Miles to go before I sleep...
When Robert Frost penned those words so long ago, he probably never imagined how often his words would be called on by subsequent...
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Welcome to Gnat Smoke Press
Gnat Smoke Press is a publication company dedicated to bringing you the finest quality poetry and fiction from John Ryland. As a southern small press, we revel in southern hospitality and great southern writing. We are unique, perhaps a little quirky, but we always aim to please. Stay a while, have a look around, just be careful which curtain you pull back. Some of them are hiding ghosts.
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rylandlink
- Nov 21, 2023
- 2 min
The Malcontent
For years I've heard the word "Malcontent" used to describe a hoodlum, an anti-social person who doesn't, or refuses to fit into...
4 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Oct 22, 2023
- 2 min
Booktober
I always tell my kids "You gotta do the work." Most things don't just happen for most people. Whether you're in sports, a hobby, or your...
12 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Oct 4, 2023
- 2 min
All I want is....
Whenever I talk to other writers, I can see that twinkle in their eye, that glimmer of hope that someday, maybe someday, they'll be a...
14 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Aug 15, 2023
- 2 min
While you were waiting...
In the military, there is an old adage that goes, "Hurry up and wait." It doesn't make a lot of sense, but then again, I tend to be...
3 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Jun 12, 2023
- 3 min
It's a long way to the top...
There's a line in an old AC/DC song that goes: It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll. I've thought about that line a lot...
4 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Mar 25, 2023
- 4 min
What is and what isn't
Being an author is a peculiar thing to be. Honestly, there isn't even a consensus of what an author actually is. Do you have to be...
3 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Feb 9, 2023
- 2 min
Focus is the key.
As I get older, my eyesight has begun to fail me slightly. I need readers almost all the time now and staring at a computer screen isn't...
5 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Dec 27, 2022
- 2 min
The middle
A lot is made of new beginnings, and rightly so. New beginnings are exciting and fun. The possibilities are endless. A fresh new start. A...
1 view0 comments
rylandlink
- Nov 29, 2022
- 2 min
Enjoy the ride
Imagine if you left Miami Florida and drove to Los Angeles California, but you never stopped along the way to appreciate the scenery....
6 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Nov 1, 2022
- 2 min
You gotta do the work.
That's what I tell my kids. If you want to get better, you gotta do the work. Whatever it is that you want to get better at. Writing, and...
12 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Oct 9, 2022
- 3 min
Why?
I know a lot of writers. I've met writers of every race, gender, creed, and color. I know romance writers, erotica writers, mystery,...
8 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Sep 11, 2022
- 2 min
Experience ...
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. There may perhaps be no truer adage than that. So many times, we go into...
24 views0 comments
rylandlink
- May 15, 2022
- 2 min
Finding Inspiration
I was recently at an event and people asked me where I get my story ideas from. I tried to explain as best I could, but I could tell that...
9 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Apr 19, 2022
- 2 min
The journey of a thousand miles...
There's an old adage that says, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." While that is certainly true, the first step...
5 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Mar 27, 2022
- 2 min
The unknown writer...
In a previous blog, I talked about the fact that writing isn't for the faint of heart. It takes time and patience, two things that are of...
4 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Oct 17, 2021
- 2 min
Horror in real life
People aren't afraid of being alone in the dark. They're afraid of NOT being alone in the dark. Some of the scariest moments of my life...
15 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Sep 5, 2021
- 2 min
And The Sun Also Rises
One of the timeless messages from Hemingway's classic tale "The Sun Also Rises", is that of endurance. No matter what happens, the sun...
7 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Jul 20, 2021
- 2 min
Vulnerability and Writing
All writers, every one of us, leave part of ourselves in our work. Sometimes this happens even when we're not aware of it. I generally...
7 views0 comments
rylandlink
- Jul 4, 2021
- 2 min
The Yeses and Nos...
Creating something and putting it out in the public eye isn't for everyone. No matter what you create, whether it's art, music, or the...
5 views0 comments
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