Short Fiction
Brushstrokes
On the eve of the wedding, Milly brushed Alicia’s hair. One hundred strokes. She counted aloud, in a low voice, more a hiss than a whisper. Her daughter sat stone still, wrapped in an…
Latest writing
Stories & essays
Short fiction, essays and letters — some first published in magazines and newspapers.
Short Fiction
The Book of John
I am a prophet on a mission. I awoke to that revelation after a night of prayer and meditation. Like the dude on the road to Damascus, I was struck down in my single…
Short Fiction
Keeper of the Vortex
Agatha tended the Vortex. It was her punishment for not obeying the Prefect of the Labyrinth, from where all life was sustained. There were rules to follow, laws older than time, although there was…
Essays and Letters
ARACHNE
If everyone has a color, then my color is black. When I was born, I emerged out of the womb with spirals of ebony hair, surrounding a dark, angry face. My coal black eyes…
Essays and Letters
Student Success Letters
I’ve been writing for forty years. I’ve skipped around many genres—mystery, romance, thriller, young adult, middle grade, poems (I discovered I do not have the soul of a poet)…
Essays and Letters
Tiny Love Stories: ‘Crying in the Driveway’
Our children met while teaching in Germany. His son is British; my daughter is American. He and I are both single parents, retired teachers and cheeky devils. Our children fell in love, got pregnant…
Essays and Letters
Waiting for the Oncologist Amid COVID-19
It's been 18 months since I finished chemo for breast cancer, 15 months since I finished radiation at this writing. My hair grew back a year ago. The tingling in my fingers is gone…
Essays and Letters
Traveling Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic As A Cancer Survivor
My daughter recently had a beautiful baby girl in Frankfurt, Germany. From Chicago, that’s about 4,300 miles, as the jet flies. I would love to jump on a plane and travel over there immediately…
Essays and Letters
The Roulette Wheel of Cancer Medication- Why I Stopped Playing
I have never been a person to take a lot of pills. I have been lucky that I don't need much medicine to get through my day. I am a doctor's nightmare because I…
Essays and Letters
Losing My Hair and Finding Myself
Kermit the Frog used to sing, “It’s not easy bein’ green.” I’d like to amend that to say, “It’s not easy bein’ bald.” Losing my hair after chemotherapy for breast cancer was a real…
Essays and Letters
Imperfection After Breast Cancer
When you are missing part of your chest, you must make concessions. Accommodations. Symmetry is beauty, they tell us. Lopsided good for bunny ears, not for breasts. Picasso bosom, the new norm? One high…
Essays and Letters
Discussions With My Body
Dear Tumor, When I discovered you were living in my breast two years ago, I thought you were a cyst. I thought about you, talked to you and then dismissed you. Please forgive me…
Essays and Letters
Dance Like No One is Watching
I am not a slug. In my Walter Mitty fantasy life, I am a Gwen Verdon Lola, sleek, supple and luscious. One of the few good things to have come out of the stay…
Essays and Letters
What I Lost and What I Found
The day I had surgery for breast cancer was the longest day of my life. It was September 2018, and it was the first time I’d been in the hospital since I gave birth…