Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs

No.

I ended on the two cowards, the clerk and the daughter, unable to tell each other how they feel, implying that they never will.

If I'd sent it in, that part probably would have been edited.

They'd want a bit more punch in the ending.

What do you want from me, Mal?

Do you want my pithy bio?

Family moved to Brooklyn for the war jobs.

Fell in love with science fiction.

Decided to write my own stories.

Worked a series of menial secretary jobs so I could spend my mornings typing away.

Kept people at a distance because I needed to focus.

Because I knew that my stories would have to be undeniable.

Is that what you want?

Mal, I am still here because I did not have enough time to write what I needed to write.

Because there are stories in my head and notes still in my apartment.

Octavia Butler lived for 58 years.

Le Guin didn't start publishing until the 60s.

James Tiptree?

I'm not saying they lived in an easier time, or even that I would have been a better writer than any of them.

I'm not that arrogant.