Wishing you and yours a very festive day.
Wordless Wednesday
Wishing you and yours a very festive day.
Wishing you and yours a very festive day.
Closet Reading
I received an email recently from an editor wanting to publish a short story of mine, “The Wurlitzer.” Even more exciting was the fact that the story is to be published in an audio version, not print. I love hearing authors read their stories, though I hadn’t considered recording myself reading mine.
I scoured a very detailed document explaining the ins and outs of DIY recording, including how to upload the file and a list of ideas for creating a sound-proof studio. There was mention of coat closets and reference to “hardcore” journalists and umbrellas! You’re intrigued, right?
While I cannot reveal all the secrets, I will say that I take editors’ suggestions seriously. I surveyed all of our closets and found the perfect one: my husband’s, which sits in the far upstairs corner of the house. The only slight issue was that his closet is really semi-converted attic space, meaning a series of shelves full of various items, one rod of hangers and shirts, and temperatures that fall well below my comfort zone.
But, we writers are a desperate sort. If we must confine ourselves to reading aloud among shoes and old blankets in bitter cold temperatures to an audience of sweaters and laundry baskets and a jar full of change, so be it.
Just don’t forget the hat.
(Publication date and links to come.)
What are you reading these days? Or should I ask, Where?
Life is in the Details
A good ice storm will slow you down. Send you walking instead of driving. Make you wait.
I was caught in the thick of the ice this last weekend having flown home to Texas to spend time with loved ones, and in the first few days, I did a lot of waiting. Waiting for the roads to clear, waiting to be told what I could do to help with my grandmother’s funeral, waiting for the inevitable.
Waiting isn’t all bad, though. It pulls at your perspective until you notice less of the big picture and more of what’s right in front of you.
It tethers you to a moment in time.
For the last several days, I’ve sat quiet, looked at old photos, listened to stories. Filled in gaps in my history. I would not have wanted those moments to be rushed.
While I was home, a piece of my fiction was published online, a story that speaks of something similar: slowing down, looking back, finding that lifeline. You can read The Continental on Deep South Magazine HERE.