¡Buenos dias! I hope that you all are enjoying and making the most of 2017 thus far. I had a nice week-long vacation in the resplendent town of Breckenridge, Colorado. I learned the basics of snowboarding, which is really just learning how to properly strap yourself onto a board and fall on your butt and face without injuring yourself. But man was it fun!

This year, I transitioned from the last book I read, Wild, to an entirely different beast: Sphinx, by Anne Garréta. Described as a “LANDMARK LITERARY EVENT: the first novel by a female member of the Oulipo in English,” I found myself drawn in to the book out of curiosity. What makes this novel unique is its expression of infatuation: it is a story in which the protagonist falls in love with A***, a Black dancer with a carefree nature and passionate but naïve spirit who remains genderless throughout the whole story. It is, first and foremost, an excellent experimental work on the nature of love without borders.

A novella with quite a bit of unusual experimental flair

Having just finished Sphinx, I can say that it was a bit heady at times. I identified well with the main character, although at times she was a bit pompous and overly deprecating of the vain and scholarly individuals around her. I appreciated how Garréta imbued her character with these traits somewhat ironically, as she later succumbs to to her own platitudes and false ideals in trying to love A***, or rather, her own idealized image of A***.

Also, I am excited to report that I have currently written 39 chapters in Stalder Press to Handstand and should be wrapping up my first draft in another chapter or two! For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Stalder is my fourth full-length manuscript and my first ever post-apocalyptic work of fiction. I’m very pleased with how it’s developed so far, and I already have an ending in mind that I’m super excited for.

Until next time, fellow writers!