K. Marvin Bruce

I’m pleased to announce my latest piece has appeared in Corvus Review 6; you can read it here: http://nebula.wsimg.com/47de969e212ebf15837556bcc515fc67?AccessKeyId=3C22B84D674D5BA7A77D&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 As usual when I have a story published, I give a few hints as to what was going through my mind here.  “Last Train from New York,” in addition to being one of my most rejected stories, is also one of my favorites.  It’s personal. While I’ve never been on a haunted train, knowingly, the story came to me through a confluence of unfortunate events.  I lost a job quite unexpectedly—my first job in New York City.  The story is primarily about how it feels to lose a job.  This particular trauma was my third professional job lost because of circumstances. Yep, that’s blood. The story also has roots in reality.  Once, on a New Jersey Transit train, my family jumped on board the first car.  We were on our way to the airport an...

“The Last Train from New York” is a story I wrote while working for a New York publisher.  Being unemployed was on my mind, and the story is a metaphor for a loser trying to find his place.  This past week I heard the glad news that “The Last Train from New York” has been accepted for publication in Corvus Review .  This makes eighteen stories published, and also marks another literary magazine that seems to think I’m capable. That may sound gratuitous on my part, but I assure you it's not.  Like many writers I suffer from lack of self-esteem.  All the advice givers say to take rejection lightly, but as someone who puts a lot of effort into each piece I decide to send out, how can I not take rejection personally?  When I do get a hit, it makes my day.  Week, even. Only a writer understands how publication is validation.  Someone who has a louder voice than me—a longer reach—says yes, this guy has something interesting to say.  Pa...