Stories On-The-Go

Read a new piece of flash fiction daily -- from the comfort of your mobile phone. Fabulous and free! Visit cellstories.net from your wireless device to read "The Gulf of Aden" today.

Shiny Things

The gold seals from the Book festival have arrived! So, if you would like to adorn your cover of Second Grace with a pretty gold "2010 Beach Book Festival Winner" seal, just drop me a line, and I'll be happy to send one to you by post.

Beach Book Festival

Have you packed a good vacation read? Second Grace was the winner of the Compliations category in the 2010 Beach Book Festival. I highly recommend my paperback, a Kir Royale, and plenty of sunscreen.

The Story Prize

Slim chances in excellent company, but I was happy to be included on The Story Prize blog.

San Francisco Book Festival

Well, I'm pleased to say that Second Grace received an Honorable Mention in the Compilations and Anthologies category for the SF Book Festival. I met some absolutely lovely and talented authors at the awards event last weekend. Perhaps this will give me a little momentum for the Beach Book Festival... or even the Pulitzer. I sent my entry to the Pulitzer Prize Board this week. I'd be pleased just to receive the letter stating Ms. Coulombe, We regret to inform you that you are not a Pulitzer recipient this year. Ah, well, you can't win if you don't play.

The Changing Room

I pleased to share that "The Changing Room" will appear in the upcoming 2010 Coffee House Fiction Literary Anthology. And, although I'm capricious about my favorite stories, I do think that this one -in all modesty- is one of my best. I've always been keen on writing about class in America, and I wanted to try my hand at a contemporary suspense in the style of The Talented Mr. Ripley -- but from a woman's point-of-view, and also in less than 2,500 words. I'm fascinated by the idea of infiltrating high society. Perhaps that's why Dorothy Parker, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Patricia Highsmith stories are especially close to my heart.

Welcome to Author Central

Fortunately, I'm a better storyteller than a blogger. But I am grateful for this little sidebar to be able to talk about my work and the writing life. So, each week I would like to share a behind-the-scenes look at one of the stories collected in Second Grace, and also respond to queries from readers and book clubs about the same. Please send your comments and questions!