this I decided to create a blog that would be like a faux corporate blog where my books were products that changed people's lives, sometimes for the better.

I also thought though that I should use the blog to brand myself, thinking that some people might be drawn to how I see the world and what I like to riff on and this might make them more drawn to the things I am working on. So, I endlessly hype myself, but I also hype all the things I like and celebrate which in my fantasy world becomes intertwined into this brand. As I created this platform, I also thought though why just hype what I like, this has to be fun as possible for me as well, so why not use it to pursue other interests that further build the brand, but also support those I want to support.

The zine then grows out of this desire. It represents things I feel compulsive about, writers, street art, music; it supports or exposes the work we highlight to a wider audience and it extends my brand, and my completely fake goal of presenting that which I like most, including myself, as a lifestyle choice a la, Martha Stewart, Oprah or Tony Hawk."

Ah, so this is what it looks like when you don't suck. Sweet.

Apparently our good friends at CCLaP thought Repetition Patterns sort of sucked. Or more accurately they were not happy with the EPUB version of Repetition Patterns. So they went and improved it. Sweet. They have also made Repetition Patterns available for the Kindle. More sweet. And what does all this mean? Well, and again, apparently we no longer suck. Sweet.

"Ben Tanzer stands up and demands to be noticed in Repetition Patterns." Repetition Patterns gets The Next Best Book Blog'd. And likes it. A lot.

We are quite thrilled to have received a most kind review for Repetition Patterns from our new best friends ever at TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog. Many thanks to the staff there, please do pay them a visit and for a brief excerpt of the review feel free to take a look below.

"Early on, I started to recognize patterns - the movies the characters watched, the names of places the characters saw or visited, the raw sexual undertones that ravaged their town and their lives. I also became aware of a natural evolution of maturity and security, and of accepting things for what they are, without resigning yourself to them. It's these patterns, these repetitive moments, that make Ben's book work."