New work for spring 2020!
I’m really excited to announce that I’ve got some short fiction due to be published shortly, both stories that I wrote in a fall 2020 writing workshop. There’s nothing quite like being in a class full of talented people, reading great and interesting work, to motivate good writing work. My short story “Inside Horace House” […]
It Goes Boom
New obsessions hit me regularly–bits of stories I hear, scenes that play out in front of me. Right now I can’t stop thinking about the Halifax Explosion. I blame the weekend trip I just took to Halifax, coupled with a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and a sightseeing excursion led by a […]
Lisbon: The Basics
A few days before I left for Lisbon, Portugal, I started wondering whether I should have chosen an alternate location for vacation. I didn’t know much about the culture of Portugal, and I had only learned a small bit of Portuguese. Weirdly, it’s something that happens a lot: right before a vacation, it’s second-guessing time. […]
Reading Iceland
My husband and I will be in Iceland in five short weeks. While I’m excited to (I hope) see the Northern Lights and go on a glacier hike, there’s something really fascinating about Iceland’s literary scene that I’m looking forward to seeing first-hand. Apparently, one in ten Icelanders will publish a book during their lifetime […]
Embracing Porteños: Buenos Aires
I emerged from Ezeiza International Airport this past Saturday into blissfully cool air. Philadelphia, when I left, was nearly tropical, but Buenos Aires weather reminded me of an early spring day. The woman from the booth where I arranged transport into the city pulled her jacket closed and shivered. She glanced at me–in my sleeveless […]
That white male writers are most often reviewed and wind up winning awards and find themselves on “best of” and “summer reading” lists at places like the New York Times (NYT) is no surprise. It is and has been a white man’s world in many respects for a very long time, primarily because white guys […]
A Field Full of Poppies
Cobblestones are dangerous, dangerous things. Slippery, even for sure-footed people on a bright, sunshine-y day. I get that they’re charming, and I get that they’re historically accurate . . . but they’re a recipe for disaster, especially when it’s pouring down rain and a certain someone (you know, me) is confined to an immobilization boot. […]
Twenty-Four Hours in San Francisco
San Francisco is hell on the calves. I knew this. Yes, yes, I did. I’ve been to San Francisco maybe half a dozen times over the last 15 years or so, and I’ve had a great time each visit. Great, but tiring–the steep hills all over SF are hard to deal with. That said, now […]
How Many Books Does it Take to Get to Toronto?
I equate travel with reading time. You’re stuck in an airport or an airplane for hours on end, so what else are you going to do? For me, I either knit or read or catch up on Welcome to Night Vale. Sometimes all three. So last Friday I decided to head to Toronto for a […]
I Am Guilty: Traveling Alone While Female
Traveling while female scares people. Particularly the idea of traveling alone while female. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. In another couple of weeks I’m going to have access to quite a bit of free and/or dirt cheap travel due to a family member scoring a gig that allows for unlimited stand-by (you […]