FAREWELL, MARY MULLEN

My friend, writer Mary Mullen, is moving back to the States after eighteen years in Ireland. She will be sorely missed in our writing group The Peers - we had her farewell meeting last Saturday in Dublin and it is odd to contemplate the group without her in it. She is a big-hearted, talented and warm woman, we will all miss her.

I gave Mary an ARC of Miss Emily as a parting gift and she has blogged about it, and her leavetaking, here. It's a moving, special blogpost and means a lot to me. Brought a tear to my eye. Thanks a million, Mary - for everything.

OF PRAIRIE SCHOONERS AND PUSHCARTS

I'm off to Dublin tomorrow for The Peers, my writing group's, Xmas do. We normally meet in my house in Ballinasloe but every December we decamp to Patrick Chapman's place in Dublin for seasonal cheer. We work first - three hours of workshopping - then head to Ciao Bella Roma for lovely Italian food, then to who-knows-where for drinkies. I can't wait. My group are utterly brilliant: talented, uncompromising and fun. I learn something new with them every month.

I used to only bring poetry to the group but I've been writing so little poetry this year that I have been workshopping chunks of stories and it has been really interesting. It's amazing what you don't see in your own work sometimes (and I consider myself a pretty good self editor).

Anyway, all of this is a pre-amble to what I feel a bit shy about saying and that is that I heard today that one of my stories has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I know little about the Pushcart but having googled it, it looks fairly top notch. So I'm chuffed.

The story is called 'Peach' and it will be in the December issue of Prairie Schooner. While I'm at it I may as well tell you that the nice people at Prairie Schooner are having me over to Nebraska for their two-day launch event in February which is, as a Nebraskan (or my 9 year old) might say, awesome!

Have I mentioned that I love short stories and all the good things they bring to my life?