Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Chosen One

The old man, who had lived too many long years to see the prophecy fulfilled, reached his hand out to her, palm wrinkled and waiting. “You are the chosen one,” he informed her, “and the fate of the world rests in your hands.” Those words hung between them; a crescendo of anticipation vibrated in the silence–likeContinue reading “The Chosen One”

Guidelines and Deadlines

Have you ever been so stressed out that it stresses you out that you’re stressed? My work just dropped a huge bomb on the staff, basically changing the nature of our jobs and increasing out workload under the guise of “making your jobs easier and more efficient.” My job has gone from one clear purposeContinue reading “Guidelines and Deadlines”

Gardens

I’m trying to exorcise the ugly inside me. No one does right all the time. There are times that I well up with it, rage like splinters beneath my nails, doubt like claws running down the back of my neck, fear sour and dripping from my tongue. Humans are gardens, but even the most beautifulContinue reading “Gardens”

Halloween

Walter loved Halloween more than any other day. He loved the kids running up and down the street, the spooky music humming from hidden speakers, the fake spiderwebs crawling across his neighbor’s porches, the carved pumpkins that grinned at him as he passed by on the street. He especially loved that he could throw outContinue reading “Halloween”

Excerpt – Albatross

One of my latest projects: a young adult work featuring a Moorish girl who sails with the Spanish Armada and takes on the English when they’ve come to take Puerto Rico. Krakens and sirens and selkies, oh my! Dawn broke over the sky like blood, but Safa had no time to worry about the oldContinue reading “Excerpt – Albatross”

Now I Get Why Hemingway Drank

So I’m halfway through that writing class at my local community college. What I didn’t realize is that I’d be retaking AP English again. I guess my expectations are born of having graduated from undergrad and grad school. As someone who has done workshops before and meets with local writers about once a week, IContinue reading “Now I Get Why Hemingway Drank”

The Obligatory Thinkpiece

In response to the now defunct XOJane article, the one where the writer describes her former friend’s spiral into mental illness and subsequent suicide “a blessing,” I decided to write her a very sincere, very sympathetic thinkpiece open-letter so she can understand exactly what I think about her as a writer and a human being.Continue reading “The Obligatory Thinkpiece”