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Hello.
Thanks for checking out my website. It presents a collection of my writing, from literary to academic. At this point, I’m focused on fiction. I’ve published several short stories and completed a novel, which was a finalist for the 2010 Bellwether Prize sponsored by Barbara Kingsolver.
I am not a writer who gets up at 5:00 a.m. to write, and despite the eruption of MFA programs–many with fabulous professors and lots of time for writing–I have chosen to stomp along on my own (it often feels like trudging and occasionally like flying). But I rely heavily on the generous individuals who support and critique my writing. They are gifts.
I hope my writing honors people at odd intersections of humanity. While I experiment with language, form, character perceptions, and points of view, I am drawn to realism and its infinite opportunities, its constant yet surprising ability to foster stories. A variety of stories with turmoil, peculiar characters, captivating ideas, and slivers of beauty.
Thanks for letting me be a part of your literary exploration.
Novel Manuscript
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In this coming–of–age story, a college girl returns to her hometown to work in a nursing home for the summer. Corporate efficiency collides with the realities of daily care when two patients are discovered with injuries, escalating a conflict between Beth and another aide. Beth must let go of her illusions and hold onto unexpected moments of friendship to get through the summer. |
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I like drinking green tea while I write, and the need to repeatedly boil water provides soothing little breaks. My story "Souvenirs" will appear in the anthology American Fiction: The Best Previously Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers, Volume 11 from New Rivers Press in fall 2010. Please read my story "He Used to Say Te Quiero Everyday" in the 2010 issue of Steam Ticket–buy a copy and support puny literary writers like me. I am also in search of a publisher for my novel manuscript, Being Good About It. more . . . |
Short Stories
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“Souvenirs”
American Fiction: The Best Previously Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers, Volume 11, New Rivers Press, 2010
When Lana's husband returns from Iraq, she must become the full-time caretaker for him and their two young children. But the temptation of Victor's medications eventually proves too much for her.
Now available for pre-order on Amazon.com |
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Surprise pregnancies change the life of three women across three generations. That shared experience, while full of similarities, creates as much division and antagonism as it does connection. |
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“He Used to Say Te Quiero Everyday”
Steam Ticket, Volume XIII, 2010
After receiving a dinner invitation from her aunt, Marisol has to consider the life she's created for herself and her daughter as a result of falling in love. |
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“The Tangle of Stems and Light”
Blueline, Volume 30, 2009
A morbid discovery leads a married woman into an unexpected conversation with her neighbor. In an act of both rebellion and ambivalence, she invites the man into her house for a drink. |
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“The Things You Take, The Things You Leave”
Natural Bridge, Number 19, Spring 2008
Eleanor, a woman dealing with alcoholism and transience, returns to the house she shared with her husband. Once there, she must face the reality of making her own choice. |
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"Histories"
Hospital Drive, Issue 1, Summer 2007
When a young aide learns unexpected things about the patients and staff in a large nursing home, she realizes people go through life struggling to truly know each other. |
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"Nina"
Square Lake, Volume 4, 2004
This brief encounter in a grimy laundromat depicts a moment of missed possibility for two women.
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