Season Summary: Winter 2024-25
- My short story “Coffee and Cream” has been reprinted online with Commuter Lit. If you haven’t read the story, check it out here. Back in autumn 2020, this piece began as a writing course assignment. It was picked up for publication in early 2021, and is now published multiple times over.
- I was commissioned for a cover illustration with Sloth & Envy Press. Check out Stone Heart and other available titles on the publisher’s website.
- Check out my blog in case you missed these awesome interviews. I am delighted to partner with editors, writers, and publicists to bring you an insider scoop on what’s going on in the industry. More to come—make sure you’re subscribed to have these delivered directly to your email inbox.
Updates & Work in Progress: Spring 2025
- “Eighteen Ninety-Seven” will release as a reprint with Literally Stories in April. Wondering about the title for this piece? Although this particular story is fiction, I wrote it after poring over a collection of ancestral documents that my late cousin compiled in the early 1990’s. The booklet she made details some of what the circumstances were like prior to leaving for The New World and what the journey entailed. 1897 was the year my paternal ancestors came to North America from Europe and so it seemed a fitting title for this piece.
- OPEN CALL: Guest Blogger. Got something to say about writing? Check out my submission call for guest bloggers here. Submissions accepted on an ongoing basis until the closing date of June 30th, 2025.
What I’m Reading: Spring 2025
- Last season, I found myself totally enamored with Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi. The premise of the book is essentially what would happen if someone continued to pursue the other realm presented in C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. And what if that person was entirely unscrupulous? While the first section of this book can be a little off-putting, this is done by design to pull the reader into the action in a big, big way. I recommend this book, particularly if you’ve read The Chronicles of Narnia, as there are multiple references back to C.S. Lewis’ series throughout.
- Another recommended read is Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. It is most assuredly a masterpiece. It does take some patience to pick through the information and get one’s bearings for the first third. The true inciting incident doesn’t occur until about a quarter of the way into the novel. You do, however, need the context leading up to that point to understand the full scope. I found it to be similar to Piranesi in the sense that it takes a little while to catch on, but once you do, it becomes an obsession! I found myself reluctant to set the book down.
- I plan to read through Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing. This is the recommended text for the Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University. The collection addresses the fact that we, as writers at any stage in our career, all face challenges or obstacles in the process of writing.
And that’s it. Enjoy spring. Please share your comments below. Stay tuned for my next blog post. Wanna get it in your email inbox? Subscribe to stay informed of my newest articles, story reviews, updates, and more.
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Pauline Shen 