The Indie Ink Runs Deep: Pat Pujolas

I've been tossing around the idea of blogging a tattoo series for nearly a year now. I know there are websites and books out there that have been-there-done-that already, but I hadn't seen one with a specific focus on the authors and publishers of the small press community. 

After hoarding the photos and essays I've been collecting from these guys since July of 2012, and with the promise of spring peeking its deliciously sunny head out through all of this winter gloom, I decided there was no better time than now to finally unveil THE INDIE INK RUNS DEEP mini-series!

Today's indie ink is from Pat Pujloas. Pat is the author of “Jimmy Lagowski Saves the World” (Independent Talent Group, 2012) and frequent contributor to ManArchy magazine. He lives in Akron, Ohio, as well as on Goodreads.

I have three tattoos; this one is the smallest but the most meaningful; it was also the most painful. There are more sensitive areas on the body (genitals, feet, eyeballs), but the inside of the wrist is a pretty good place to gauge human sensitivity (and no doubt why new mothers test warm milk here). It seems fitting, because this tattoo represents my commitment to being a writer. As any artist will tell you, there is a constant, almost daily struggle between occupation (making a living) and passion (practicing your craft). In July of 2001, with three unpublished books and enough rejection slips to wallpaper most of Seattle, I found myself ready to give up on my passion and focus on occupation. And so I had this star affixed to my wrist, as a daily reminder to keep writing. Because if I ever do give up, I will have to stare at this damn thing every day and wonder, “What might’ve happened if I had just kept going, kept writing, one more word, one more sentence, one more story?” And that is the sort of pain I refuse to endure.