Reading, Writing, and Me

Let's Dance  by Lucy Sweeney Byrne Overview: This collection of short stories is described on the back of the book as being about, "women on the brink," and that summarizes the uniting theme pretty well. While the majority of the stories will appeal to fans of Rooney or Naoise Dolan showing women grappling with the realities of modern life, there are also stories that play with the absurd, taking challenges women face and using magical or otherwise other-worldly elements to make a larger point. While I preferred the stories the hued closer to real life, there's interesting ingenuity throughout this collection. Overall: 4  The stories vary in length quite a bit, which I did enjoy. I generally found the flash length pieces more successful in providing a satisfying slice of life that built an effective story with economy. The central story the collection is named after is referred to as a "novella" on the back of the book. I'm not sure if that's what I...

November brought a lot of hibernation but also a lot of change, or the imminent possibility of it. I spent the thick of off season soaking in being home after my trip to Europe in October. I get depressed if I spend too long holed up in the house not getting out of my pajamas or seeing anyone, but for a small period, there is truly nothing better than spending day after day reading, writing, and getting in a bit of gentle exercise as the only activities for the day. Naturally, that meant I got a record amount of reading in.  I finished writing the first draft of my manuscript and started re-writing it from scratch, which has been a journey. I also prepared a number of grad school applications within the course of two weeks. I already have an acceptance on the books and more scheduled interviews, so the future is looking brighter too. That got me thinking in the short story world, though, and I sent more stories out this month, leading to three set publications. So let's start this ...