Big Lonesome: Bars and Their People

Blurbs

“Jim Ruland’s stories are dangerous things, full of grim human comedy. His sentences power along with raucous precision and his characters rarely fail to surprise. This is a wonderful debut.” --Sam Lipsyte
"Here's a writer with guts and heart and vision, someone to remind us of the possibilities of fiction. Big Lonesome is strange and exciting." --Chris Bachelder

I'm proud to have Bars and Their People, a new work of flash fiction, in the latest edition of Prime Number Magazine. There's a brief Q&A at the end.

Q: What was the inspiration for this story?

A: I don’t drink anymore but I often go to bars to watch sporting events. This story was inspired by a visit to an Irish pub with faux/authentic décor out the ying-yang. Most football and baseball games last about three hours, which is plenty of time to pick up on various types: the regulars, the flirts, the doomed.

Special thanks to fiction editor Cliff Garstang, who has a new book coming out: What the Zhang Boys Know.