They are gathered on pages 44 and 45, enjoying a nice two-page spread in the beautiful Pink Panther Magazine, which describes itself as “a celebration of women’s art and writing.” So appropriate because it’s filled with exquisite artwork, fiction, and poetry.
I reviewed three wonderful books: The Net Beneath Us by Carol Dunbar, An Obesity of Grief by Lynn Haraldson, and Finding the Bones by Nikki Kallio. Another fun bonus — my writing friend Kim Suhr has a short story, “Pay Phone,” in the same issue. Suhr is one of my favorite writers, and so it’s a kick to be with her in the same publication.
For me it’s an honor to be part of Pink Panther Magazine with all of the talented women featured, especially on International Women’s Day.
My essay “European Tour 101” appears in Tales of Travel, a Duluth Publishing Project. This collection of poems, creative nonfiction, and photographs center around the theme: Lessons Learned while Traveling.
The anthology was curated in early 2023 by talented University of Minnesota-Duluth students from a class taught by Professor David Beard, who gave his students the gift of a real-world project.
Participating in this project was fun right from the start. I discovered the call for submissions on a Facebook page. Right away I knew I would write about the month-long trip I took to Europe when I was seventeen years old. I had been itching to write about my European trip because I have fond memories of traveling through six cities, in five countries, in twenty-seven days. But I always wondered where I could submit the essays. My trip was too long ago to be relevant for travel articles. And my European tour wasn’t filled with angst or tragedy or mind-bending revelations that would be worthy of thought-provoking, rousing essays convincing editors to say, We’ve got to publish this!
But the theme: Lessons Learned while Traveling was perfect — proving if a writer is patient, sooner or later her submission mate will arrive. Some of my best memories from my European trip could easily be described as lessons learned.
Fortunately, memory didn’t prove to be a big problem because I have a scrapbook filled with postcards; pamphlets; ticket stubs from museums, trains, subways, and buses; my airline boarding pass; maps; menus; and receipts. Plus, I have lots of photos. I quickly came up with an idea for an essay, but I spent hours writing and revising. I wanted it to be perfect, so perfect that the editors would say, We’ve got to publish this!
I divided my essay into sections: Travel without a Hangover; Even Muscle-Bound Bulls Have Feelings; If You Don’t Know the Language, Don’t Insult Those Who Do; Patriotism is Fine, But Ditch It for the Ballet; Serenade Your Tour Guide; Be Alone with Yourself in a Place You’ve Never Been Before; and Freedom from the Threat of Violence.
I was thrilled when my essay was accepted. My fondest memories about one of the best times in my life would be in print. And out there in the world.
Making it even sweeter, Professor Beard and his students hosted a book lunch for the writers during the spring semester, even though the book wouldn’t be released until December 2023. But college classes change at the semester and the students who worked on Tales of Travel would be off to other classes or perhaps have graduated when the book came out.
Held in a university classroom, it was a wonderful book launch, and there were a couple of copies of the book that we could hold and thumb through. I’m sure each writer looked for their own piece of writing in the book. I know I did. We munched on cupcakes, cookies, and assorted chips, and sipped bottles of water.
Each writer was invited to read for about five minutes. Some of the students had pieces in the anthology, but I think only one or two of them read. When they were called upon, most turned a ghostly white, lowered their eyes, and shook their heads. They were too nervous to read in front of strangers, most of whom were old enough to be their parents or grandparents. But we older folks were nervous too. I could see it in our hesitant walks to the dais. I could hear it in our voices that trembled. I could feel it in our lungs as we reminded ourselves to just breathe. Because young or old, we shared a common wish — that someone would like what we had written.
After the reading, we all gave a collective sigh of relief. It was over, and no one had fainted. We mingled and thanked the professor and the students. When people started to leave, Professor Beard pleaded, “Please, have more food. Take some home with you.” He didn’t want to haul it back to his car.
I’d already had a cupcake, but I grabbed a bag of Fritos, my favorite salty treat. Something to savor on my ride home, along with the rest of the evening.
Today the 2023 Hal Prize winners were announced. I’m so excited and honored to have won 1st place for my short story “Newlyweds Standing in Front of a Lilac Bush” and 3rd place for my short story “New Boy.”
The winning short stories, nonfiction, poetry, and photos will be published in the 2023 8142 Review, which I believe will happen in January 2024. Here is a link to the 8142 Review: https://www.thehalprize.com/issues/. The 2023 edition isn’t for sale yet, but back issues can be purchased. My second-place story “Maginot Line” is in the 2022 journal and my second-place story “Silent Negotiations” is in the 2020 edition.
I was inspired to write “Newlyweds in Front of a Lilac Bush” after taking a historical flash fiction class with Rebecca Meachem. She is an excellent teacher. The class with Rebecca was offered through Write On, Door County.
Both of my short stories were workshopped through Red Oak Writing, which was so helpful! To learn more about Red Oak Writing and its wonderful offerings, such as roundtable writing critique groups, workshops, and literary services, click here.
My short story “Prom Flash” appears in the 2023 Freshwater Literary Journal published by the Asnuntuck Community College. The Freshwater is a print journal, but the editors post a copy of the journal online. It is available here: Freshwater Literary Journal 2023. My story appears on page 118
In December 2022, Hive Avenue Literary Journal published my short story “Harlequin Pattern.” The story appears on page 262, which can be reached by scrolling down.
Milan and me in the fall of 2019
I dedicated the story to Milan Kovacovic, a kind mentor who gave me feedback on the story. Milan passed away in 2020. I miss him and think of him often. Milan said my story was “a fine piece of satire.”
Milan wrote a thought-provoking and beautiful memoir called Ma’s Dictionary: Straddling the Social Class Divide about his life in France and the U.S. He wrote lovingly about his primary-school teacher, Madam Mercier and her importance in shaping his life. He wrote about his movement between the social classes in France and his emigration to the U.S. When I met him, he was translating his book into French. His book is still available on Amazon.
My short story “How to Keep a House” was published by Rathalla Review in their fall issue. To read the story click here and download the PDF. My story is on page 26.
I want to thank Felicia Schneiderhan, a wonderful and kind teacher, and Lake Superior Writers. In January 2021, I wrote the rough draft for “How to Keep a House” in a class called “Rules of Engagement” with Felicia, which was sponsored by Lake Superior Writers. We had to decide on five rules for our story before we started writing it. After we started writing, we could bend or change our rules if something wasn’t working. At first, having a set of rules before I had a real story idea was frustrating. Then it morphed into a creative process that I embraced. I began to like my characters and their story, so I kept revising. For an interesting take on this process read “The Power of Constraints to Unlock Creativity” by Amy Goldmacher on Brevity Blog.
I also want to thank Kim Suhr and Red Oak Writing. The final revisions I made on “How to Keep a House” were after attending a Red Oak Writing Round Table. Kim Suhr, the director of Red Oak, led the Round Table writing group. After receiving some excellent feedback from her and the other writers in the group, I revised my story once more. It was at this point that I felt my story was truly finished. I submitted it to Rathalla Review, and they accepted it a few months later. For information on Red Oak Writing Round Tables click here. To learn more about Kim Suhr, who is an amazing writer and a supportive mentor, click here.
Finally, I want to thank the editors at Rathalla Review for publishing my story and for their enthusiastic words about it.
Just so you know, I submitted “How to Clean a House” twenty-one times over the course of a year and a half before it was accepted. It’s hard being rejected so many times. But I think about when I was in gym class, and always the last one chosen to be on a team. It smarted, but I learned that eventually someone had to pick me, and then I’d get to play! I loved gym, even if I wasn’t the best athlete.
Persimmon Tree published my flash essay “Women’s Choices” in the Short Takes section of their winter edition. The Short Takes theme for the winter publication is Resistance and Resilience. All the selected poems, artwork, essays, fiction, and music reflect that theme.
To read the rest of “Women’s Choices” click here: Short Takes: Resistance and Resilience. You will need to scroll down about halfway through the selections.
My short story “Maginot Line” took second place in the Hal Prize Fiction Contest. It appears in the 2022 8142 Review. The names of other fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photography winners and honorable mentions are listed at “2022 Hal Prize Winners Announced.”
The 8142 Review is a print journal. It can be purchased at Door County Pulse.
Writing Near the Lake 