This week, on the day that I received my very first royalty check from the Outliers of Science Fiction, I also received an email inviting me to be part of another fantastic anthology: The Best of Abyss and Apex, Volume 2. Back in 2010, Wendy S. Delmater published the very first story I ever wrote, “Sunlight,” with glowing compliments and…
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Shit happens.
We were in the yard yesterday, the kids in shorts and bare feet, running through the muddy grass, delighting in the 75 degree temperatures just a few days after Christmas. I watched Patrick tense, his body visibly tighten, and stare out at the road. “I think there’s a cyclist down.” I took off running, peeling my gardening gloves off and…
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A new story in Outliers of Speculative Fiction!
I’m thrilled to announce the upcoming publication of my story “Liminal Hill,” in the new Outliers of Speculative Fiction anthology, edited by L.A. Little. Look for the anthology in paperback and eBook at the end of November 2015. I’m delighted to be part of this group of diverse and fantastic writers. I feel a companionable bond with these fellow Outliers…
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Rebuilding
A year ago was the last time I posted to this blog. I don’t think that 12 months ago I would have been able to wrap my head around life as I know it today. It feels like every time I stop to take stock of how much things have changed, there’s another monumental shift in our existence. Time feels…
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An entire year
It’s October. We made it an entire year. So much has changed. We are back in Northern Virginia. We moved in June, just after Sean finished first grade. Actually, we moved earlier in the spring within Santa Clara from the tall and awkward townhouse to a tiny and adorable mid-century modern bungalow. We unpacked everything, sat in the lovely home,…
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How you know you’ve been sick too long:
Some thoughts from Patrick and I about how you know you’ve been sick too long: 1. You struggle to suppress murderous rage when someone within ten feet of you coughs or sneezes. 2. You have puke buckets, containment towels, antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer on every floor of the house. 3. Lining up the family for nightly medicating looks like…
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Health
There is a small child sleep sobbing next to me on the daybed in our dark and quiet playroom. The curtains are drawn on all but one window and a fan circulates warm air filled with filthy Silicon Valley particulate and smog. In the other room, the six year old trades coughs with Dad as they cuddle on the couch…
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Surrounded by love
To the person who changed our lives: I don’t know you. And you don’t know me. I can make guesses about who you are, based on our brief texts and your panicked phone call to me as I was waiting to see my husband at the ER. You seem to be sincerely devastated by the accident and genuinely concerned for…
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A tentative return
I have, over the past year, taken a great deal of time to reflect on the issues of social media, personal privacy and how much I would like to share of my life online. It’s a topic of great uncertainty, not only because no one has complete control over how much of their life is available to the public, and…
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What does a rainbow mean to you?
There was a rainbow, sprouting nearly out of the edge of the parking lot at school when I stepped out of the school office this morning. I had just completed the withdrawal paperwork pulling my eldest son out of public school at the end of the year – merely five days away. It occurred to me that I’d made the…