Further Persons Imperfect - "Out of Focus"

Finally! The moment you all (read: I) have been waiting for! My book is out!

Well, no - it's not my book - but it is a book in which one of my short stories was published. My first short in English. (You can read my first short story in Spanish published by Divergencias by clicking here, on "Un regalo de Andres".)

It all started about four and a half years ago when I took a creative writing mini course with Paul McComas at Northwestern University's Norris University Center. I was freed from a nasty writer's block that had lasted for what seemed like an eternity.

Paul invited me to join the Advanced Fiction Writing workshop he does out his very own, very wacky living room. It was great. I met some extremely supportive and extremely talented writers. (I didn't believe such a thing existed at the time, after getting sledgehammered at The University of Iowa.)

I left Chicago to start grad school here in Tucson. A year later Paul insisted I contribute to this book. If it weren't for his constant - I mean constant - encouragement (read: nagging), I would have never finished "Out of Focus". Thanks to the workshop's collaborative, long-distance effort I was able to take the story from an idea to something really readable.

And of course, thanks to my friends in Paraguay for inspiring me. Rohaihu.

So if you want to experience the story of "Eva Karene Romero's restless, heartsick young lesbian in Paraguay" then you better buy a copy of Further Persons Imperfect
from iUniverse.

For more info about the authors, upcoming readings and reviews, check out the Further Persons Imperfect myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/furtherpersonsimperfect

p.s. If you are a local thinking about getting your own creative writing tools sharpened, I took Level 1 at The Writer's Studio Tucson recently and it was a pretty positive experience. It is much more focused on technique and less romantic than kickin' it with other writers over brownies in somebody's living room under a framed family portrait of The Simpsons, but for everything there is a season.

Info on other local creative writing groups would be highly appreciated. Leave your comments!