My story “Holes in Heaven” was published in the January 2016 issue of Isthmus.
First Lines
In addition to its other powers, the Arizona heat compels decay. My forty-year-old apartment building with its Class C construction and Title Eight clientele didn’t stand a chance. The stench had overtaken my bedroom months ago, the epicenter of my carefully assembled physics experiment. Even with a bandana tied around my face, the room stank like clam bellies festering in the desert sun.
I tossed another stack of torn and stained newspapers, Gila Bend Suns and Arizona Republics, onto the edges of the enormous trash heap and then angled my metal grabber, dropping Tuttle’s typed letter on top of the pile. At this point, my self-constructed stellar nursery was taller than me, taller even than my twin brother, Agustin, or any other full-sized man.
Praise
“…[a] compelling story….Threaded throughout this story is a constellation of complicating factors, such as the twin brothers’ rivalries and insecurities, their loneliness and what it drives them to. The ending is startling and elegant.”
–5-Star Rating, The Review Review
Buy A Copy
Isthmus is a print journal of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry published biannually in Seattle, Washington. You can buy a copy of Issue 4, where “Holes in Heaven” appeared at: http://www.isthmusreview.com/subscribe/