At 4AM the birds outsound everything. Their songs are desperate, me, me, me, me. You, you, you, you. As the sky lightens, a V of geese sweeps over, heading north. His eyes try to make sense of them. Everything is new. The greenness blurs the edges of space. Boundaries are lost and found again. There is a black pocket in the forest where he … Read More He Has Been Warned
The man across from me made art out of solder. His hands never touched the table, sticky with spills, before the seisiún. And your outrage and your pride. It was about those, too. When we put the dog down. When we euthanized the dog. When we killed the dog. The second after he stopped breathing. The second he stopped breathing. I said, “I want … Read More solder
I’m excited that May is short story month. In fact, I’m so excited that I’m going to give away a signed copy of my collection of short fiction, I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND. Here’s what you have to do: in the comments to this post on my blog, list your favorite short story and tell me why it’s your favorite. I will keep the … Read More Short Story Month Giveaway
I am in love with the Newburyport Literary Festival for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it is truly a celebration of readers and writers. It all begins tonight with the opening ceremony and dinner with the authors. I will be at both, celebrating my buddy, Matthew Quick, who is this year’s honoree. Then, bright and early, tomorrow morning I have … Read More Newburyport Literary Festival — April 26th & 27th
+ 2013
When I lived in Jamaica Plain, I had two running routes: one through the Arboretum and one several times around the pond. Once, as I ran around the pond, a man came next to me and kept pace. He was in town from Africa, completing his training for the Boston Marathon. He liked the way I kept my slow pace and so we jogged … Read More One body. One blood.
I wrote 2013 for the first time this morning. Isn’t that always so strange–he hesitation and then the full commitment to the new year? Of course, if you are like me, you will find yourself voiding a cheque or two before the year becomes automatic. But the new year exists nonetheless. Whether you write it or not, it is here. So, yes, now it … Read More A New Year, A New Book, With Thanks
+ 2013
Sweat the small stuff. Eat more and exercise less. Drink more wine and less water. Spend more time inside. Speed past the roses. Look a gift horse in the mouth. Watch more TV and read fewer books. Spend more time engaging in pointless arguments on social media instead of writing or having meaningful conversations with live people.
+ 2013
My son jumps off the side of the pool into the water without fear. We visit the beach, even in winter, and remark on how lucky we are to live here. My son turns six, and I turn 46, the same age my mother was when her husband, my father, died. I finish the draft of a new manuscript. My second book is published. … Read More 2013: a year in preview
The Next Big Thing is a blog chain/self-interview that has been meandering through the internet lately. A friend asked me to participate and I readily agreed. A big thanks to a lovely writer and a wonderful friend, Bonnie Zobell, for passing the baton to me. Keep your eyes open for The Whack-Job Girls, her fabulous fiction chapbook, forthcoming in March 2013 from Monkey Puzzle Press. … Read More The Next Big Thing: winter in New England
myfanwy collins 