Ari Meil

What Do You Think of This

Ari — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:51:48 +0000

For the title of a short story? I just submitted the story to McSweeney’s with this title.

A Man and a Woman Escape Together to Turkey, Where They Make Love Below Minarets.

Here’s the letter I attached:

Dear Reader of McSweeney’s Submissions,

Besides the title, I’m feeling pretty gangbusters about this story.

The tone [...]

I Just Wrote This and I Think I Like It

Ari — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:46:59 +0000

Without responding, Tessa took Calder’s hand and led him slowly forth, through the trees, leaves and twigs crunching under their small feet. The first bit of ground was hard to navigate. Run-off rivers of mud and water streamed in curling paths down the long hill. Roots and fallen trees obstructed their path. It involved a [...]

Ari — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:53:06 +0000

Etymology of the word Fairy (for a story I’m working on):

Faery comes from fae which is from the word fata. Fata is the past participle of the verb fari “to speak” – fata is thus, “thing spoken,” “decree,”or “prophetic declaration.” And came to mean Fate. So fae means fate, and the place where fate lives [...]

More rejection, but considerably more friendly

Ari — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:52:46 +0000

So, I was thinking about the big fat no I got from the publisher who shall not be named, and the outpouring of support that you guys all gave me, and I thought I would put up some of the other responses that I’ve gotten from publishers. I can’t tell you the names of the [...]

They read it. That’s something.

Ari — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:09:51 +0000

Well, I had a good feeling about this one (a big sci fi publisher that my agent asked me not to name). They requested the manuscript for The Navigation of Jeremy Stein as well as a synopsis. And I guess they must have seen something about it they thought was promising, because they say they [...]

Doodles

Ari — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:34:09 +0000

At my previous job, I used to have a meeting every morning and sometimes it would last a while. And sometimes what was discussed had little to do with me. Not to say I wasn’t listening, because I was. In fact, I listen better when I’ve got some kind of tactile distraction like doodling to [...]

Origin Story

Ari — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:10:25 +0000

I’ve been working on the background for a story I began for my children a few years ago. I wrote about 12,000 words in the story and then decided that there was something worthwhile there, and so I stopped and went back to the beginning. I’ve fleshed out all aspects of the idea, the world, [...]

Submit and Be Judged

Ari — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:26:16 +0000

So my novel, formerly Mailbox Gigantic, now The Navigation of Jeremy Stein, was sent off on Feb. 29 to another 12 editors. Go Leap Day Luck!

One of the editors came back quick and asked if we had a synopsis so last night I sat down around 11 and put this together. I’m happy with [...]

Aliens

Ari — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:48:54 +0000

A poem for today:

Aliens

Tired aliens in the backyard,

Sick of anal probes and cattle mutilation,

Breakdown camp and try

to assemble what they’ve learned

Into something more coherent than the truth.

My Friend Ben

Ari — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:57:19 +0000

This is a kid’s book that I wrote a long time ago. It is meant to be a 16 page illustrated book. It isn’t really suitable for children. But I do stand by the message. Some people just get away with things. Then the moment you try to get away with the same things you [...]