Thursday, December 26, 2013

THE HAPPIEST DAY I HAD THIS YEAR: A REMEMBRANCE OF NED VIZZINI

Fawzy Zablah 12/21/13 4:48 a.m.

The happiest day I had this year was because of Ned Vizzini. I gained his online acquaintance somehow through Facebook writer friends. He really liked a short story I published at the Acentos Review that I had spammed my writer friends via FB message. He was the only one to write back and post it on Facebook. I couldn't believe it. At that time I wasn't too familiar with him. After looking him up and reading one of his books, reality hit me. From then on he would post all my stories to his Facebook whenever I sent him the link. I couldn't believe that here was a successful, well known writer taking the time to help a nobody. And I wasn't the only one, he helped a lot of young writers. If he believed in you, he was there for you. That first story he posted by me was during a very difficult family tragedy in 2011. Of course he had no idea what I was going through at the time but it did help me out a lot. It gave me something to smile about for a little bit. Despite almost constant rejection, I had a much loved popular writer on my corner. It was a little victory for me that would help me continue writing. We became email friends and he even did an interview on my lit blog. I also reviewed his novel The Other Normals and he loved it so much he posted it everywhere. When I got a contract from Tiny TOE Press for my upcoming novel, he sent me a blurb with a really nice congratulatory note. He really didn't have to do any of those things, he could have just ignored me but he didn't. Despite his busy schedule he still reached out to me. I couldn't believe that there were still, truly nice, genuine people like him left in the world. When my writing "swag" had fallen off he came out of nowhere to restore it. 

The day he emailed my blurb I was feeling really down about stupid, trivial things like most humans with over active imaginations. I remember walking alone to my job's cafeteria which is a quiet little stroll on the edge of an artificial  lake and staring at the water and the ducks. Writers like to multiply their feelings and I was expanding on mine regarding "failure" in everything. After getting my food I checked my cell phone and there was an email from Ned with a blurb about me to use for my novel which he had already pre-ordered from the publisher. I was floored. I went from extreme sad to extreme happy and I remember clearly my "swag" returning and even hearing the Super Fly bass line running in the background, trailing me all the way back to the office. I was a 'Bad Motherfucker' once again. Thank you Ned for your generosity, support, and friendship. Even though we never met in person, I will miss you dearly. May peace and love envelop you wherever you may be. 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Friday, November 8, 2013

Albert Camus





A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.

Monday, September 2, 2013

This Modern Man is Beat.

This Modern Man is Beat was published by Acentos Review about two years ago. 

Here is the story:


THIS MODERN MAN IS BEAT


Here are photos of some of the seedy motels and interesting pawnshops that inspired the story. Some, like the Cash Dome are world famous now. The locations are 441, Cutler Bay (formerly Cutler Ridge) and Florida City, Naranja and Homestead.


Also, This Modern Man is beat has been turned into an award winning short script by my friend and mentor David Schroeder.













Friday, August 30, 2013

Rarity of the Century by Fawzy Zablah to be published 2014 by TinyTOE Press in Austin, TX.





Chucho, an aimless tramp of Palestinian/Latino decent,  has reached a lull in his young adult life that he surmises is directly linked to a long ago, barely spoken of family tragedy that left him an orphan.

 After a brief stint and stellar downfall in the fetish porn industry,  he is forced to move back home with his flamboyant uncle in South Beach and get a job at a Brazilian steak house. Just as he is getting used to his new position in life, he falls for the  hostess Shiraz Zirel who first torments him via her unattainable beauty and then by ignoring him.

Frustrated with Shiraz, Chucho decides to give up on love.  But when a Rapture event of unknown origins occurs over all of South Florida, Chucho and Shiraz find that they are the sole survivors. In fact, Chucho realizes with new-found excitement, they may be the last two people on earth.

Can they be together? Are they fated for love? And what is that strange thing in the sky over South Beach anyway? As the star-crossed lovers journey to investigate the inexplicable phenomenon, they encounter a mysterious, yet familiar third survivor that will force them into a fight for their lives.

Rarity of the Century is a modern apocalyptic thriller told through different perspectives that begins as a coming of age story about a lonely young man looking for love but eventually turns into a  more complex narrative about solitude and the never ending search for connection.




Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Hello Satan By F. Zablah









Habib bin Habib al Fulan walked into the apartment and found the Devil sitting on the sofa. He was red, naked, and watching television. Habib was not scared because Satan was his roommate.
-Hi Satan, Habib said, sitting down next to him.
-What's up my man?
-Same ol, you know.
-I know son.
A commercial came on for Zooey Deschanel's new sitcom on Fox called New Girl.
-Oh, cool beans, said Habib. It's the new Zoeey Deschanel show. Let's watch it.
-I'm not watching that shit. It looks gay.
-Oh come on Satan!
-Don't come on Satan me, dude. I ain't watching that. I pay half the cable around here. When you pay all of the cable, then you can watch whatever you want.
-Whatever man, Habib said, standing up and going into the guest room where he was staying.
Habib locked the door and turned on his computer. He pulled up a Word Doc and started writing. After about a half hour of continuous typing, he got up, opened the door and headed for the restroom but the Devil beat him to it.
-Oh come on!
-Sorry man, need to do a #2 bad!
As soon as the Devil closed the door, fart noises started coming out of the restroom. Habib lowered his head and turned to go back to his room when he heard a knock at the door. It was Satan's girlfriend, Candice Shwanepoel, the Victoria's Secret model.
-Hi Habib
-Hi Candice.
-Is Satan in? He's expecting me.
-Yes, let me get him, said Habib as the toilet flushed in the background
-Here I am, said Satan, coming out of the restroom and waving a newspaper
He went up to her and he popped kissed her in the lips, he pulled her gently to him and towards his bedroom which was opposite Habib's on the same hall.
-See you later Habib, Satan said as him and Candice entered his bedroom.
Habib finally got to use the bathroom and it smelled like a dead rat had been barbecued on the stool. After that, he went to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. He then returned to his bedroom and closed the door. He started writing but then after about five minutes, he started hearing Candice's moaning coming from the Satan's room. Then he heard Satan's moaning, and and a bed squeaking. Habib tried to write, but the sex noise was too distracting.
Finally, he decided to lay in bed, and put on his headphones but then his Ipod stopped working. He looked for his charger, but then remembered that Satan had borrowed it and had it in his room. When the sex began to reach a fever pitch Habib put the pillow over his head, and tried to go to sleep, but it was impossible.
-Fuck my life, he said, as he put the pillow over his head.