—SWEET MELISSA, ANGEL OF MY LIFETIME, ANSWER TO ALL ANSWERS I CAN'T FIND

 

 

…I woke at 3:30 this morning to the thrum of rain and a set of slate-black windows staring back at me like mimes. 

I had “Could It Be Magic” stuck in my head for some reason, so I found the song on YouTube and played it on repeat. 

Screw the Manilow haters. That guy can craft a song.

 

…How are you doing? Just wondering.

 

…It feels good to be reading again. I’m maybe reading too much (22 books already this year).

I’m writing in spurts. Still not sure what my purpose is, in that regard, though creating always feels like a revelation.

This a.m. I polished up “The Thing About Grief,” but I need my son’s approval before it can see publication.

 

…When I started this blog/site so many years ago, it was just meant to be a receptacle for my writing, but it has essentially turned into a version of my diary, or journal. Sometimes I’m too honest, or too bewildering here, for my own good. I guess we all have our different outlets, or so I hope.

 

…Since I haven’t been submitting, I haven’t had much of anything published of late, unless someone’s queried me. That happened with the story below, “Something Like Normal.” For whatever reason, it has garnered some of the best responses I’ve ever received from a written piece, which, being the insecure Cancer/writer that I am, means a lot…

 

https://fictivedream.com/2021/02/03/something-like-normal/?fbclid=IwAR1x53qRyR9HJDVVOAeT2XQMLE3ZJ5q1nSSKq9LLbOUqBrejCF4vnmjiOqY

 

-If you only read one thing today, make it this exquisite, powerful piece by the always amazing Len Kuntz

 

-Please read- Len Kuntz is so talented and I love sharing the talent. This moved me.

 

-Read this. Give yourself a moment to settle in, and take a breath after, you'll need it.

 

-There is something so clear and clean about the writing of Len Kuntz even when he's digging around in the saddest, darkest corners. He is one of my favorite writers which include Charlotte Bronte, Hillary Mantel, Thomas Hardy, Alexander Dumas, Wallace Stegner, Jack London, Andre Dubus III, Edith Wharton, Laura Hillenbrand, Flannery O'Conner, Jennifer Egan, and many more. Len you are fabulous

 

-Wow.

 

-You are an amazing writer

 

-The garrison of soup cans .... the pajamas looped over the end of a broom...weights pressing against my chest and skull... the manic throbbing ... oh wow, just wow, Len!

 

-Wow, just wow - you never fail to amaze me

 

-This is so powerful and poignant

 

-Sooo chilling and sad, Len.

 

-I really love this. Thanks for sharing it.

 

-Beautiful and sad. Bravo, Len

 

-Masterful. Such beauty in the pain. Well done, Len.

 

-I love how essentially kind this is. Soup for the soul in a tough time. Well done.

 

-Fantastic!!!

 

-Unsettling, finely observed, claustrophobic.

 

-A tender story of loss, vulnerability, and love. Beautifully controlled writing.

 

-Layers of unfolding and understated sadness beautifully controlled and evoked.