Blog Archives

Mei Li

Posted on March 8, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 14 Comments

I am Mei Li. I am only a girl. It is 1850, the year of the dog. I am fourteen, so I was born in the year of the monkey, an auspicious sign. My father says this means I bring…

Tagged with: California historical fiction, Cathleen Townsend, gold rush, Mei Li
Posted in My Stories

Three More Reviews for The Art of Losing

Posted on February 27, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 3 Comments

We’ve gotten three more reviews for The Art of Losing and our editor, Daniel White, has put us in for an IPPY! You’ll definitely hear more about the IPPY if it pans out, but for now, I thought I’d share…

Tagged with: anthology, Cathleen Townsend, The Art of Losing, Trojan Wargames
Posted in The Art of Losing

Trip to Tahoe

Posted on February 16, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 15 Comments

Northern California, January, 1931 Spencer downshifted the old Ford truck as they took another tight corner. The mountain road to Tahoe was none too safe, especially not with all the snow and ice from the recent storm, but they should…

Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, flash fiction, ghost story
Posted in My Stories

We Are Eagles

Posted on February 9, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 16 Comments

40% of young eagles do not survive their first flight–baldeagleinfo.com/ “We are eagles,” Shadow’s father said, his fierce eyes the color of the sun. “And the sky is our home,” Shadow’s mother replied. The two eagles traded approving looks and…

Tagged with: beast fable, Cathleen Townsend, fantasy, short story, We Are Eagles
Posted in My Stories

The Dragon and the Giant

Posted on February 1, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 17 Comments

Rose looked up from the fire into her family’s pinched faces. The Humboldt Valley was the cruelest land she’d ever seen. Constant worry–for the horses, for each other, for the terrible choices they might still have to make–they had…

The Proper Hospitality

Posted on January 25, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 12 Comments

Kansas Territory, 1856 Rose’s gaze kept drifting toward the barn as she and Jean-Pierre groomed the horses. “I just can’t believe it,” she said finally. “We have a brownie or leprechaun or something magic anyway, actually living in our hayloft.”…

Tagged with: Bleeding Kansas Rose, Cathleen Townsend
Posted in My Stories

Dive

Posted on January 18, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 15 Comments

“Ready? Dive.” I clenched my regulator in my teeth and released the reservoir of air in the apparatus strapped to my back. The twenty-plus pounds of lead around my hips ensured that the waters of the Pacific Ocean closed rapidly…

Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, flash memoir, scuba diving
Posted in My Stories

A Worm Tale

Posted on January 11, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 18 Comments

I believe there’s a genetic component to empathy. Certainly it can be learned or suppressed, but it seems there’s an inborn disposition as well. Especially when it comes to animals. My mother and I are both overly empathetic, to the…

Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, flash memoir, worms
Posted in My Stories

Who Do You Write Like?

Posted on January 8, 2016 by cathleentownsend — 12 Comments

Okay, you write like you, and that’s as it should be. But still, there are commonalities in writing, and there are those we aspire to be something like. I’d LOVE to be told I write like Rudyard Kipling–James Joyce not…

Tagged with: Bette Stevens, Cathleen Townsend, Jack London, writing analysis
Posted in Writing