Sunday, March 15, 2015

New Rattle story

New Work! I have a new piece up at Per Contra. It's synergistic to be writing a Rattle story the day another one is published. I hope you enjoy it!  "Scratching the Silver" is a prequel to "West on N Road" (published in Superstition Review). It is about the time Rattle tried to reach out to his daughter, a time she may or may not remember later. It's here

Friday, March 13, 2015

Despite the unexpected

The San Antonio Lit Fest happened. What a whirlwind! I can honestly say that not one the lovely readers in the image below didn't impress and inspire me. We came, we read, we connected. It was beautiful. 

That said, it is not easy to put together a reading for 13 people. I had been so nervous about organizing everything that I didn't really prepare fully my own reading, and I didn't sleep. I double-checked everything, bought a Thank You card for the library manager who had reserved the space. For all the double-checking, however, and all the assurances that everything was in place, we showed up to find the library manager gone and those remaining unaware of our event. The lights were off in the area due to energy savings for Spring Break, and two of the readers were lost. Timing was tight, and we ran out of time for the last few readers.  

That real-life, blooper-like glimpse behind the scenes aside, the reading was a success. Steve Adams, who has a background in theater, saved our lighting situation and even upped it a notch, giving us artistic halos. The readings themselves were so incredibly diverse and poignant. The people behind the writers were a blast to hang out with after our reading. Just look at that crew... totally worth every last minute of preparation. I'm ready for the next iteration. I'm old hand now.

Photo (c) Octavio Quintanilla

Today's writing prompt:

Using my sneak peek as a model, write a story in which a character has big plans for something that doesn't go as expected. Throw a series of obstacles in the character's way. Stretch your mind to imagine every single thing that could go wrong in this scenario. And if you're feeling generous, maybe make it all work out in the end.

Enjoy your week!

xo Jen

Chapbook release

"As our children walked in circles, their children shook their heads and made their way toward another life; new ghosts remained. And w...