Rachel Gutin

I mean... maybe he was drafting by hand? Otherwise... nope!

I wrote my first complete novel in high school, and I knew it was terrible long before it was done. But the point was to finish it, even if I knew I would never look at it again. Because once I had, I knew I could. (I still have the notebooks I wrote it in.)

It’s clearly legit. After all, it’s signed in cursive.

(Actually, weird side effect of living in NYC: I have no sense at all of gas prices or what they're doing unless I see a news story about it. Because a) no gas stations near me and b) I don't drive. The cost of eggs, on the other hand...)

I mean, I'm definitely much more aware of the cost of eggs than I used to be... (But other groceries? Not so much.)

And now the elevator isn't working. So... that's my day completely thrown off-kilter.

Woke up early to do laundry this morning... so of course, the laundry room is locked...

(This happens sometimes. And with the clock change, I can't say I'm surprised. But still. The hour I lost was an hour of sleep.)

You beat me to it!

Six People to Revise You - Uncanny Magazine A parent or guardian Someone who has known you since childhood A mentor or teacher An employer or coworker A spouse, partner, or close intimate friend Someone who does not consider themself a loved on...

February standout #3:

Six People to Revise You by @jrdawson.bsky.social

February standout #2:

We Grow in the Light by Riley Neither

Unsettled Nature Once were a time on a jackalope when folks kept their thinking to themselves. People lived, and people died, natural-like, in...

February standout #1:

Unsettled Nature by @jordankurella.com

February short fiction stats!

In February, I read 16 works of short fiction:
Flash pieces: 1
Short stories: 14
Novelettes: 1

(I just realized I should note that January is when I read these, not necessarily when they were published.)

January standout #4:

Other Wars Elsewhere by @rblemberg.bsky.social in We Will Rise Again.

Saltwater Mother - Trollbreath Magazine Saltwater Mother

January standout #3:

Saltwater Mother by @muteddragon.bsky.social
(Yes, I have two stories by Wen Wen Yang on this list. Yes, her writing is just that amazing.)

I Met You on the Train - Uncanny Magazine I met you on the train. The first time it happened, I didn’t know what to do or what to say to you. I just saw your patches on your backpack. And they were from the same TV show that mine were from. S...

January standout #2:

I Met You on the Train by @jrdawson.bsky.social

Celebration of Life for Your Dead Fictional Wives — Full Story By Wen Wen Yang

January standout #1:

Celebration of Life for Your Dead Fictional Wives by @muteddragon.bsky.social

As I try to read more short fiction this year, I'm going to start a thread of short fiction I enjoyed. This will include short stories, flash fiction (as defined by each market), and novelettes.

In January, I read 23 works of short fiction:
Flash pieces: 4
Short stories: 17
Novelettes: 2

Nonfiction standout:

Spell Freedom by Elaine Weiss

An informative, engaging book that looks at the Civil Rights Movement through the lens of education. In particular, it gets into the history of the Highlander Center. I learned more about familiar figures, and also people I'd never heard of.

Fiction Standout:

The Poet Empress by @dragons.bsky.social

A complex story that deals with abuse and love and problematic relationships along with imperial machinations. Smooth prose, great sensory details, and a plot twist that made me gasp aloud. Overall, an intense and satisfying read.

February reading stats:

Books finished: 4
Novel-length: 4
Novella: 0
Fiction: 2 (both hard copy)
Nonfiction: 2 (both audio)

I also DNFed two books. (But even with that, this number is still really low for me when I'm not traveling.)

I'm finding it fascinating to hear all the different military roles people's grandfather's had in WWII. (One of mine was also Army Corps of Engineers... except he wasn't doing engineering stuff. He ran the mess tent!)

Just make sure the books don't start whispering to each other. I think that's where the real problems start.

(Side note: Great uncle = my grandfather's brother-in-law, not his brother. Also, I think it was only Passover food for half the year. I think they made other kosher foods the rest of the year. Like chow mein noodles.)

Caterer, worker in my great uncle's Passover food factory, handyman/painter (something like that), WWII vet (he ran the mess for his unit, if I recall correctly)

Civilian working for the US military doing something with numbers (actuary? accountant?), probably other jobs, I think also WWII vet.

Ooh, they do make good ink.

Taking a walk in my local botanic garden brings me contentment. Which is a quiet kind of joy.

As someone who lives in NYC and sometimes attends conventions in the Boston area, I am firmly convinced Connecticut exists solely for the purpose of getting stuck in traffic.

OOF. I'm glad he's okay, but that's a little too close for comfort.

Anyone with limitless wealth can pay to open the other door. Rules don’t exist if you have that much money.