Tag: Blank Spaces magazine

Interviews

Interview with Alanna Rusnak

Pauline Shen

In this post, we’ll be hearing from Alanna Rusnak, Author of The Church in the Wildwood, Owner & Operator of Chicken House Press, and Founder & Managing Editor of Blank Spaces Magazine. Curious in knowing the origins of the beautiful Blank Spaces Magazine? Want some insight into what it takes to branch out on your own in the publishing industry? In this interview, Alanna tells us all about these things plus talks about her current work-in-progress and more!

So, you wear a lot of hats, Alanna. Tell us a bit about your average day or work week.

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Story Reviews

It’s Not About the Guardrail. Commentary on Desiree Nippard’s “An Early Thaw”

Pauline Shen

In Desiree Nippard’s “An Early Thaw,” the reader witnesses a group of schoolchildren sending lanterns into the sky while playing a send-off tune on recorders. In this ceremony for the deceased, “[y]ou could hear every pause for breath, every off note from the shifting of small fingers as we all allowed the melody to seep into our souls.” (54) This coastal town is grieving, and the narrator reveals the cause with deep sensory descriptions that guide the reader with the right amount of grace and gentleness.

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Story Reviews

Would it Smell as Sweet? A Commentary on Ace Baker’s “Not Julie… Yet”

Pauline Shen

Meet Julianna, a highly self-conscious and more-than-slightly-awkward high school student looking for love. It’s a story that may at first seem cliché, particularly as the narrative scaffolds on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet while also containing Palahniuk-style rules that serve as calls to action and reflections of lessons learned. However, writer Ace Baker has succeeded in crafting a tale that brings the reader inside Julianna’s world, capturing the reader’s attention and heart in a way that is fresh and exciting.

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