Oh the weather outside is frightful… (Not really.)

I’ll be on a blog break this week and next, due to the holidays. It doesn’t snow in my area of California, so if you need me, I’ll be making a snowman out of sand and stubbornly singing carols despite all the annoying sunshine. (Just kidding – I’m grateful for the warm climate as I feel like I’m freezing even when the temp drops barely below 60F, haha. Thank goodness I got so many socks for Christmas.)

In the meantime, I’ll try to catch up on all your awesome blogs. I’m sorry I got lax about reading lately – so much going on! I’ve been preparing for a hopefully-coming-soon interview as a library assistant, as well as putting the finishing touches on my novel with the goal of having it ready to submit by the New Year. Wish me luck! See you on January 10th!

The Selkie’s Husband

A full year ago today, I was honored to have this flash fiction published by Gingerbread House Literary Magazine. This is my personal favorite of my work, so to celebrate its anniversary I am reprinting it here. I hope you enjoy! 🙂

Rain fell the day he went to the shore, to see the place where his wife left him. Grey weighted the clouds like sacks full of stones, sagging closer and closer to the sea. Grey upon grey, water upon water, the sea and sky took hands. The way he once took hers.

She never held his hand long. Always wrenching from his grasp, her flesh still as slippery as a seal. Sometimes she would oblige him, sit shaking like a penned animal as he made hushing noises and rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs.

Please let me love you, he would say. I’ve earned it. I found your skin.

My year in books! 2016

How many books did you read this year?
66! I’m not a bookworm. I’m a bookpython.

(Why yes, I did make an almost identical joke last year, and I’m going to keep making it with slight variations until I’m tired of it, so there!)

What was your number one TOP FAVORITE of them?
Oh jeez, this is so hard, erm, agh, uhh… Gone Girl. No, wait. Wild. No! My Sister’s Keeper! WAIT, NO! The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake! A Man Called Ove! We Need To Talk About Kevin! WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT A CRUEL QUESTION THIS IS.

Final answer: “I Have Too Many Favorite Books: A Memoir,” by Shannon Noel Brady.

Let’s DEWEY This! – bonus round: section 92

After a rollicking good year of facts, figures, and (f)theories, my Let’s DEWEY This! challenge is at a close. Alas… But we’re not done quite yet! Today I’m adding a bonus round, section 92: memoirs and biographies. Technically this is part of the 900s since 92 is short for 920, but in my library, 92 splits off into its own cliquey area, too cool to sit with the other 900s at lunch.

For 92 I picked Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. Wild is a deeply personal account of Strayed’s grief after the death of her mother and the downward spiral of her marriage, events that prompted her to tackle a solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. I absolutely adored this book. Here’s my review on Goodreads: