The Library

"The Old Wife":
"I was longing to escape the almost unbearable load of pity the town was rushing in my direction... "

"The Apartment on Riverside Drive":
"...her parents gone, all the pressure to take hold, to shine, to have a serious career was finally off. "
This story has been chosen by Press 53 to represent the United States in the third volume of an anthology, EVERYWHERE STORIES, Short Fiction From A Small Planet. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this honor.

"Dry Spell":
"It ain't right, Alice," Grandma was trying to whisper, "coming out of your dirty life to pester that child."

"Expiration Date":
"What turns you on, Lily? You want to go to Neiman-Marcus and shoplift?"

"The Estate":
"She knew that six or eight truckloads of scrap iron beat out twelve perfect plates no matter how much they'd appreciated."

Vita":
"Once I quit crack, I had to get out of the CIA."

“Deep and Comforting Voice,” WRITER’S FORUM, Winter, 99.
“…and above all, I am a mother, and I must not let myself fall apart in public.”

“Bit Part”
“When the gendarme seized the white powder, my theatrical cup runneth over.”

“Soloist,” ANTIETAM REVIEW Fiction Prize, Spring, 1997.
“…old Buster…one of those people who never stumbled, or if he did, he got Blondie there to cover for him.”   

“Heartsong’s Mother,” Online at PERSIMMON TREE,  Fall 2008.
“…she didn’t want to overly antagonize the bride who couldn’t help what she had been born into.”

“Sugar House,” VIRGINIA QUARTERLY REVIEW, Spring, 1997.
“…that’s what the Sugar House is, a runned-down place to sneak off to and pretend you’re not a child.”

“Guthrie Junction,” COMING HOME, Main Street Rag Press. 2010.
“But he had no wounds.  No scars or stitches.”

"ON BETRAYING FAMILY first published in GlimmerTrains Newsletter":
"My novel in stories, One Hundred Years of Marriage, just went up on Amazon this week, and my joy at finally having a book in print was accompanied by a queasy stomach."

"WAR MEMORY for My Retrospect":
"My novel, One Hundred Years of Marriage, contains a lot of biography. Here is an example."

"A Family Without Men":
"I was four years old when my mother’s sister was invited to move into our little bungalow in Norman, Oklahoma."

"I am Louise's cousin":
"I am Louise’s cousin, the curly top next to the last in line in this picture of the little soldiers."

"LINDA K SIENKESWICZ’S INTERVIEW of LOUISE FARMER SMITH":
"It was too late for fame, and, as for fortune, literary short stories are made into movies just about as often as straw is spun into gold. But readers, surely they were within my reach."

"WHY I WRITE SHORT STORIES":
"Although I have a drawer-full of unpublished novels, I have a preference for writing short stories; this feels like an inborn inclination."