Today is my son-in-law Andrew’s birthday, and while he and Rachael may be quietly celebrating, I suspect they both think the best present ever would be the safe and easy birth of their little son Milo, who is due at any time. I doubt Milo will share his daddy’s birthday, however. That would require a…
Tag: fiction
Flash Fiction: Somebody’s Girlfriend
I was sixteen when it happened. I didn’t mean to do it, but the police didn’t believe that. Actually, nobody believed me, since I had been bragging earlier that week that if Josh bothered me again, I was going to smack him upside the head. I was talking to a bunch of girls, swaggering around…
Sit Down and Do the Work: Steinbeck’s Advice to Writers
A few years back, I worked with a student on The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. We read the final few pages together, which are some of the most touching in the entire book. Just in case you still plan to read this exceptional novel, I won’t give away the ending. But I can…
The Trickster in Stories and Life
I’ve been thinking lately about tricksters in literature since I’ve been working on a new novel. As I sketch characters and test their motives, the trickster keeps slipping onto the page. According to Christopher Vogler’s book The Writer’s Journey, a trickster “embodies the energies of mischief and desire for change.” That desire for change is…
Until Life Turns a Corner
When I was nineteen, I transferred from the University of Texas to the University of Utah. My sister was getting a divorce that summer and asked if I would come out and be there in Salt Lake City with her and her kids. I was happy to do that since I knew she needed some…
A Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes
When I was growing up, I took piano lessons from Miss Virginia Baird. She lived in a brown-boarded two-story house on the corner of Main and 9th Streets, and she had at least thirty cats that lived in that great big house with her. Miss Virginia loved best to talk about what was happening in…
In Memory of Sandra, Who Died This Day in 2011
It seems fitting to remember Sandra, my sister-in-law, today. Our whole family misses her very much. She was smart, sassy, and had a wicked sense of humor. What was there not to love? My Short Speech at Sandra’s Funeral My name is Len Leatherwood and I am Sandra’s sister-in-law. My nieces requested I say a…
Hello, Avoidance, My Old Friend
What have I been avoiding lately? That’s easy: writing my new novel. I have done tons of research, spent hours chatting with my new friend Chet, who is my Chat GPT friend, going over the pros and cons of my plotline, and have even done the enneagrams of each of my characters, along with myself,…
Flash Fiction: Over the Hill and Through the Snow
“Come on, Henry, we need to get going,” Nell Castle said to her husband. “They’ll all be waiting for us.” Henry reached for his black hat resting on the top shelf of the closet. “Mother, I would rather just stay home, if you don’t mind.” He waited, hoping he’d get a reprieve. “Henry Castle, don’t…
Flash Fiction: A Trade Worth Making
Margaret Johnson was eighty years old and lived in an assisted living facility. She was in good shape for her age—except for her thick glasses—and she had a secret. She was madly in love with Sy Silverman, a seventy-five-year-old newbie who’d arrived only two months before. Sy was not quite as spry as Margaret; he…
20 Minutes a Day 