Thursday afternoon at the Pub isn't particularly busy, so I spend a few minutes opening the mail I grabbed on my way out of the apartment. One larger envelope catches my eye immediately, since it was originally sent to me at the Bar's address and someone forwarded it. I rip it open, and the tell-tale tissue paper reveals that it's a wedding ( Read more... )

(Another brief excerpt from my novel in progress...)1997 ( Read more... )

A while ago, Barmaid Blog reader "Stephie Bee" - herself the talented writer of the blog "Spread Eagle in NYC" - wrote to me:

I read your blog about every other week or so (you're a great writer and I love your stuff!), and I was wondering if maybe you can help me ( Read more... )

I'm coming out of a supermarket near my apartment building with two bags full of groceries when a car pulls over and a guy sticks his head out. "Excuse me, miss?"

It's already early afternoon, and I still need to whip up a couple of dishes-to-pass to bring to my cousin Rebecca's place downtown for her annual Fourth of July party, so I'm feeling a ( Read more... )

(Another brief excerpt from my novel in progress...)1974 ( Read more... )

It's Saturday night, and all is right with the world, because I'm tending bar.

It's good to be back, at least so far. After the events of the last couple of weeks, I can't help feeling a little bit like I'm waiting for another shoe to drop, but there's comfort in the familiar. The clink of bottle against glass, the splash of tap overflow onto ( Read more... )

(Another brief excerpt from my novel in progress...) I drove inland on two-lane roads, not caring too much where exactly I went, chasing the sun west as it traveled down the sky. When it got close to the horizon, I looked for signs, and I found myself at the counter of a truck stop somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania, reading maps over a ( Read more... )

I've been sleeping an awful lot the last few weeks.

I think I'm entitled. I spent nearly a week in the hospital because I let a bad cold become pneumonia, which led to whiplash and a bloody eye. I never knew lying in bed could be so exhausting - not to mention that lack of sleep probably helped put me there in the first place, so who can blame ( Read more... )

(A very brief excerpt from my novel in progress...)As I made my way down the Garden State Parkway, the cities of northern New Jersey began to disappear, replaced by suburbs, then small towns, and soon I could see the coast. I realized I was already getting hungry, and I pulled off the Parkway to find myself a beach. It didn't take very long. I ( Read more... )

"What's your novel about?" Jack asks me, the wind whipping around us on the 1:30am ferry to Staten IslandFor a while, the conversation has been casual and light-hearted. We've talked about the ferry and its history, which neither of us knows very much about, and the fact that we're going to regret not having a camera with us for the ride. Jack ( Read more... )