Reading the new issue of McSweeney's (#21). It has some of the best fiction they've ever published, I think. So anyway, the Joyce Carol Oates story in there is going in our imaginary anthology, mark it down. Here's the crazy coincidence that no one will ever care about (or believe). About six years ago, I wrote a novel that will never see the light of day (though some small parts of it have been published). Mark Twain was an important character in it. It also contained a character named Madeline Avery (none of her sections ever saw print). Well, this shocking and beautiful Oates story in the new McSweeney's has Mark Twain as the main character AND a character that Ms. Oates invented... named Madelyn Avery! Once again (see below) what are the odds? Crazy, I tell you. Ms. Oates' Madelyn Avery and my Madeline Avery have nothing in common aside from their names... meaningless and astonishing, as coincidences are bound to be, but it's crazy, I swear.
