Hey everybody,

first, I had to cancel the event in Kansas City this December at Our Daily Nada, a kick ass book store-bar in Rivermarket. This was due to a family situation and travel arrangements - I was super stoked by the trip, Our Daily Nada is amazing, and I hope to read there some day!

second, I have a short story in Issue 11 of Apogee Journal. It is called "Borders." Basically, an undocumented Mexican woman lives in McAllen and her father passes away in nearby Rio Bravo. She can't attend, so her husband and two kids go as surrogates.

Her husband, though, is Filipino-American and gets severely hassled at the border crossing when coming back.

A lot of the details for this story came from my own family trips to Ciudad Juarez when I was little, recent events in the RGV and border crossings there, and meticulous research and conversations with FilAm amiguis and a buddy that's also a studly beta reader.

This story took years to write and rewrite, but, to be honest, my short story process is super not rushed: I pen a first draft, sit on it a few weeks, copyedit it, send it to beta readers, take into account their feedback, then I wait a few months to read it again with a fresh set of eyes.

Then, once a story reaches a certain level, I submit. I normally submit to 2-3 journals at a time, carefully researched, and wait patiently. Apogee got back to me quickly - only a few months - and working with Dennis and then Mina/Crystal (indirectly) was a total breeze.

You can check out Apogee Journal here. Digital subscriptions start at only $3 and $5.