The Rogue Voice began with the promptings of a cab driver whose writings always left me feeling baffled, amused and aghast.
In the beginning, in the days of print, Stacey and Dell read proofs (remember those?) for their June 2006 “Jesus loves you, Wal-Mart hates you” edition. Photo by Phil Klein
Dell Franklin, a guy I knew only from publishing a few of his stories at the local alternative weekly, kept yakking it up.
“You gotta start your own goddamn newspaper!”
At first, I thought he was just trying to cheer me up for getting canned from a thankless managing editor’s job, where I’d been introduced to Dell’s cab exploits and anthems to the bachelor’s life. Then, I realized, he was dead serious.
I liked Dell’s spirit, his enthusiasm for the printed word. I laughed at his stories and envisioned others who would also enjoy an independent publication unafraid to voice its thoughts, experiences, and wildness. There was just one problem.
“Dell, you gotta have capital to start a newspaper.”
Neither of us had the smarts to come up with the money needed to get a publication going. When Dell’s mother, Rose Franklin, died, she left him a portion of her estate, enabling us to realize our dream of publishing The Rogue Voice.
It took a few months before we found our feet, but by our third issue distressed lonely matrons of morality were already tossing our “newspaper” into the trash or burning it at backyard barbecues.
We’ve persevered, driven by our need to shout, and scream and laugh. Along the way, we’ve toppled a lot of apple carts and drawn a devoted readership that has thrown money at us, begged us to keep going, urged us to get our asses online, even though we’re products of the Old School world of print and live like Luddite dogs in creaky hovels.
So, here it is, finally, an emerging online edition of The Rogue Voice, A Literary Magazine with an Edge, featuring original voices from prison, on the road, at sea…or from right here in our quaint little village by the sea, Cayucos.
We look for stories that are local in nature with universal appeal, stories that get under your skin. We want our readers to come away with an experience they won’t soon forget. We will continue to provide our readers with the edgy, independent, unaffected fare they’ve come to expect over the years. We hope our online presence will inspire more readers to join us at The Rogue Voice.
Stacey
