So, for the first time in a long time, I am single. When T and I first broke up, I was on my way to grad school and a host of new possibilities. He simply didn’t see us as one of them. So, I walked away. For two years, I answered only to myself, imaginingContinueContinue reading “The Other Side of Someday”
Author Archives: Ren Martinez
Metaphors, Metaphors Everywhere (And Not a Drop to Drink)
I sent out nearly twenty queries mid-March. I’ve gotten four rejections so far.Having a rejection is nicely concrete, actually.I recognize that I’m not always the best at self-marketing. I have moments of ramped-up energy, where my fingers spill like lava across the keyboard and smears of magma come away from the computer screen. Everything isContinueContinue reading “Metaphors, Metaphors Everywhere (And Not a Drop to Drink)”
Raise It Up (This Offering)
Sometimes I just don’t know when to quit. The thing is, I’m usually pretty good at reading people. I’m able to take a glance and visualize a person’s history, see flickers of emotion coloring their face and translate those brief glimpses into a wealth of information. Even the slightest hitch of a breath or stutterContinueContinue reading “Raise It Up (This Offering)”
Joan of Arc
a civil war of short skirts and combat bootsstomp through this body like a battlefieldthe mirror reflects the slip of curves and gendered expectationsthere are days when the proud line of cleavageis a well-honed blade of fierce femininityher curves are a study in aerodynamics; a dragon is born to flythe rouge of her lips andContinueContinue reading “Joan of Arc”
The More Things Change
This has been a long transitional period for me, filled with various upheavals while I’m trying to keep steady on my feet. A new city, a new job, a new direction. Questioning my writing, my religion, my relationships, my identity. It feels like the ocean is rolling beneath me and I’m trying desperately to stayContinueContinue reading “The More Things Change”
The Midnight Tide
The Midnight TideYou can now read my fully finished fantasy novel, “The Midnight Tide,” at Figment. Let me know what you think!
On Why Finishing a Project is My Fatal Flaw
I have never had a problem coming up with new ideas. I’ll stumble out of dreams and hastily jot down the last wisps of a REM cycle, or see an image and have a story unfurl before my eyes, or hear a song verse and can hear my characters singing along before they’re even born.ContinueContinue reading “On Why Finishing a Project is My Fatal Flaw”
A Fresh Start (A Brand New Heart)
Today, my sister officially announced to the world (via Facebook of course) the good news. She’s having a baby!And that means, I’m going to be a tía in August.I’m sure that the eddy of emotions inside of me is familiar to many of those who are first time aunts/uncles, particularly those who are not terribly fondContinueContinue reading “A Fresh Start (A Brand New Heart)”
The Edge of the End
I think I’m on the brink of an ending.I’ve loved him since I was nineteen and thought I was broken beyond repair. I was starved for affection, gutted by abuse, so the touch of his hand was like a blessing. Even when those hands refused to touch me in public, I had long since memorizedContinueContinue reading “The Edge of the End”
Put Your Lips Together and Blow
I’ve always wanted to smoke. I know it’s a ridiculous thing to desire; I am more than aware of the harmful consequences of picking up such a habit. That’s why I’ve never picked up a cigarette in my life. There are no stories of me as a rebellious thirteen-year-old hacking my lungs after my firstContinueContinue reading “Put Your Lips Together and Blow”
Ren Martinez 