Beautiful Blemish: Collage Edition!

Last week on my Instagram page, I did something I’m not a big fan of: Ask for help. After draining most of my bank account on a dental bill followed by treatments for vertigo, 2022 was starting to look like a pretty broke-ass year already. But I’ve always found a way to dig myself out creatively somehow. That’s when I came across a box of about 100 copies of an old out-of-print story collection that was sent to me when the publisher was closing shop.

It’s my 2005 collection of flash fictions and short stories, Beautiful Blemish, published by the legendary Word Riot Press. Despite its age, I’m still very proud of this artifact of weird lil’ stories. The favorable Publishers Weekly review noted its “diverse, convincing world of romantic perversion governed by impulses at turns whimsical, hilarious, and cryptic.” And Willamette Week’s review said: “Sampsell is a master of the deadpan outrageous. His best stories hit two notes at once: funny and gross, creepy and sad, pathetic yet noble.” On Goodreads, one reviewer said “Kevin Sampsell is the Slavoj Zizek of very short stories.” Well, okay.

I actually still love this 100-page oddity, so I decided I’d refresh the book a little and collage every cover and then sell them to you directly. I think this could be a win-win situation for everyone. You get a rare artifact of early “Sampselliana” with an original collage, and I get to climb out of this unexpected financial ditch. I’m offering these on a sliding scale. How about $20-$50? You can pay more (way more?) if you like. My Venmo is @ kevin-Sampsell or my paypal is kevin @ futuretensebooks dot com. Include your mailing address when you do.

Here are some of photos of the books. Some of these are sold, but I’ve been making more as people order them—and I can do a sort of custom job too, if you give me ideas. Thank you so much!