MACY'S SNAFU LEADS TO ENLIGHTENMENT

Look carefully at what's on my skirt--the shoplifting gizmo from Macy's. The saleswoman never took it off and it didn't ring when I went out, so I didn't know anything was up until I wore it to a party and everyone said, "Did you shoplift that skirt?" We tried to bang the thing off with a hammer and it wouldn't loosen. I felt myself getting so annoyed--who has time to go back to Macy"s? I took a deep breath and found myself getting a kick out of it. Everyone who walked into the party had a laugh. And when I went into a store and the salewoman saw the shoplifting gizmo, she waited on me first. When I did gat to Macy's to have it taken off, I actually missed it. Enjoy whatever comes you way, whether you can get it off or not!

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW WITH ME BY TIM O'SHEA

http://talkingwithtim.com/wordpress/2011/05/18/rochelle-jewel-shapiro-on-her-writing/

THE DOUBLE HOUR

Sit back, if you can (I jolted in my seat several times) and watch The Double Hour for the way the director caught deep characterizations within short sequences, and how the non-linear, haunting movie builds and builds to unbearable tension and an ending that will leave you dissecting long after you leave.

The Role of the Narrator

Rereading John Irving's coming of age quirky, darkly comic novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, quirky, I'm reminded that a narrator can't just tell you about another character. He has to tell you about himself, why he's bound to this other character, what he can learn from him, what is the link, the obsession. John Wheelright's best friend, Owen Meany, a dwarf with impaired vocal chords vocal chords, just happens to kill John's mother, but remains John's friend. If we only heard about Owen, the novel would fall flat. Think of Nick in The Great Gatsby. If we didn't know that Nick was from West Egg and trying to climb his way up in the financial and social world that Gatsby appears to be part of, The Great Gatsby not only wouldn't be a classic. It might never have gotten published.

Here's an interesting publishing possibility

May at Literary Laundry

This May marks the one year anniversary of our founding. It's been quite a year--two amazing issues and three wonderful showcases. We would like to thank our readers, authors, editors, and supporters. To everyone who has helped to make LL such a success, thank you.
This month, we are pleased to announce the debut of our fourth showcased author, Faisal Mohyuddin. Mohyuddin's poetry is one of intersection and conflict--it explores identity, culture, and memory, probing their sometimes-melodic, sometimes-dissonant, and always-complex exchange. This showcase is not to be missed. Check it out at: www.literarylaundry.com/showcase.
Additionally, we have added a number of reviews to our reviews page: www.literarylaundry.com/reviewsAs our readers may have noticed, the LL discussion forums went on Spring Break sometime in mid April. They are back and we hope better than ever in the form of our new LL blog. It is our hope that blogging will provide a more user-accessible forum for discussion, in which our readers will feel free to talk all things culture. Be part of the discourse and share your thoughts: www.literarylaundry.com/blog
Submissions close for our third issue on June 1. In the meantime, LL continues to explore new ways to better serve the contemporary writing community. The launch of our "chapbook" series has thus far met with great enthusiasm. Keep sending in your works. If we receive enough chapbook applications, we might just consider launching a print "novella" series.