My flash essay, “On the Eve of My Mother’s Dying,” appears in the September 2018 issue of Brevity, online today. This is my first published piece coming off of a ten-year writing hiatus (well, more like a submission hiatus), having been derailed by my career in commercial real estate.
Real estate has been great. I learned a lot, helped a lot of people, worked hard, and found enormous satisfaction in the fifteen years I was active in the business. But it’s time to move on and this year, I’ve been easing my way out of real estate (although I am still working on a couple of deals and mentoring a few agents). Leaving something you’ve so enjoyed is hard.
Writing is hard too. In addition to working on short stories and essays, I’m teaching myself (with the help of some writing friends) how to write a novel.
Dinty Moore, Brevity‘s editor, has been wonderful to work with, so complimentary and respectful of writers and their vision when suggesting edits. Fifteen years ago, he accepted a piece of mine for the Fall 2003 issue. It seems fitting that my publishing re-debut should appear in Brevity too. Super excited!