a christmas gift acceptance from jellyfish review, some not completely new christmas stories

Yay! The wonderful Chris James at JELLYFISH REVIEW accepted one of my weirdest flashes yet, an ekphrastic flash centering on Hieronymus Bosch's St. Wilgefortis triptych. Those of you who know my work will know that I've written about saints a number of times. A bearded female saint who was crucified is right up my alley. The flash won't be out until May 30.

I didn't write a Christmas story this year, but I have several from previous years that I like.

One about the appearance of the Virgin Mary in K-Mart that I co-wrote with my crazy husband Steve under the name Alvarado O'Brien:  "Night of the Virgin" came out in TIMBER (scroll down the list in their archive).

One about a two couples who run into each other while Christmas shopping at the mall and go out for drinks. Two of the spouses are unaware that the others had an affair:  "Merry Gentlemen" was published in DIGBOSTON, a free weekly, and reprinted in PURE SLUSH.

One about a would-be burglar who got stuck in the chimney (happens much more often than you'd think). "A Tight Spot" was published in the EAST BAY REVIEW. Alexandra Herrington did some art depicting my hapless protagonist Dean (dressed for his job at Mel's Electronics):

​Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

p.s. 1-2-18 One week later. Wouldn't you know it, the newspaper this morning reported on a burglary in Citrus Heights where the burglar got stuck in the chimney. He called the police himself, and Sacramento firefighters extracted him.