what is hate mail?
Hate Mail is a collection of eight short stories. Within Hate Mail's pages are stories of bad roommates, irritating coworkers, and good friendships gone bad. The idea of the book is simple: very often we can't say the things we want to say to the jerks we encounter in life. That's why Hate Mail also contains eight handy cards, suitable for mailing,that let you mail exactly what's on your mind.
The earliest incarnation of Hate Mail was a rant I posted on Craig's List about two years ago. It was based on some events that went down at my old job and at the time, it wasn't funny at all. I was pissed. Really pissed. I wrote it at work on company time and I tried to pour all my frustration and anger into that rant. My only concern when I wrote it was getting out enough rage to avoid grabbing the nearest weapon and wrecking havoc on the people that pay me every week. It worked. I didn't hurt anybody.
Then something strange and wonderful happened. People voted my rant onto the best of Craig's List. I started getting these emails from strangers across the country. They read my rant, and they laughed. Some of them wrote me to say they could relate. Others offered to find me another job. Some people just wrote to say, "you poor bastard." I saved every single one of those emails and I frequently looked back on them as I put Hate Mail together to remind me that there's a world full of people out there who could relate to my situation and my writing style. It was the inspiration I needed to put my project together.
I wrote all the stories in one fell swoop, with the exception of Hell Hath No Fury which is a story I've been working on for about ten years. I tried to think of situations that were antagonizing and somewhat universal. I drew on my past experiences and tales I'd heard from friends. Originally I envisioned it as an ongoing series. I hoped that people would write to me with their own frustrating situations and irritating characters. I thought would take those stories and produce the perfect card to go with it. I still want to hear people's stories and maybe if one strikes my fancy, I'll make a card and put it up on this site.
Most of the artwork came from my friends. My friend Heather and I hijacked the photography studio on a Sunday at my old job. A bunch of friends volunteered to pose for the photographs. Later, when I started the publishing program at
Finally I just want to say that this project is not so much about Hate. I called it Hate Mail because it was catchy and looked good on paper. Really I think that Hate Mail is a book about being too nice. The people who know me often comment that I'm just too nice. I don't say no, and I don't stand up for myself when I should. Each of the stories that I have written makes me stronger and reminds me that I don't have to take shit from people. I hope that it does the same for you.
