Jan M Flynn
Bio
I write speculative short fiction, historical novels, upper-middle grade fantasy: pretty much whatever stalks me until I write it. Represented by Helen Adams of Zimmermann Literary Agency, NYC. Words fueled by coffee, mellowed by wine.
Achievements (1)
Stories (31/0)
On the Wrong Track
It’s the rocking sensation, ceaseless, that wakes me. Groggy, I wonder if I’m still drunk. I shift my weight, trying to get comfortable enough to finish sleeping it off. The slip under my vintage dress sticks to my sweaty legs. I’m not in my own bed, not even undressed. Oh my God, did I pass out at my own party?
By Jan M Flynn8 months ago in Fiction
Stranded at the Airport
I'm the person who boards your flight last Or, close to last. Not because I overslept or missed a connection from another airline or I couldn't find the right gate. I'm what the airlines refer to as "non-rev" or "space available" or, in civilian parlance, a standby passenger.
By Jan M Flynn9 months ago in Wander
I'm Too Old to Have an Abortion
I've feared for America since 2016 There were intimations of unease even long before that; waves of disquiet and dread during the second Bush administration as it used the national tragedy of 9/11 as an excuse to plunge us into a baseless war for oil in Iraq. Indeed, ripples of my civic angst ripple back through time to my sense of foreboding on the day Ronald Reagan was elected.
By Jan M Flynn9 months ago in The Swamp
Am I Trapped in a Simulation?
This is too good to be true I write this as I'm sitting on the patio of our corner lot, gazing out at the linden trees and honey locusts that reach from opposite edges of the street to touch their leafy tips, shading the sidewalks. Neighbors wave greetings as they walk their dogs or ride their bikes past our house.
By Jan M Flynn10 months ago in Journal
Woke Cows, Canceled Horses
As awareness rises, plenty of schools have switched mascots Since the early 1970s, as American institutions of higher learning have recognized the insensitive and downright racist nature of their mascots - which so often denigrated Native Americans - they have ditched those symbols in favor of more benign ones.
By Jan M Flynn10 months ago in The Swamp
Here's What Pro-Life Means
My heart has been heavy this week I’m not alone, I know. We’ve all been bludgeoned by the one-after-another mass shootings in America in the past few weeks, our hearts torn and wounded and finally shattered by the news from Uvalde, Texas.
By Jan M Flynn10 months ago in Humans
My Family Doesn't Want Me to Write
No wonder I'm so frustrated See that photo, the kids jumping for joy? Those aren't my actual family members, but I have more than one pic of my real grandnieces and grandnephews doing the same thing. Because they're all relentlessly healthy, functional, and high-achieving, with devoted and supportive parents. And grandparents!
By Jan M Flynn10 months ago in Confessions
Dear Mom, I Understand Now
Don't get me wrong; I love the cards and flowers I know you enjoyed being treated by your offspring too. After all, mothering is hard work with high stakes, brutal hours, a constantly shifting job description, and an uncertain retirement plan.
By Jan M Flynn11 months ago in Humans
