May

May is time to celebrate mothers, toast on Cinco de Mayo and eat too much guacamole, enjoy the change of season, cookout (Maybe. I mean, what's with this weather? It's 40 degrees in S. Texas!), and honor men and women who died in service on Memorial day. May is about celebration and memory. I welcome it.

For me, May means that class will come to an end (bitter-sweet), the weather will begin to get Texas hot (maybe), and I will clean and organize my closets and drawers (scary).

The month was brought in well writing-wise. I was told that my story Getting There, which originally appeared in PANK, was nominated for and received finalist status in the 13th Glass Woman Prize. I love this competition, because a.) It recognizes the value of women writers (thank you, Beate) and b.) it's not the kind of competition you enter and pay a fee for, it's about the work that you've put out into the world. So, I'm honored. Please read all the stories here. A direct link to the slightly revised version of Getting There that won, go here.

In other writing news, I have work forthcoming in ARDOR and Burrow Press Review. Both journals have been amazing to work with, and I am very excited to move forward with the pieces (both of which are coming this month!). The story in ARDOR is quite different for me. It's haunting and strange, and if I remember when I post the link to the issue, I will tell you the story behind the story's creation. This story is equally as haunting.

In reading news, I finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist only to then purchase in on audio because when books are that good, that's what I do. The Audible recording as great, almost as good as reading the book.

The amazingly generous Kathy Fish sent me a pre-release copy of her collection Together We Can Bury It, which I have not yet finished because I don't want the thing to end. I read the last story first, then read the first story, then opened to a random story... this is how I read short story collections so that I forget how many stories I have left. It's silly, but it's my bedtime book, and I really, truly love it. The short shorts I read a few at a time, the longer ones I savor.  

In other news, I am exhausted! Seriously. I'm suffering from serious exhaustion. This weekend is about R&R. I might not even get online (yeah right).

So. To celebrating mothers and cleaning our closets! To relaxing and reading good fiction! Have a beautiful start to your May.