March 2025
I’ve been writing a lot while in Athens. I’ve written, or revised, several longer pieces but also have gotten back into flash. There is something I love about its precision and the challenge to tell a whole story with few words. One of the piece I started working on here - Lovesick - was recently published with one of my favorite literary magazines, Ghost Parachute. The editor, Brett Pribble, was fabulous to work with on the final edits and the perfect illustration is by Brett J Barr.
Diane Gottlieb recently interviewed me for her blog. Diane has been such an amazing supporter of my writing; it was lovely to get to chat with her about my trajectory to creative writing from sociology. You can also hear me read my story “Zaftig,” in this interview. The community of writers as I’ve published my stories is one of the greatest parts of writing. I am very thankful that Diane found me interesting enough to interview!
When Andrew Careaga reached out to ask if I would answer some questions for his blog, I was thrilled. You can read my interview here. I appreciated how thoughtful his questions were and that he tailed them to my specific background and writing experiences. It was fun to reflect on what influences me and the connections between my sociological and creative writing lives. I suggest reading his other interviews - they are entertaining and fascinating.
February 2025
I spent January and February studying Modern Greek at The Athens Centre. What to say? Greek is hard. Really hard. And fun. I had such a great time with my classmates, puzzling over strange Greek expressions and luxuriating in the sun during our breaks. My teacher Nancy (Νάνσυ, above center) was so wonderful and patient with us, a very motley crew. You can click on the link to find out about her classes, if you ever want to learn this amazing language (i.e. torture yourself).
I am on sabbatical from teaching this semester and have a lot of exciting adventures planned starting with two months in Athens studying Modern Greek. The weather is fabulous and being in the sun, reading and writing, sipping freddo espressos and alpha beer with new and old friends is amazing. My niece is here too on a Fulbright grant, so she and I are living the dream!
The sunset from my apartment’s balcony is a sight to behold!
There are many things I love about Athens (my second favorite city). The colors and light are at the top of my list. People complain about the graffiti but I think it adds to the vibrancy of the city and contributes to its messy and rough charm.
January 2025
One of the first stories I ever wrote was about a couple having a boozy last date, though neither full understood it as the end. I’ve been working on this story on and off for several years. I feel like I finally got it to where I want it to be. Someone in my writing group said she noticed a pattern in my stories: people try to communicate but can’t get it right. That might be how I’d sum up life too! Anyway, Feedback Loops is out in the world and you can comment on the stories on the Fiction the Web site. I’d love to hear what you think!
The cats in Athens are top notch. We are just guests in their space. They are friendly and living free. An added bonus that is much appreciated by me: not a rat or mouse in sight! (In NYC, I live in the Lower East Side, one of the top priority “rat-mitigation zones”…)
December 2024
Dogs are a theme in my stories recently, especially the ones that take place in Rutland, Vermont. My story “Bruno” about a father, his estranged son, and the puppy the father adopts came out recently with Roi Faineant, one of my favorite lit mags. I worked on this story quite a bit and struggled with the ending. I didn’t want a lot to happen but it took me some time to figure out how to quietly depict the father, Heath’s, sadness about his relationship with his son. This could be called a happier ending - there is some hope!
Frogs seem to be making an appearance in a few stories. Here’s another, “Viscera,” which just came out in The Mersey Review. There’s a bonus interview where I was asked to write about a book I loved. (Spoiler alert: it’s The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard.) I love when editors ask questions like this. It’s a fun way to get to know the authors better and it gives me a chance to think about my influences and articulate why they matter to me.
It’s difficult to write during the semester, but I do manage to get some smaller pieces out. My story “Christmas Tree” was recently published in Gooseberry Pie Lit Mag in a holiday-themed issue celebrating the magazine’s year anniversary. I love Gooseberry Pie. The editor is fabulous and the stories are all a delight to read.
My story “There is No Ordinary,” came out in LEON Literary Review. I worked on this story during my week residency at the Vermont Studio Center. This story is about how hard it is to write about “the diaspora of grief,” such a hard topic to locate. This one feels extremely personal to me. I re-read it and am brought back to these feelings that swirl around me still.
November 2024
This has been a truly great month for my writing! My story “Paradise” was nominated by Literary Namjooning for the Pushcart Prize. This is such an honor and completely unexpected. You can read all their nominated stories here. I work very hard at writing and get a lot of rejections. The acceptances are such a thrill. And a nomination like this feels like a dream!
The very exciting news is that I am the Grand Prize winner of the Does It Have Pockets creative nonfiction competition. I’ve been working on this story, about strandbeests and my mother, monsters and dementia, for a really long time. I’ve been struggling to get the story right but I think I finally figured it out. It was so nice to get the email notice of my award. Nice isn’t the right word really: it was exhilarating! I work on writing so much, practice it every day, feel like I get better and then worse. It’s just how it goes. But this award feels like a recognition that my efforts are worth it.
Life. What to say about it? The past few years have been a lesson in the aging body, dying parents, sick friends. And my own expanding middle. I struggle to appreciate the softness of my middle-age form. So, of course, to come to terms with it…I write! My story Not Cool came out in one of my favorite literary magazines Pithead Chapel. I sometime worry about exposing so much of myself in writing that people actually seem to read but after years of academic writing, it’s really freeing to be able to express with clarity my feelings about the wonderful and weird world that I find myself in.
In July, I attended a reading where I heard a story read in the future tense. I loved the effect so decided to use it and the second person point of view to describe the reading. My story A Summer Reading came out in Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine edited by Jeff Harvey, a fabulous writer whose choice of stories for his lit mag are always excellent. I’ve been trying to get into the magazine for a while - it’s where the cool kids publish - and I finally did! This story was fun to write and even more fun to see in print!
September 2024
I’ve enjoyed writing fiction, trying my hand at creating different worlds. I say I’m not good at “world building” but I do try to inhabit other characters in my writing. My story Separating Two Threads came out in Jewish Fiction. The editor was lovely to work with; she made excellent suggestions for changes that made the story better. As much as I love writing (and teaching) flash, it’s gratifying seeing my longer stories out in the world.
My story “Paradise” came out in the wonderful new literary magazine Literary Namjooning, devoted to stories that convey “acts of living” that include “slowing down, community with nature, a love for the old, second-hand bookstores, appreciating art and music, and feeding your mind and should doing the things you love.” I could find no better place for this story, about what Greece means to me. In the author’s note, the editors gave me a chance to talk about other places that bring us comfort: I was able to write about New York City and my lovely Seward Park where I spend a part of most days.
I am going to be in Greece for a few months in winter 2025, working on my Modern Greek and writing more stories, that I can add to my (slowly growing) collection about that magical country.
Many of my publications are shorter, “flash” pieces. I’ve been writing longer stories too. One of my favorites, “Lovely Rutland,” came out in The Milk House. This magazine is a rural writing collective edited by Ryan Dennis who is a great writer and stellar editor. Instead of rejecting my story, he gave me a chance to revise and resubmit it (this is a rarity in the lit mag submission world). His suggestion made this story stronger. I’ve been wanting to get into the magazine for a while, it seems like a good home for my Vermont stories. I’m so pleased with the image he included too. I hope you like the story!
August 2024
My story “Dissection” came out in Trampset. I have admired this magazine for a while and am thrilled that this piece found a home there. The editors were so lovely and I’m really thankful they liked this piece. It’s part of a new series I’m working on, tackling some of the gendered dimensions of caregiving a parent with dementia. I absolutely love the image they used for the piece.
“Dissection” was included as a “Friday Five: Labor Day Weekend Reads” on writer Andrew Careaga’s blog.
Someone asked me the other day why I submit my stories to literary magazines. My number one reason is: the community. I have a whole network of writers in my life now, many of whom I haven’t met in person, who I have connected with because our stories are out in the world and we’re moved by them. Everyday, I read something that inspires me. And I am thankful that sometimes, my stories resonate with others.
July 2024
My story “Flat White” about the last week of my mother’s life came out in JMWW. Creative writing comes with a lot of rejections so the acceptances are very sweet, especially when an editor says they “love” your story. They made no changes to this and let me use a photo I took after I gave my mother a manicure (she insisted I paint my nails too). This story isn’t all doom and gloom; there’s usually some unintentional hilarity at a memory care center.
I was invited to participate in the 712 Lafayette Reading Series in Brooklyn. It was an amazing night and the weather was perfect. Six of us read in a very lush backyard. I read my story “There is No Ordinary” (coming out soon in LEON Literary Review). One of the writers, Brian Pester, read an excellent story written in the future tense. I was so inspired to try this out, that I wrote a story the next day about the reading. It will be coming out in September in Gooseberry Pie Lit (one of my favorite magazines for micro stories that pack a punch).
Another exciting bit of news is that I was accepted into the NES Artists Residency in Iceland. I will be spending April 2025 in Skagaströnd, a small fishing village by the sea in northwest Iceland.
June 2024
I had four stories come out this month!
I wrote this 100-word piece “Penn Station,” which was published as part of National Flash Fiction Day.
The wonderful new literary mag Scaffold Lit published my story “the spanakopita was soggy”. Scaffold’s editor Steve Gergley is amazing. He’s such a supportive editor and really makes sure people read the stories he publishes.
“A Piece of Cake” came out in Every Day Fiction, a magazine that publishes lovely stories and has an engaged readership. The editors are really excellent and gave me great feedback. I’ve been working on this story for a while and learned a lot about point of view while revising it.
“Do You Believe in Magic,” is another story that I worked on quite a bit. I switched it from non-fiction to fiction and that move freed me up to get the distance I needed to place this story in a specific time, with a particular vibe. Flash Fiction Magazine is a lovely mag with kind readers who comment on stories. I love that interaction!
I spent a glorious week in Chorefto, Greece, staying at a wonderful hotel a few blocks from the Aegean Sea. I wrote a lot, hopefully some things that that will find their way to the Greece section of my stories page.
May 2024
I spent an incredible week at Vermont Studio Center in a fully-funded residency for Vermont-based artists. The weather was beautiful and the company was perfect. A story I wrote there, inspired by my conversations with a sculptor, will be coming out soon in LEON Literary Review. I highly suggest applying to this residency. You are fed well, get an amazing space to work and are supported in just the right ways to make your art.
We had a very Vermont evening: a bonfire, music and local beer. The incredible sculptor Joe Chirchirillo played guitar. The rest of us “sang”…
April 2024
Diane Gottlieb is the most wonderful champion of other writers. She wrote a lovely review of my story “Zaftig,”. In “A Short, Very Satisfying Meal,” published with one of my favorite literary mags Tiny Molecules (the first one to publish my creative work!), she unpacks the layers of my story. I got new insights about my writing reading her review of it! She is a gifted writer; I encourage you to check her website out and read her stories. I worked on”Zaftig” at Manhattanville’s Summer Writers Program in a creative non-fiction workshop taught by Davon Loeb, a stunning writer and stellar teacher.
March 2024
My story “Where’s Charlie” was a finalist for the WOW Women on Writing Creative Non-Fiction Essay contest. They published an interview with me where I talk about my move between sociology and creative non-fiction and the kinds of observations for which both allow. It was fun doing this interview; it’s nice to have a chance to think and communicate about what I’m up to with my creative work.
