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.
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Stories (32)
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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 Flynn4 years ago in Humans
The Miracle of Toast. Top Story - April 2022.
In my gratitude practice, here's what I've noticed Maybe "practice" is too lofty a term. I don't claim any specialness when it comes to spiritual mojo or mental hygiene. But as I've gotten older, I've developed a nightly habit: before I turn off my bedside lamp, I write down five things I'm grateful for.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Humans
To Conservative Men, From a Liberal Woman
Psst. Over here It’s me, the spiky-haired liberal woman with the “SNFLAK” license plate (SNOWFLAKE: get it? See, not all of us libs take ourselves too seriously). Before you roll your eyes and turn away, let’s acknowledge one thing we have in common: you and I both get a daily drenching from the firehose that is media.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in The Swamp
Is it Even Okay to be Happy Now?
There's no shortage of reasons to be unhappy In this third spring of the pandemic, we are only just emerging, or so we hope, into some semblance of our old freedoms. As we begin to confront its staggering collateral damage - burned-out teachers, a mental health epidemic among school-aged kids, people in assisted living facilities who may never recover the cognitive ground lost during the long stretches of isolation - a new crowd of miseries pounds at the doors of our awareness.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Humans
Don't Fall For This Shopping Site
I should have known better When a deal is too good to be true, there's always a catch. You'd think that with my wisdom and experience I'd be too savvy to fall for the siren song of those online clothes retailers' ads that pop up when I'm researching or reading the news.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Lifehack
The Words My Mother Lived By
Our mother's words run on repeat in our heads At least they are if we were lucky enough to have mothers, or mother figures, who nurtured and nagged and niggled at us through our formative years. Mom's admonitions pop up at the drop of an unconscious trigger: while getting dressed, for instance, and discovering a hole in your underwear.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Humans
Can Americans Pull Together?
This post was born in a liquor store Don't jump to conclusions. For the record, it was late morning and I was as sober as a judge. We'll come back to the incident in a bit, but for now I'll just say that it was one of those random moments when great events in the larger world bleed through into otherwise ordinary aspects of daily life.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Humans
When History is Now
I never thought I'd live to see war in Europe As Russian forces massed on the borders of Ukraine and Putin ginned up justifications for an unprovoked invasion, I hoped he could be edged back from the brink. I listened to President Biden’s near-daily warnings of an imminent attack on Kyiv with dread, sure, but also the hope that the repeated call-outs, the strategic intelligence spills, the warnings of sanctions, and the growing outcry among European leaders, would bring the Russian leader to his senses.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Journal
When Your Body Speaks, Listen
Our bodies speak to us in sensations So say a number of the yoga teachers I've had the pleasure to study with over the years. It's an illuminating addition to the admonition we hear all the time to "listen to your body," and it makes sense.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Longevity
The Guaranteed Weight Loss Trick That Nobody Talks About
Frustrated because you're not at your happy weight? You know what weight I mean — that number on the scale that you’re convinced you should be able to maintain, no matter how much your body resists. It may be a number you got from an Ideal Weight Calculator you found on the internet, or it may be the one you reached at some point in high school or two days before your wedding.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Psyche
I Want to Be Over Racism
I could've grabbed the strap to my bag at any time The leather tote that held my small purse, laptop, iPad, and journal hung by one of its straps from my shoulder as I tugged my carry-on out of the airplane's overhead compartment. “I should fix that,” I thought. But the people behind me were waiting to join the slow queue shuffling down the aisle toward the jetway. I left the outer strap hanging as I steered my suitcase ahead of me like a sleepwalking toddler.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Confessions
Don't Know What to Say to Somone Who is Grieving?
Someone you know is bereft, and you have a problem You run into a neighbor at the grocery store. It’s the first time you’ve seen her since you heard her husband died. She’s not someone you know well — you haven’t lived in the neighborhood very long. You’ve had a few chats with her as she walked her dog past your yard, sometimes with her husband. She was always smiling, always pleasant. You meant to ask them both over for a glass of wine on the patio before the weather gets too cold.
By Jan M Flynn4 years ago in Humans
