Rea

i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.

forgive me

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for i have sinned.  it’s been 11 days since my last confession posting.

good rejection

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i received a great rejection letter today in which not only one, but two people gave me feedback in the letter.  i have to say that i enjoy this level of rejection, if that makes any sense, and it probably doesn’t, but what the hell.  it’s just that lately i’ve been thinking about submitting in … Read more

my diorama

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if i were to create a diorama of the story i’m editing, it would contain: a flip up cityscape of Hong Kong two plainclothes policemen lurking around a corner a camera and a TV set a bowl of noodles and a couple bottles of Tsing Tao beer a copy of Rashomon, Kurasawa’s movie about relative … Read more

dear alice #5

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dear alice, we need to talk about sex. you wrote this sexy bit in the story “Differently” (Selected Stories) that deals with sex in a frank way, so much so that i’ve often reflected on your writerly stance. here’s a sample: And Georgia, herself, watching her children on the roundabout, or feeling the excellent shape … Read more

Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa

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i’m a lucky woman to find a first edition of WP Kinsella’s collection SHOELESS JOE JACKSON COMES TO IOWA in the bin at Fair’s Fair Books, a lucky woman. here’s an excerpt: My father said he saw him years later playing in a tenth-rate commercial league in a textile town in Carolina, wearing shoes and … Read more

killer quote

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“writing is defiance,” says John Vigna, short story genius. defiance is defined as “the act or instance of defying:  challenge” by Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  i’ve been thinking on this one and trying to figure out who or what a writer defies and i think i’ve figured it out.  it’s your self.  it’s a challenge to not … Read more

too tight

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there’s a door that opens with a whoosh and big cushy library chairs to sink your brain into.  a cadaver’s leg, puckered yellow, astringent.  i’m fascinated by his toenails.  a difficult woman is my guide, her breasts removed, one by one, until she’s standing beside an IV pole, demanding attention.  my slip is showing and … Read more

zadie smith’s rules for writers

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When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books.  Spend more time doing this than anything else. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would. Don’t “romanticize your vocation”.  You can either write good sentences or you can’t. … Read more

spammed

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spammed by louis vuitton knock-offs. there is irony in this.  i’ve written a series of stories set in Hong Kong, the mecca of knock-offs, and in one particular story an authentic Louis Vuitton handbag stands out.  here’s an excerpt: I admit that when I first saw her, I wondered why she was wearing a Shanghai … Read more