Find Time for No Time in The Opiate Magazine

My story, “No Time” is published in The Opiate Magazine, Vol. 21.

The Opiate Magazine is an English-language literary magazine based in Paris, France and is available both in print and online.

“No Time” is described by the editor as an “epic slow burn of a friendship betrayal.”

I wrote the first draft years ago, around 2005, prompted by a workshop assignment to imagine something in my life that may have been seen in a negative light to others. I imagined what it must have looked like to friends and family when I returned from a semester in Russia to announce I’d fallen in love, and after I went back a few months later to get married. Nataliya and I were absolutely certain—and rightly so as our 25 years of marriage illustrate. But I imagine others, at the time, must have thought we were crazy, two people from different sides of the globe getting married after knowing one another less than a year.

For the seed to become a story—from the point of view of the friend—I had to take it several steps beyond. Thus the story of love became a story of questionable morals and betrayal.

Whether you order the print copy of the magazine or read it online for free, you’ll find “No Time” on pages 31-41 of the issue.

Enjoy it and the other fine stories and poetry in The Opiate Magazine.

https://issuu.com/theopiatemagazine/docs/the_opiate_vol._21_?fbclid=IwAR0Dg9Z-yHElJApfGRDbhyQPRN5PVaZAtPRzCGMwRoxFaa5bc4VCBNjPt8k

Visiting Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future

Hard to believe, but ten years ago we were headed to Russia to spend Christmas Day in Red Square. We spend two weeks in Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Nizhniy Novgorod. Here's an excerpt from this blog ten years ago:

I'm off to Russia this weekend and will be in Moscow for Christmas. I'll spend Christmas Day with my family in Red Square. It may seem somewhat sacrilegious to spend the holiday at the Kremlin, or to visit Lenin instead of Santa. But remember that beautiful St. Basil's Cathedral is there, too!

During my two weeks in Russia, I intend to do some research for a new novel. And I'll gather information and experience for a travel story to follow up on my last one. I plan to call it Vodka in the Snow: Russian Winter.

That novel is still in my "idea file," and the travel story remains a folder of notes. But I suspect both will see the light of day in the future.

Here's to embracing the future, remembering the past, and focusing on the present.

Happy holidays, and here's to a serene 2017.