“Panic at Twenty-four Frames Per Second” published in the journal Lunch Ticket

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.

“Panic at Twenty-four Frames Per Second” published in the journal Lunch Ticket

June 12, 2015

It’s been a long wait, but I’m pleased to be able to say that this one is a little lighter in subject matter compared to what you may have come to expect from me. Although it contains a dire warning, I wrote it with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and I hope you’ll read it that way. The story recalls my days working as a film projectionist while attending San Diego State University. I’m happy it found a home in the journal Lunch Ticket, a well-respected online literary magazine produced by students in the MFA program at Antioch University in Los Angeles.

I hope you enjoy it!

Click here to read the story on the Lunch Ticket website.

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James Brega: What I Write Instead of Nothing