Vivian R McInerny
Bio
A former daily newspaper journalist, now an independent writer of essays & fiction published in several lit anthologies. The Whole Hole Story children's book was published by Versify Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. More are forthcoming.
Stories (75/0)
- Runner-Up in From Across the Room Challenge
The Heroics of Small Angels
Dear Small Angels, As far as I know, you never ran into a burning building, didn’t raise millions of dollars to feed the poor, or even rescue a cat stranded in a tree. That’s the thing with small angels, their heroics don’t garner a lot of attention at the time. But they can impact lives forever after.
By Vivian R McInerny2 years ago in Families
Fashion Beat: 1
Fashion may be glamorous. Writing about it rarely is. I sold my first fashion story in 1979. I sold my last in 2015. I never wanted to write another fashion story again. Ever! Period! I was ready to lounge around devouring delicious novels while wearing embarrassingly unstylish sweats.
By Vivian R McInerny2 years ago in Styled
Books Before Furniture
We didn’t have a stove yet. The refrigerator was on order. We had no bed, only a mattress on the floor. We furnished the living room with white wire patio chairs we’d bought for $5 a piece at an end-of-summer sale that left grid-marks on the backs of my thighs.
By Vivian R McInerny2 years ago in Humans
- V+ Fiction Award Winner
Apartment ComplexV+ Fiction Award Winner
Mom was not happy about the move. I promised her she wouldn’t have to pack or carry a thing. She didn’t. I slung her suitcase-sized brown purse over my right shoulder and was struggling to balance two cardboard boxes of cheap glassware in the elevator when we ran into Rachel from 17C. I made introductions between floors.
By Vivian R McInerny2 years ago in Fiction
Wanted: Dead and Alive
The two little J sisters walked hand-in-hand into our backyard on a bright sunny summer morning. They were maybe six and four years old, pretty little girls with long blond hair and wide blue eyes in matching floral sundresses. They lived around the corner and across the street. I was surprised to see them. Earlier that morning, we’d heard the news and the neighbors were still rattled. In the middle of the night, Mrs. J woke to the sound of her husband hiccuping. She didn’t think much of it. She tried to wake him. But he just kept hiccuping. She shook him. His hiccups grew louder but he was otherwise unresponsive. Frightened, she phoned her brother-in-law, who lived a few blocks away, for help. He arrived minutes later and called an ambulance. By then the whole family was awake and crying. It was too late.
By Vivian R McInerny2 years ago in Confessions
My Secret Husband
“He seems so nice,” she said while I was visiting. “Why doesn’t he ask you to marry him?” “Mom,” I groaned. “I’m not a Barbie doll sitting around hoping Ken will pop the question. We’re equal partners. If we want to marry, we’ll decide together to marry.”
By Vivian R McInerny2 years ago in Confessions