A New Story in the Literary Journal r.kv.r.y

James Brega: What I Write Instead of Nothing

Have you ever driven up the California coast from San Luis Obispo to Monterey, knuckles white on the steering wheel as you fight for control of the car through hairpin curves? Have you ever dreamed that you had murdered someone and, upon waking, been unable to shake the conviction that it was true? Have you ever sung onstage to a packed audience, been robbed at gunpoint by a ten-year-old, laughed when it seemed— for a moment—that a famous author had stolen your mojo, wondered why we don’t drive steam-powered automobiles, or confronted your guardian angel at high tide on a gay beach once claimed by Pilgrims ? In What I Say Instead of Nothing, James Brega invites you to explore his real, imagined, and re-imagined experiences through his collected essays and short stories—a journey that will feed your nostalgia for life at the end of the twentieth century and remind you how desperately you wish that a great deal of it had never happened.

A New Story in the Literary Journal r.kv.r.y

September 27, 2012

My story “The Twisting Path” has been published in the October issue of the literary journal r.kv.r.y (read “recovery”). It’s a story that explores the emotional and physical stress of being swept up in the medical/industrial complex. I wrote in 2010, inspired by the experience of being diagnosed with prostate cancer (later cured through surgery). I’m thrilled that it has finally found a home.

The interesting image selected by the journal editor to accompany my story is by the Polish artist Dariusz Kimczak. This link will take you directly to my story, but I encourage you to take a look at some of the other work in this journal if you have the time. I think it’s one of the more carefully designed and edited online journals.

Link to The Twisting Path.

Illustration by Dariusz Klimczak

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James Brega: What I Write Instead of Nothing