story

Waiting for publication…

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The first review is out of Glixman, and now people are contacting me because they want to buy a copy. But it’s not ready yet, at least in the States, and I don’t even have copies yet, myself. I’m trying to remind myself that this is just a temporary issue, that (G-d willing) my book will be in stores and accessible via Amazon, etc., soon.

In the meantime, I’ve got plenty to do. Passover is coming up, and there’s still cleaning, shopping, cooking to do. I’ve got editing to do. And I’ve got more stories to record on Soundcloud!

The latest, just added this evening, is the true story Continue reading →

Pesach Magazine CRAZINESS!

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It looks like I’m not just in one Jewish magazine this Pesach, not in two…IY”H, I’ll be in FOUR. That’s right:

  • You’ll find a sci-fi tale in the Hamodia Story Supplement.
  • You’ll find another short story in Binah‘s main magazine.
  • I have a short story also in The Jewish Press, out today.
  • And, lastly, an article in The Jewish Home – L.A. about cheap activities in Southern California for the intermediate days of Passover.

I’m a little verklempt. And busy. I’ll tell y’all more about the stories another time, when I’m not cooking and have no kids home on vacation. (A couple of the stories have interesting backstories.) If you read any of my stories, and want to give me feedback, just comment below.

And have a chag kasher v’sameach!

Rabbi Yoel Gold: innovative storytelling

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Last week, my profile of Rabbi Yoel Gold appeared in The Jewish Home – L.A. edition. Rabbi Gold leads Congregation Bais Naftoli here in Los Angeles, and teaches in a local yeshiva high school, but he is also becoming quite well known due to a series of videos he began making last year.

I got a chance to interview Rabbi Gold, and he said several interesting things about storytelling, particularly it’s role in education and how he makes sure his “true stories” are true. He also explains how to identify a “good story” to retell. Check out the interview yourself to see what he said.

They loved it, they hated it: Feedback on my story from Binah’s Sukkos Supplement, “From the Furthest Reaches of the Heavens”

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I have emerged from the semi-hibernation of Sukkos (if you can call a holiday that involved cooking 10 fancy meals – many with with guests – hibernation) and am looking forward to a week chock full of work. I’ve got a personal essay to write for one of the sites I frequent, another to revise for a literary journal, and spent most of today editing. That’s on top of some work I want to do on one of my ongoing projects. And did I mention I still have to market the two books I recently self-published?

Earth on 1967-11-09, as seen from Apollo 4.

But I’d like to take a moment to look back on the story I published in Binah Magazine’s Vistas story supplement, “From the Furthest Reaches of the Heavens.”

SUMMARY

In case you haven’t read the story (and I’m assuming many of my blog readers haven’t), I’ll summarize it: Continue reading →

Why Endings So Often Disappoint Readers

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I’ve posted about the difficulty of nailing an ending before. More than once, I’ve had to completely abandon the conclusion of my rough draft and write an entirely new ending. When I said in the title of this post that endings “disappoint,” I really wanted to use that word that Bart Simpson made popular in the late ’80s that some of my readers insist is almost as bad as actual profanity. I’ll refrain.

I’m thinking about endings because Continue reading →

Need a little reading material for the intermediate days of Passover?

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Check out my new short story, available to read online

The Jewish Press published my magic realism (laced with sci fi) short “An Old Fashioned Girl” a couple weeks ago in its Olam Yehudi supplement. Unfortunately, I was expecting it to run a week later and only found out after that week’s edition had left the stands.

The good news is that my friend (and fellow writer) Yehudis Litvak helped me locate the story in the online edition. You can read it here.

It was my absolute favorite story to write, by the way, pure pleasure. Unfortunately, it garnered four rejections before it got picked up for the Olam Yehudi. I had to cut the text a bit for the format (which is shorter than the word count in most other Jewish magazines), but the story stood up pretty well, I think. Got a comment? Let me know by shooting me an email or commenting though my website.

If you are celebrating Passover, enjoy the rest of your holiday!