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.

Ever since I started meditating

...more often I've found myself in a really bad mood. Is that common? I've read about a "clearing" stage, but I've been meditating twice a day for two weeks (quite the jump from the occasional cross-legged try here and there), and I noticed it a little the first week but in the last week I've just been snappy. Perhaps it's unrelated, a coincidence, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Despite my bad mood, I have found solace in my readings. I've read some crazy-good work for PANK this week, and I'm judging Otterbein's Quiz & Quill awards this year, and I'm thrilled for these future grads. There are some names in this submission pile that I'll be looking out for. Anyway, my other reason for posting mid-week is: I think this is the coolest thing ever, and I wanted to show off. I have a QR code for my website! I tested it out on my phone, and it works. How awesome! Now I just need to covertly post this everywhere. Perhaps a future in tagging?

I'll try to write a short post this weekend, but in case I don't I'll be checking in. This is it! The big trip! At the end of the week, I will be entering the writing zone.  

Read, Walk, Repeat

Over the weekend, I thought a lot about Vermont but did nothing to prepare. It's less than a month away, and I have quite a bit to do, but it feels years off for some reason. Or maybe it doesn't feel real. So what did I do this weekend instead? Not much, and it was wonderful. I read and I walked. 

Reading:

On my list this weekend was Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You. I bought the book after listening to the "The Swim Team," a short story in this collection, online. That story remains my favorite of the collection. For me, the reading of this book was kind of like buying an entire album because you love a single. July's stories are consistently good, insightful, and oddly humorous; but, I found the novelty of her style lost on subsequent stories. That said, I think this is a book I'll return to, one story at a time. Altogether, the thing blurs. 

I also read Sherman Alexie's Blasphemy because a friend was posting about it on Facebook, and again, I have loved the few short stories I've read by Alexie, and I enjoyed Smoke Signals, but I've never read an entire book of his. I'm only a few stories in, and so far, I rather love this collection. His prose is easy to get lost in. As a reader, I forget the literature of the thing and just enjoy and appreciate; also, I'm consistently caught off-guard by the characters. Alexie has his tells--I can't think about his stories without thinking cling peaches and  tender but distanced male narrators, for instance--but his work feels new and surprises all over again each time I read him. So far, anyway. Also on my reading list this weekend were the January issue of THRUSH, a few stories at Carve, and quite a few articles. 

I read a dozen stories for PANK (I'm back at it, so blame me), and I read two friends' works. Somehow, I also managed to begin watching Game of Thrones (first season). I'm already committed to watch the rest, so I suppose that's an endorsement in of itself, but will reserve judgement until I get through Season I. 

Walking: 

Along with my modest workout routine, I found myself walking quite a bit. My husband resolved to get in better shape this year, and I want to be a part of it, so we are beginning slow: a walk with the occasional jog around a 2.5 mile loop near our home. And because my dog still expects his 2 mile walks on weekend mornings, and subsequent daily strolls, it all added up to a nice amount of fresh air, which is something I had no idea how much I needed. Walking time is meditation time. Well, unless we see the neighborhood skunk. 

When we began dating almost ten years ago, Chris and I would walk in the fancy-pants neighborhoods in Columbus and talk about what we wanted to do and how we had to make it possible. I've rarely but longingly thought of those walks, and now that we're back at it, I feel that old sensation of optimism and hope I had as a beginning writer and college student. As we discuss our goals nowadays, we are focusing on timing our walks and plan to shave a minute off each day. Small goals are the best goals.

So basically I was just entertained all weekend. And I took a lot of walks. How lucky was that? Now, for a full week of being back to the daily chores/obligations/routines. In the meantime, please send me some good vibes. My short story chapbook is a finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition at Black Lawrence Press. I tend to be the literary equivalent of always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride, so I'll accept my finalist status as my own personal win. But man, I'd love to work with BLP. We'll see.  

I wish you all a wonderful week. Read and walk, if you find the time. Both are curative.  

Finals Week

Not much to report here. I am living at the height of the glory and pain of teaching as I drown in end-of-term stories. I am still eating veggies and using my juicer. I am still feeling good. I am working over at the 9-5 to prepare for a real vacation. I have a ton of story ideas I can't wait to write. I've been keeping notes as the ideas come. They will be written soon. Things will be revised. I am not asleep.

Back to teaching. These students (writers) are kicking ass! They're listening, emphasizing their strengths and working on their weaker points. So far, there's been such creativity and growth that I feel downright proud. Here's a glimpse: a brilliant story about a popular children's icon attacking an innocent family; a science fiction piece about a meteor headed toward earth during an evangelist regime, which causes citizens to find their inner hedonism;  a few mind-blowing survival stories; and there is so, so much more. This is an amazing group, and I'll miss reading their work. But, because I'm reading this budding brilliance, this week's blog is short and late. I'll post again next weekend.

In the meantime, here are a few amazing stories (two newer, two older) I read online during breaks and for reference for my students. When I'm done, I'll be able to settle in and read something longer: Open City. It's first on the list. Oh, and I can return to reading at PANK. If PANK will still have me. (I just realized that I am looking forward to my break from reading so that I can read. That's love. Or obsession. Same thing, right?)

Eudora Welty: Why I Live at the P.O.
Alice Dunbar: A Carnival Jangle
Jia Tolentino: The Odyssey
Stephanie Dickinson: Black Night Heron

Now, back to grading, drinking my power juice, getting ready for the corporate work tomorrow, and using every cell in my body to will it to snow in San Antonio tonight. Wow, I miss snow. Have a beautiful week.