Just a Quickie

Hello there, enthusiastic readers! I wanted to post a few things of possible interest to you.

If you live in Chi-town or want to come visit us in May, there's an amazing indie literary festival you just have to check out. I'll be participating in one way or another. Here's the website: http://pilcrowlitfest.com/


I went to a reading about two weeks ago that was hosted by Northwestern's writing programs in a majestic, yet hidden building downtown called the Fine Arts Building. (We had to ride up a creaky elevator manned by an older man, sitting on a stool. I thought maybe we had taken a wrong turn and walked onto the set of a horror film.) Reginald Gibbons read from his book of poetry, "Creature of a Day." He really is a wonderful poet and worth checking out.

I've started a new (sometimes humorous) blog on open salon, which is about me trying to come to grips with my spiritual journey thus far. If you'd like to check it out, the link is: http://open.salon.com/blog/gwendolyn_glover .

I should have some information about a wonderful group show of sorts that will be hosted by The Little Black Pearl. The month of March is dedicated to celebrating women in the arts and they've invited me to join them. More on that very soon.

Thanks to all of you who regularly read my blog and thanks especially to those that leave comments. It nice to know that I'm connecting with someone out there.

Tidbits and Teasers

This is just a little something I'm working on. I don't know if it will transform into a short story or if it's just an exercise in character development. These characters are part of a book that I will be calling Invisible Elephants. Enjoy!



Maggie Singer eats donuts. Traditional powdered donuts out of the box with coffee. Cream-filled donuts with a tall glass of whole milk. Chocolate donuts by the handful. She eats apple fritters from Kroger’s, fried poppable holes from Dunkin’ Donuts, sickening sweet honey buns from Mrs. Price on Fifth Street.

Joshua Singer only sleeps four hours a night. He used to get at least seven. He gets up at five am to pray. He drinks black coffee. He spends his afternoons at the library, reading about theology and current events from a conservative prospective. He thinks, he hopes that the Rapture will happen soon. The sooner the better Joshua thinks.

His sleeping habits changed when the Thing with Francis was discovered. But now Joshua knows what he has to do. He is a man on a mission. He has to destroy this evil that has infested his family. He has been a pastor for nearly twenty years. Twenty years. Joshua blames himself for not knowing.

Maggie decides she wants something that Joshua can’t give her. She wants to be noticed. She wants to feel alive. She joins a dancing class at the Y. For an hour and a half every Tuesday and Thursday, Maggie feels like she could do anything. The world is limitless. As she moves her feet in time with the music, clutching the hand of her partner, Maggie Singer feels happy.

Joshua blames his wife. He thinks she coddled the children too much. She wasn’t strict enough with Francis and Abigail. She was too soft.

Joshua has a weekly radio show on Friday mornings. Joshua used to talk about God’s forgiveness, the Beatitudes, and the Christian duty to help others. Now Joshua only talks about sin. People call in from all over central Ohio to confess things about their husbands, wives, parents, neighbors. Joshua has a voice for radio. He talks about the need for a revival of purity in the Church. His numbers go through the roof. He’s approached by an agent. The man with the thin mustache wants to put Joshua Singer on cable tv. He thinks he has the face for it.

Joshua and Maggie Singer don’t see the red-rimmed eyes of their daughter as she looks up from her book. She twists her goldenrod hair into tight curls around her fingers incessantly. She doesn’t eat. She reads an average of two books a day. She’s read everything at the local library. She orders books from other libraries. She reads about fantastic voyages, knights in shining armor, girls with magical powers, horses that can fly. She begins writing a story herself. She writes well into the night.

Happy Heart Day!

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

-e.e.cummings

(dedicated to the love of my life, David)

Please Tell Me...

Has anyone else every watched "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long?" It's pure genius. (Insert evil laugh here.) If you're having a rough day, please look it up on hulu.com . You'll be so glad you did.

P.S. I love Neil Patrick Harris. Seriously.

If Wilde Did It...

I was studying the many uses of commas in preparation for tutoring next week and I found this quote:

"I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out."
— Oscar Wilde

Delightful.

Everyone Should Probably Read This Right Now

I adore Cary Tennis. He's like my practical guru. I devour his articles like some people devour celebrity gossip. I get to be both a voyeur--I secretly crave outside drama, (I think) because it keeps me from working on myself--and metaphysical student. This particular article is simply beautiful.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/col/tenn/2009/02/06/jehovah/index.html

Let me know what you think.

The Wallflower Shop

Hey there, fearless folks and sassy cats! We're clicking and whirring over here, thinking of ways to promote CTFS and spread the literary love. So far, the comments I've received have been very encouraging. The thing I hear the most is: " Please! There MUST be a sequel!" Well, I just want to reassure you that there is. I just don't know when it will be written because I have a hefty project I'm working on now. But waiting is a good thing, right?

Currently, I'm working on an idea of having a colaborative book release party/art show at The Little Black Pearl on the southside of Chicago. You'll be the first to know when we've got a date.

Also, check out my brand-spankin' new storefront on cafepress: http://www.cafepress.com/gwendolynglover

Cheers!