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Al Kratz

@alkratz.bsky.social
392 followers 376 following 29 posts

Reading and writing in Indianola, Iowa. Working art full time now. Got a lot of projects in flight. I'm here right now, I'm not dead yet. alkratz.com

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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This is creative non-fiction at its best @patriciaqbidar.bsky.social @jmwwjournal.bsky.social Just like life, we know it's going to be a sad story sometimes, she tells us what she's about to do, but then it's still surprising as she smacks us in the heart. jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2026/06/18/c...
jmwwblog.wordpress.com
Creative Nonfiction: Morpheus At The Wheel by Patricia Q. Bidar
I was 19, working on the ground floor in a print shop, learning about duotone. Grayscale. Spot tone. The way a full color could be screened down to lighter versions of itself, less and less of itse…
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Reposted by Al Kratz
Pat Foran @pdforan.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
We (@alkratz.bsky.social and Silverback Punk Press) hope you can join us on Wednesday, July 22, at 7 p.m. central! We’ll also be celebrating the letter Q (silent), the word "is" (iridescent) and the pop sensation The Amazing Vacuum Cleaner Battalion (prescient). Message for link!
Invitation to a virtual book release party with a cover image of the book, titled Songs from the Blimp Ruins. Message @pdforan.bsky.social for a link to attend the event, to be held Wednesday, July 22 at 7. p.m. cst.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
It's here, the Pat Foran flash collection we all have been waiting for. @pdxlawgrrrl.bsky.social It's also on the Books to Review list at @hfr.bsky.social , hint, hint, hint...
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Heavy Feather Review @hfr.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Go on, have a taste. This electric kool-aid is from 2016🧃 Fiction Review: @alkratz.bsky.social Reads Luke Goebel’s New Novel Kill Dick @redhenpress.bsky.social #babyeatbooks heavyfeatherreview.org/2026/06/08/k...
heavyfeatherreview.org
Fiction Review: Al Kratz Reads Luke Goebel’s New Novel Kill Dick
Readers entering the world of Luke Goebel’s new book, Kill Dick, should prepare to face the proverbial Good News and Bad News. On the downside, it’s a trip to the fall of 2016 when the “orange haze…
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Reposted by Al Kratz
Pat Foran @pdforan.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
It’s pub day for my (mostly) flash fiction collection Songs from the Blimp Ruins. Thank you @alkratz.bsky.social & Silverbacked Punk for bringing it to life. It's available here: qgyjj4z.s.gy/sTuEPy Signed copies also available (message me) My heart is cheered here www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf22...
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Here is an early peak at part of the back cover to @pdforan.bsky.social upcoming book, "Songs from the Blimp Ruins". Thank you to these four awesome writers for sharing their love for the collection!
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
This is such fun news to share: The Silverbacked Punk Project is coming along and ready to release the first book by someone other than me. Out soon, "Songs from the Blimp Ruins", a beautiful collection by Pat Foran @pdforan.bsky.social . More about the project at alkratz.com.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
I'm happy to announce a little publishing endeavor I'm starting. I can't wait to share details with you on one of the first projects. It's a definitive example of why I wanted to do this, and I can't wait to share details, hopefully this spring! alkratz.com/2026/03/02/w...
alkratz.com
What the Heck is Silverbacked Punk?
I’m thrilled to announce the birth of my little imprint, passion project, labor of love, or whatever else you want to call it, but I call it SILVERBACKED PUNK: Screenshot The Origin Story Over the …
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
I reviewed The Morgue Keeper by Ruyan Meng. Check it out at @hfr.bsky.social and check out the book. It's such a memorable book. heavyfeatherreview.org/2026/02/17/t...
heavyfeatherreview.org
Fiction Review: Al Kratz Reads Ruyan Meng’s Novel The Morgue Keeper
Ruyan Meng’s The Morgue Keeper is an intense book, maybe more so than any book I’ve read since Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Across 200 pages and 27 chapters, it tells the story of Qing Yuan, a morgu…
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Happy mail day to me! a new one from @vanwinkle.bsky.social
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Check out @theburninghearth.bsky.social new project, a children's book illustrated by her daughter. I was lucky to see this one come together and am looking forward to reading it with my grandkid gang. constancemalloy.com/2025/10/20/a...
constancemalloy.com
Announcing the Launch of Purple & Green Stone Press
Welcome to The Burning Hearth! Whether you are new to TBH or are a returning reader, I’m happy you are here. Much has been happening in my corner of the universe lately. Happenings that have …
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
I hate when the rapture is scheduled late in the day. I'd rather just get on with it already.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Last summer, I took a train across the country and spent the week working on a novel. I was going to write it up on my site but it kept getting longer and turned into a hybrid travel, craft, memoir thing, ~16k words. It's now available at Amazon or from me. Would also love any reviews or feedback!
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Dreamt in novel structure last night on something I'm not working on other than when I sleep apparently: a 3 part life-spanning book I was calling "Somewhere Near the Top". Part 1 the obsession with "making it", Part 2 the inevitable fall, and Part 3 the reconstruction of the things worth saving.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
A favorite from my current WIP: "I had my early vacation buzz, but it came with an obligation not to waste any of the time I had purchased. A master of wasting time in my youth, it has become simple math now. With every day that passes, I've got less time to waste."
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
The guitar playing is obviously great, but Jimi Hendrix doesn't get enough credit for the flat out mofo Vibe his music, voice, and presence was.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 05/01/2024
I wrote a review of Ben Drevlow's The Book of Rusty that is up now at Heavy Feather Review. Was a fun experience wrapping my head around this book and finding a way to cover it in the review form. heavyfeatherreview.org/2024/01/05/t...
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 28/12/2023
My year in review of the writing journey! alkratz.com/2023/12/27/2...
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 29/09/2023
I'm all booked for AWP. Haven't been there since LA in 2016.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 28/09/2023
Been thinking a lot about opening sentence or paragraphs for novels and how they pop the world right into existence. How they establish the main images. How they are like magnets. How they give you a chance to both slow down and speed up.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 09/09/2023
submitted a few things the last couple months after about a 6 month break. Feels kind of good. I've got a review that will be in Heavy Feather in January.
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 07/09/2023
my songs about God playlist: God- Tori Amos Dear God- XTC After Forever- Black Sabbath Godless- Dandy Warhols God is a Bullet- Concrete Blonde Hallelujah- Leonard Cohen
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Al Kratz @alkratz.bsky.social · 04/09/2023
Post twitter world feels weird, exaggerating on purpose, both a birth and death at the same time. Post 2016 life is weird. Post 2020. Without my dad. Everything can feel post but I can't really complain. Everything's a little shittier but also so much better too. That combination is crazy beautiful.
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