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Last week I competed in my eighth or ninth NYCMidnight writing contest. I really enjoy them and have learned a lot over the years writing short stories and screenplays under their timed model. You get a certain number of days to write a certain length piece with provided genre and prompts. It's always a challenge- I've had to write horror and romantic comedy, ghost stories, political satire, and more. This last week was the first round of the BIG event- the short story con

The mother was dressed in clean clothes and had taken a shower and applied deoderant. This was one of her better-smelling days. She had meditated. She had exercised. She had swept the floors without crying and walked the nimble dog. She was annihilating her list of tasks like a warrior queen with a flaming sword and at the end of the day, she felt accomplished and peaceful. Just before setting out- on her eco-friendly bicycle-to collect her child from school, the mother lovin

I'm apparently the only person on the planet who didn't love this 2020 book. Everyone is talking about it and cherishing it in their book clubs and I'm texting my reading friends, "Am I broken? I thought it was meh." The premise is cool. Kind of an "It's a Wonderful LIfe" or "Christmas Carol" turned on its head. The protagonist is an English woman (the audio book is narrated by Carey Mulligan) whose parents have long since passed, who lives alone in a crappy apartment, he

There are always threats that you fear will harm your kids- and as they age, the threats go from the purely physical kind to the physical AND emotional kind. When they're growing in a uterus (yours or somebody else's), you worry they might stop growing, that their little heart might stop its comforting beat. At delivery, there are too many ways that their body can miss a safe transition. In infancy, it's SIDS, in toddlerhood it's...everything (the dumb is big like their head

Between my 39th and 40th birthdays, I abstained from alcohol. I realized how much I’d been using it to try to dull anxiety in charged social situations, to try to make parenting feel a little easier, or at least the pain of it more vague, and to fit in. I found I was (thankfully) still fun and funny without it, AND was also actually more comfortable in my skin, more patient, better able to negotiate the stressful moments without giving up pieces of myself. I also learned my l

If you haven't read Part II or Part I yet, please do! Part III and on are only available for subscribers, because happy endings cost. ;)