I’m really honored to have a story in the inaugural issue of The Bare Life Review, a journal “devoted entirely to work by immigrant and refugee authors.” I’m also super excited to be alongside such wonderful company. I can’t wait to dig in! From the professional yet personalized communications with several of the editors, to their thorough and thoughtful edits, to the financial compensation, to the lovely note that came with my journal copies—this has been the best experience I’ve had with a literary publication. They made me feel truly respected and appreciated as a writer at every turn. I can’t recommend their publication enough.

A few years ago, I learned that my father spent a few months in a Cuban military prison while my mother was pregnant with me. The reasons behind it, and how everything ultimately played out seemed Kafkaesque, so I decided to write a somewhat fictionalized version of the events. The result was a story titled, “Deceased,” which I workshopped in my MFA program and continued revising on and off for years. “Deceased” has just been published in Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices, and it is also forthcoming in my story collection. Huge thanks to Lee Hope for liking this piece enough to accept it, and to everyone who’s helped me improve it along the way. I’m also super stoked that it is appearing alongside three short pieces by the ridiculously talented, and my desk buddy at work, Sonya Larson!