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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
Sep 29, 20242 min read
The Good, the bad, and the ugly
So...I usually just blog about writing and my process, but I've faced some mild backlash for the type of writing I do. I've been told "I...
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rylandlink
Aug 10, 20242 min read
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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rylandlink
Nov 20, 20232 min read
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...
5 views0 comments


rylandlink
Oct 22, 20232 min read
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, 20232 min read
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...
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rylandlink
Aug 15, 20232 min read
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...
4 views0 comments


rylandlink
Jun 12, 20233 min read
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...
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rylandlink
Mar 24, 20234 min read
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...
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rylandlink
Feb 9, 20232 min read
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...
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rylandlink
Dec 27, 20222 min read
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...
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rylandlink
Nov 29, 20222 min read
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....
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rylandlink
Nov 1, 20222 min read
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, 20223 min read
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,...
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rylandlink
Sep 11, 20222 min read
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, 20222 min read
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, 20222 min read
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, 20222 min read
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, 20212 min read
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, 20212 min read
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, 20212 min read
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
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