This year has an exciting beginning to it for me: my short story, For George , was published and is appearing now at PIF MAGAZINE . I love Pif, and the good people who make it the beautiful work of art that it is, and I really, really, REALLY wanted this story to get published, so it is deeply satisfying to see it out in the world. Especially because it took nine years. For George--originally and generically just called The Basement--and I have been together a while. So long in fact, that I feel compelled to tell the story of its journey, to celebrate its leap out of the desk drawer. In 2003, having just finished seminary, I started taking my writing seriously. For the first time in my life I felt the first stirrings of what I actually wanted to do, rather than carrying around an idea of what I thought I should be doing. The fact that at the time I didn't know any writers, didn't know a single soul with an MFA, helped me trust that the image forming in my mind of what
"In the midst of winter I found in me an Invincible Summer." - Camus ...On exploring strength in its many forms: strong people, strong writing, strong curiosity, obsessions, stances, and loves. Strength as a concept wide enough to encompass fear, truth, vulnerability, and joy.