I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.


It was an excellent place to hold a meeting, because you could get a soda and a donut or Jell-O if you wanted a treat, and other people couldn't overhear your conversation, because of the buzz from the fluorescent lighting. -34

I appreciated the structure, made it a fast, compelling read.