Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
In June 1918, an apparent public notice in the British papers informing people about Spanish flu symptoms was really an advertisement for Formamints, a tablet manufactured by a vitamin company. The ad claimed the mints were the “best means of preventing the infective processes” and that everyone, including children, should suck four or five tablets a day until they felt better. Then, as now, there was money to be made by touting fake “cures.” Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).
Spanish flu pandemic a century agoGenerations of immigrant family in conflict
In late 1918, the Spanish flu advanced towards the farming and mining town of Gunnison, Colorado. The town was afraid because two railroads connected it to Denver and other population centers that were hit hard. “The flu is after us” the Gunnison News-Champion warned in October. Town officials declared “a quarantine against all the world” and erected barricades, sequestered visitors, arrested violators, closed schools and churches, and banned parties and street gatherings. The lockdown, which lasted four months, worked. Gunnison emerged without a single case. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).
Spanish flu pandemic a century ago Generations of immigrant family in conflict
Americans were told it was their patriotic duty to “Eat More Onions!” in a drive against the Spanish flu. A placard proclaimed: “An onion car arrived today // Labeled red, white, and blue // Eat onions, plenty, every day // And keep away the flu.” One mother, who took this command to extremes, fed her daughter onion syrup and wrapped her in onions head to toe. The outcome was successful, likely because no one came near the child. Read more about the deadly Spanish flu pandemic a century ago in On the Shore (1917-1925), a tale of conflict between generations in a Lower East Side immigrant family (see NOVELS).
Spanish flu pandemic a century agoGenerations of immigrant family in conflict
My short story “The Women of Tahiti” was accepted for publication in Jewish Fiction (Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 issue). Here’s the log line: In “The Women of Tahiti,” an elderly man, convalescing after heart surgery, fantasizes the healing caresses of tropical beauties while recalling his troubled life as a cripple working for the Kosher Mob. In the early 1900s, the Jewish Mafia transformed organized crime from a thuggish activity carried out by hoodlums into a big business. Some elements in the story are drawn from my father’s life. Read more in SHORT STORIES.
Prominent members of the Jewish Mafia, a.k.a. the Kosher MobAn English language journal of contemporary writing on Jewish themes
My Amazon and Goodreads review of The Dutch House: A Novel (Rating 5) – As Many Twists and Turns as a Spiral Staircase. Many years ago, I was forced to flee a one-of-a-kind home that I loved. While the circumstances were nothing like the eviction of the brother and sister in Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House, my ouster was also precipitated by an unimaginable act of cruelty. Unlike the protagonists, I wasn’t able to go back to the house, but I’ve often wondered what it would be like to once again step inside. I can only hope the visit would be as gratifying as the tale in this novel. The plot has as many twists and turns as a spiral staircase, each a surprise, yet also as inevitable as a well-drawn blueprint. Vivid characters spill intense emotions: love, hate, longing, guilt. As a writer myself (see my Amazon author page and my Goodreads author page), I am filled with admiration for Patchett’s memorable storytelling. The Dutch House is ultimately about letting go, but readers won’t want to let go of this book.
A story of two siblings and the three-story house that haunts them “A good book is an education of the heart.” – Susan Sontag
I’m happy to announce that my short story “Sophie’s Confession” will be published in the next issue of Ramblr (2020, Issue 3). Here’s the log line: In “Sophie’s Confession,” Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, makes a surprising admission on her death bed and leaves the public to ponder its response to discovering the truth behind an illusion. Read more in SHORT STORIES.
Sophie Tucker: Grande Dame and The Last of the Red Hot Mamas
Fourteen states hold primaries today and my essay “It’s Not Your Story: Citizenship Rules for Writers Groups” goes online at Black Fox Literary Magazine. The article argues that while some literary tenets beg to be broken, writers group etiquette rules are worth following to derive the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of membership. Please leave a comment about the blog. Read more of my thoughts about writing in REFLECTIONS.
Check out the online archives of Black Fox Literary Magazine, founded 2011 Why writers write: “To get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood.” – George Orwell
I’m happy to announce that my article “It’s Not Your Story: Citizenship Rules for Writers Groups” has been accepted for publication by Black Fox Literary Magazine. Here’s the log line: The craft essay “It’s Not Your Story: Citizenship Rules for Writers Groups” acknowledges that while some literary tenets beg to be broken, writers group etiquette rules are worth following to derive the benefits and avoid the pitfalls of membership. I’ll post the link when the essay is up and open for comments on the Black Fox blog. Read more of my thoughts about writing in REFLECTIONS.
Black Fox seeks fiction from under-represented genres and styles Why writers write: “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach
My Amazon and Goodreads review of Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History (Rating 4) – More Deaths Per Page Than a War Book. In the battle for the skies, the history of aviation is littered with shattered bodies. All were intrepid souls, none more so than the women in Keith O’Brien’s Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History. Male aviators had to fight physics, mechanics, and weather. Women overcame all those and also the men who, both on and off the field, demeaned and tried to defeat them. Fortunately, the support among the women handily counteracted the discouragement of the men. “Fly Girls,” as the press dubbed them, were competitors but also friends. While some were bent on promoting themselves, all were primarily out to promote women’s full participation in aviation. Despite harrowing accounts of sacrifices and tragedies, this book is ultimately about victory and the amazing women whose dreams and persistence made their success possible. As a writer of historical fiction who often features women overcoming tough odds (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I cheered them to the heavens.
Sisterhood in the air “If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.” – Roald Dahl
My creative nonfiction piece “My Name Could Be Toby Gardner” is now online as the featured essay at bioStories. The essay begins: “I lost my name. Perhaps the name was never mine to begin with. In which case, will I ever own one? Or, if the name was once in my possession, can I get it back?” While you’re visiting the site, check out, like, and follow the other features at bioStories, which “offers word portraits of the people surrounding us in our daily lives, of the strangers we pass on the street unnoticed and of those who have been the most influential and most familiar to us but who remain strangers to others.” Read more about my creative nonfiction in MEMOIR.
Me (bottom right) with my family at age five, when “Toby” became “Ann”
