K Russell Breakstone
@krussellbreakstone.bsky.social
Writer and teacher.
Picked up The Song of Achilles by @madelinemiller.bsky.social from Off Beat Books, a new bookstore in Atlanta. I loved Circe so I'm excited to read it!
First line:
My father was a king, and the son of a king.
First line:
My father was a king, and the son of a king.
January 10, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Picked up The Song of Achilles by @madelinemiller.bsky.social from Off Beat Books, a new bookstore in Atlanta. I loved Circe so I'm excited to read it!
First line:
My father was a king, and the son of a king.
First line:
My father was a king, and the son of a king.
Today I submitted stories to:
Sequestrum
Story
Litmosphere
Boulevard
Joyland
Colorado Review
Gulf Coast
Sequestrum
Story
Litmosphere
Boulevard
Joyland
Colorado Review
Gulf Coast
January 5, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Today I submitted stories to:
Sequestrum
Story
Litmosphere
Boulevard
Joyland
Colorado Review
Gulf Coast
Sequestrum
Story
Litmosphere
Boulevard
Joyland
Colorado Review
Gulf Coast
I would not be unhappy with a smol, simple year!
January 1, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I would not be unhappy with a smol, simple year!
41 rejections, ah ah ah
December 31, 2025 at 11:56 PM
41 rejections, ah ah ah
Hey writers! What do you use to write your drafts?
I use almost entirely cheap, one-subject college-ruled spiral-bound notebooks. I have been gifted nicer notebooks over the years, but I find there's too much pressure to write something good in a nice notebook!
I use almost entirely cheap, one-subject college-ruled spiral-bound notebooks. I have been gifted nicer notebooks over the years, but I find there's too much pressure to write something good in a nice notebook!
December 30, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Hey writers! What do you use to write your drafts?
I use almost entirely cheap, one-subject college-ruled spiral-bound notebooks. I have been gifted nicer notebooks over the years, but I find there's too much pressure to write something good in a nice notebook!
I use almost entirely cheap, one-subject college-ruled spiral-bound notebooks. I have been gifted nicer notebooks over the years, but I find there's too much pressure to write something good in a nice notebook!
Picked up All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones at Logos in Davis, CA.
1st line: That 1901 winter when the wife and her husband were still new to Washington, there came to the wife like a scent carried on the wind some word that wolves roamed the streets and roads of the city after sundown.
1st line: That 1901 winter when the wife and her husband were still new to Washington, there came to the wife like a scent carried on the wind some word that wolves roamed the streets and roads of the city after sundown.
December 29, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Picked up All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones at Logos in Davis, CA.
1st line: That 1901 winter when the wife and her husband were still new to Washington, there came to the wife like a scent carried on the wind some word that wolves roamed the streets and roads of the city after sundown.
1st line: That 1901 winter when the wife and her husband were still new to Washington, there came to the wife like a scent carried on the wind some word that wolves roamed the streets and roads of the city after sundown.
I'm terrible at keeping track of books I've read, but here's my attempt at...
The TOP 10 BOOKS (AND COMICS) I READ IN 2025 THAT I HAVE NOT READ BEFORE, PRESENTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER WITH A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT EACH:
The TOP 10 BOOKS (AND COMICS) I READ IN 2025 THAT I HAVE NOT READ BEFORE, PRESENTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER WITH A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT EACH:
December 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I'm terrible at keeping track of books I've read, but here's my attempt at...
The TOP 10 BOOKS (AND COMICS) I READ IN 2025 THAT I HAVE NOT READ BEFORE, PRESENTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER WITH A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT EACH:
The TOP 10 BOOKS (AND COMICS) I READ IN 2025 THAT I HAVE NOT READ BEFORE, PRESENTED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER WITH A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT EACH:
Reading "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" for my Atlanta book club. First line:
As she woke up in the pod, she remembered three things.
As she woke up in the pod, she remembered three things.
December 27, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reading "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" for my Atlanta book club. First line:
As she woke up in the pod, she remembered three things.
As she woke up in the pod, she remembered three things.
I got my 40th rejection from a lit mag this week.
Over the last year I got more serious about my writing. I sent out 73 submissions, and got 3 stories accepted. (I withdrew 17 simultaneous submissions.)
Over the last year I got more serious about my writing. I sent out 73 submissions, and got 3 stories accepted. (I withdrew 17 simultaneous submissions.)
December 26, 2025 at 4:58 PM
I got my 40th rejection from a lit mag this week.
Over the last year I got more serious about my writing. I sent out 73 submissions, and got 3 stories accepted. (I withdrew 17 simultaneous submissions.)
Over the last year I got more serious about my writing. I sent out 73 submissions, and got 3 stories accepted. (I withdrew 17 simultaneous submissions.)
Christmas Day at Limantour Beach, Marin County CA
December 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Christmas Day at Limantour Beach, Marin County CA
Mountain Lake Park in San Francisco may be one of the most underrated parks in the city. Beautiful, spacious, and walking distance to amazing dim sum on Clement Street.
December 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Mountain Lake Park in San Francisco may be one of the most underrated parks in the city. Beautiful, spacious, and walking distance to amazing dim sum on Clement Street.
Reading Jim Thompson's "The Getaway" for an online book club organized by @anthonyjeselnik.bsky.social
First line:
Carter "Doc" McCoy had left a morning call for six o'clock, and he was reaching for the telephone the moment the night clerk rang.
First line:
Carter "Doc" McCoy had left a morning call for six o'clock, and he was reaching for the telephone the moment the night clerk rang.
December 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reading Jim Thompson's "The Getaway" for an online book club organized by @anthonyjeselnik.bsky.social
First line:
Carter "Doc" McCoy had left a morning call for six o'clock, and he was reaching for the telephone the moment the night clerk rang.
First line:
Carter "Doc" McCoy had left a morning call for six o'clock, and he was reaching for the telephone the moment the night clerk rang.
I really love how my four-year-old colored in this pig.
December 21, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I really love how my four-year-old colored in this pig.
Continuing my end of the year short story madness with The O. Henry Prize Winners 2025!
December 21, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Continuing my end of the year short story madness with The O. Henry Prize Winners 2025!
It's short story season! I've been collecting The Best American Short Stories since 2016.
December 14, 2025 at 5:09 PM
It's short story season! I've been collecting The Best American Short Stories since 2016.
Circe, by Madeline Miller. First sentence:
"When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."
"When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."
November 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Circe, by Madeline Miller. First sentence:
"When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."
"When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."
I just had my first story published at Gordon Square Review! Check out "A Sudden Hail of Gunfire, a Wedding, and a Dance."
www.gordonsquarereview.org/yee-195426-6...
www.gordonsquarereview.org/yee-195426-6...
A Sudden Hail of Gunfire, a Wedding and a Dance
Fiction by K Russell Breakstone
www.gordonsquarereview.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I just had my first story published at Gordon Square Review! Check out "A Sudden Hail of Gunfire, a Wedding, and a Dance."
www.gordonsquarereview.org/yee-195426-6...
www.gordonsquarereview.org/yee-195426-6...
Hermit crab spotted in Fort Bragg, California
July 1, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Hermit crab spotted in Fort Bragg, California
Picked up this great hat from Devil's Teeth Bakery in San Francisco.
June 30, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Picked up this great hat from Devil's Teeth Bakery in San Francisco.
I picked up North Woods by Daniel Mason from Copperfield Books in San Rafael.
First line: "They had come to the spot in the freshness of June, chased from the village by its people, following deer path through the forest, the valleys, the fern groves, and the quaking bogs."
I love that list.
First line: "They had come to the spot in the freshness of June, chased from the village by its people, following deer path through the forest, the valleys, the fern groves, and the quaking bogs."
I love that list.
June 28, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I picked up North Woods by Daniel Mason from Copperfield Books in San Rafael.
First line: "They had come to the spot in the freshness of June, chased from the village by its people, following deer path through the forest, the valleys, the fern groves, and the quaking bogs."
I love that list.
First line: "They had come to the spot in the freshness of June, chased from the village by its people, following deer path through the forest, the valleys, the fern groves, and the quaking bogs."
I love that list.
Ghost Pipes, parasitic plants that feed from the same fungus that channels nutrients to tree roots.
June 27, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Ghost Pipes, parasitic plants that feed from the same fungus that channels nutrients to tree roots.
Some charismatic critters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
June 23, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Some charismatic critters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Picked up "Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future" by Gloria Dickie, from Parnassus Books in Ketchikan, Alaska.
June 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Picked up "Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future" by Gloria Dickie, from Parnassus Books in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Picked up the wonderfully titled "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" by Robert Olen Butler from Press Shop in Atlanta.
First lines: "I have no hatred in me. I'm almost certain of that."
I like how the author introduces this uncertainty especially around such a strong emotion as hate.
First lines: "I have no hatred in me. I'm almost certain of that."
I like how the author introduces this uncertainty especially around such a strong emotion as hate.
June 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Picked up the wonderfully titled "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" by Robert Olen Butler from Press Shop in Atlanta.
First lines: "I have no hatred in me. I'm almost certain of that."
I like how the author introduces this uncertainty especially around such a strong emotion as hate.
First lines: "I have no hatred in me. I'm almost certain of that."
I like how the author introduces this uncertainty especially around such a strong emotion as hate.
Picked up "Arcadia" by Lauren Groff at Smith's Family Bookstore in Eugene, Oregon.
First line: "The women in the river, singing."
Very enigmatic. Kind of timeless, like a memory can be.
First line: "The women in the river, singing."
Very enigmatic. Kind of timeless, like a memory can be.
June 19, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Picked up "Arcadia" by Lauren Groff at Smith's Family Bookstore in Eugene, Oregon.
First line: "The women in the river, singing."
Very enigmatic. Kind of timeless, like a memory can be.
First line: "The women in the river, singing."
Very enigmatic. Kind of timeless, like a memory can be.