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.
Jim Brega earned his BA from San Diego State University and an MFA from the University of Illinois. Previous careers have included theatre designer and technician and software development manager. His writing has appeared in a number of online and print journals, and been published in the anthologies Foliate Oak (2011) and A Year in Ink 5 (2012). He lives and works in San Diego with his spouse, the artist John Castell.
You can contact Jim at: JRBrega@gmail.com
James Brega: What I Write Instead of Nothing 