Lydia Copeland Gwyn’s Comments

Three of these five stories (”Cartwheel,” “Summer’s Work,” and “Dinosaurs”) were forgotten, half-finished stories hidden on an old laptop that I pulled out from the bedroom closet when my desktop computer crashed. The remaining two stories (“Appalachian Dharma” and “Mutual Dreaming”) were pieces I’d written this past summer. When I found the older stories, written about six years ago when I was a new mother with only one child, I remembered very little of them. One of them I had absolutely no memory of writing. At the same time, I also found dozens of other stories on my old laptop, many of which were first drafts, bits and pieces of longer stories I’d wanted to write but never did, and a few complete and revised but abandoned stories. It was interesting comparing my writing at these two different times in my life. Right away I loved my older work so much better than what I’ve been currently working on. I’ve been putting together a new chapbook of recent poetry and flash fictions, and I’m certain some of those older pieces will find a place there.

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