FrancesOct 31, 20211 minAlready stressed about nanowrimoStill gonna do it. My novel began as a NaNoWriMo project, formed from an idea I conjured after crying a lot at work one day back in...
FrancesOct 4, 20212 minEveryone I missIt's been a rough, rough two years. I lost my dad just before COVID crept over to the U.S. I lost my friend Michael shortly thereafter. I...
FrancesSep 29, 20213 minWatching Paint dryI don't exactly know how or why it happened—I don't even know what day it was—but for reasons that are part mystery part pandemic brain,...
FrancesJul 2, 20212 minMovie Script EndingTim wasn't always the kindest, gentlest soul. He would be the first to admit that he was prickly, often misanthropic, frustrated by the...
FrancesMay 10, 20211 minNight of RainbowsThe light after the rainstorm was perfect—low and golden, lighting up the horizon and filling the sky with rainbows. Rainbows are...
FrancesDec 15, 20201 minSaying Goodbye to NadineShe would want this to be hilarious, but there's just nothing funny about losing her. Our bright, brilliant Shouter...
FrancesDec 2, 20201 minTrampledWe're all feeling a bit worn down right now. But there's hope shining through the holes.
FrancesNov 26, 20201 minTo thank, to be thankedGratitude journals are for the winsome and sad scrabbling for hope. Here's mine. On politics—it can feel impossible and not be, not by a...
FrancesNov 20, 20202 minMeat sticks, mustard, and Jesus1978 haunted my mailbox with a ghost of Christmas past. Mom, is that you? The year: 1978. The scene: an overwarm kitchen in Virginia with...
FrancesNov 2, 20201 minElection AnxietyIs anyone calm right now? I washed the windows today as the Germans taught me—no Windex (sorry, dad)—just dish soap and water. I dusted....
FrancesSep 19, 20201 minAugust Slipped AwayLike a bottle of wine. 'Cause you were never mine. It was a summer of recovering from injury, of discovering new places and secret...
FrancesSep 16, 20201 minFinalist feverI don't think of it as not-winning, I think of it as almost-winning. Maybe that says a lot about me, but I was the finalist for the Black...
FrancesApr 1, 20201 minA story to shareX-R-A-Y has just an amazing thing going. They celebrate beautifully condensed flash with brilliant images, flash that stops your heart. I...
FrancesMar 28, 20201 minIt's been a month.I miss him every single day. And missing him means I also miss my mama, and everyone we've lost, and we're losing more every day now. I...
FrancesMar 28, 20201 minPandemicSheltering in place, avoiding every sneeze, feeling the sorrow of lost connection, but we're in this together. The upsides: bike rides,...
FrancesDec 5, 20191 minHonor to be nominatedJMWW nominated my story Cabin on a Far Shore for a Pushcart Prize. Initially started by Anaïs Nin, Buckminster Fuller, Gordon Lish and...
FrancesNov 8, 20191 minBest Small FictionsMy little baby has arrived. Order here: https://www.thesonderpress.com/best-small-fictions-2019
FrancesAug 18, 20191 minAvailable for Pre-OrderI am in some fine company in this anthology. It's available for pre-order and will be out in November. Holy smokes, folx. You can order...
FrancesJun 14, 20191 minBreaking StepsIt was the day before my husband's birthday. I was working on a failing, hopeless political campaign. Our house was a wreck, and I was...