Month: July 2026
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Review: The Iron Garden Sutra
I always read the author biography when I finish a book, no matter how many times I’ve read the author’s bio. It’s just something I do. That’s how I learned the author of The Iron Garden Sutra was born in the Ukraine. Though A.D. Sui was raised abroad, in the world as it stands, I…
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Mourning a Loss
I wrote over 1,000 words walking through how Wednesday night went. I suppose if people want to know the full story, I can share it at some point, but right now, this post is to remember my sweet Saraa. My little gray one. Sunshine’s blue kitty. She lost the use of her back legs very…
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Rejection #9 – Response
Rejection number nine is a different type of rejection. I submitted my science fiction manuscript to three literary agents this spring. I found out that my dream literary agent was open to submission for the first time I had ever seen (there were a few years where I wasn’t actively looking, so I may have…
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On Rugs and the Post-Racial Ideal
“I am not a rug.” My friend Jeff dropped his school bag on the floor and he plopped into the chair in front of me, his face twisted in disgust. “I’m sorry?” I said, thoroughly confused. He explained that someone had described him as “oriental” just before class. “You only use that word for objects,…
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Rejection #8 – Response
This was a rejection I was 100% expecting. Why? Because right after I hit send on the email, I realized I had failed to attach the story as a document in addition to pasting it into the body of the email. Yeah. Follow the submission guidelines. The mantra is there, and the most frustrating part…
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Mid-Year Check-In!
So, somehow, it’s July. That means 2026 is halfway done – somehow. I don’t know about others, but my brain is struggling to keep up with the passage of time this year. For me, personally, 2026 has felt very 2020. In March 2020, I (and the rest of the world) shifted to full-time work-from-home thanks…