That (Not This) Abby Rose

"This will make a good blog post, at least," my husband offers. "I can't think like that. That's a great way to guarantee I don't write anything," I say. It's a dumb thing to be upset over. But I am. We both are. Upset and frustrated and disheartened. The server we had been playing a… Continue reading Impermanence →

This is a story from the short story collection The Secret to a Happy Marriage, which I am releasing today first as a free ebook, leading up to its paperback release. If you enjoy the short story, I only ask that you help me get my little ebook to the #1 spot on Amazon's unpaid… Continue reading The Secret to a Happy Marriage →

It's the day after constant rainfall, and the feeling in the air is damp and morose. It lets you know exactly what the weather had been, and threatens to continue raining at any moment. "At least the transplants are getting lots of water," says my husband. I think about all the bushes that had been… Continue reading Transplant →

"We write stories in such different ways," a fellow writer friend remarks. "I prefer one-off stories about characters before moving onto different worlds, and you like to return to characters and give them additional stories." "And both are completely valid," I reply. And it's true. I love to interweave stories, to hide Easter eggs in… Continue reading Reintroduce →

My beachcomber bike isn't meant for the hilly roads of New Hampshire, but here we are. There's a perverseness to this tableau. Here I am, seated upright on my dainty, turquoise bicycle, saying hello to twice as many neighbors on that ride around the block than I would in an entire month. Someone in one… Continue reading Superposition →

My car hit 195,000 miles today. It will most likely hit 200,000 before the summer. I don't do the long, delirious drives like before -- back when life was an unrelenting attack until I had no choice but to become better -- but I log at least 1,500 miles a month for work. Hiking season… Continue reading Discern →

The temperature has dropped to single digits for the first time this season. My garage door protests opening. My car takes an extra moment to start. The world around me is frozen. The snow that built up from the week has a layer of ice to it and, against the winter morning sun, it is… Continue reading Frozen →

I'm attempting to decorate the house and it's leaving me frustrated. Not just frustrated, but to the brim. Every little extra thing is spilling me over the edge. Stubbing my toe. Knocking something over. A Christmas light catching on something and pulling it with it. But I know that my baseline has been temporarily raised.… Continue reading Tangled →

I feel its first introduction when I step out of the store. That rawness, the air sharp, even as the skies are softened with gray. There are garlands already wrapped around on the posts outside the store. It’s hard to tell if it’s misting or lightly snowing. I breathe it in, making me think about… Continue reading Winter →

My husband got me into a new game. A puzzle where you have to figure out the image based on nothing but number clues along the top and side of a blank square. Empty rows & columns, and you only get three mistakes before you have to restart (four if you’re willing to watch a… Continue reading The Whole Image →