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Well, that was a weird rejection letter. It said my story's "unique reflection […] will not be revealed at this time." Oooooookay.

#SilentSunday in Sweetser Park, Amherst #WesternMass

Jimmy picked her up and set her on top of a urinal, which brought her face almost even with his. He handed her his cocktail, unzipped his trousers, and leaned forward, putting his head next to hers.
"Ahhhh!" he sighed. "Start talkin'! This is gonna take a while." (2/2) #wss366

Coral glanced uneasily from side to side.
"Hey," Jimmy said. "You ain't gonna #rabbit on me, are ya? C'mon!"
He grabbed her arm and steered her into the men's room. It was packed with inebriated men. She felt her face turn bright red as men stared at her. (1/2) #wss366

I often joke that Tanuki-chan finds storm drains of "grate" interest, but today she reacted to something: her hackles came up and she backed away. When I looked, I only saw a little flicker of movement. Whatever it was had backed into a little pipe. I assumed it was a rat — we know there are rats downtown. A few minutes later, I came back out and looked again and saw what it was: a big ass raccoon!

People rightly blame Donald Trump for destroying the world order that had tremendously benefited the United States, but the seeds were sown much earlier. https://stevendbrewer.com/when-the-united-states-actually-jumped-the-shark/ #uspol

"What's a cutie like you doing here?" the man said.
Coral shrank back against the wall. "I… I'm here to find…"
"I'm sure you are!" he leered, leaning over her.
She closed her eyes. A piercing scream caused her eyes to spring open.
The man was lying on the floor curled in a fetal position and standing over her was...
"Jimmy!" she cried with relief.
"What's up, #kid?" he said. He took a drink of his cocktail. "That guy was blockin' the path to john and I gotta go something fierce." #wss366

Note: I had seen this article: https://writerbeware.blog/2026/03/27/watch-out-for-this-scam-impersonating-editors-at-major-publishing-houses/ before I got the email. h/t @victoriastrauss

#WritersCoffeeClub Have you studied writing?

I majored in Biology and Spanish for my undergraduate degree, and have a Masters in Earth Science and a PhD in Science Education. I certainly did a lot of writing, but I don't think I ever took a course in "writing" beyond high school. This is particularly ironic because I've taught scientific writing for a quarter century. I regret not having a better grounding in literature. But when you're studying science, there isn't much room for anything else.

Whoa! She also used the contact form on my website! And she didn't check the "I am a robot" field. She must be a human being!

Let me introduce @Geojoek and @Aplonis who I believe share an interest in ham radio.

Ooh! I got an enthusiastic email from Megan Wenerstrom, an Associate Editor at Penguin Random House, who used her PERSONAL gmail account "meganwenerstrom5" to express interest in my book *A Familiar Problem*. She writes real good too — almost as good as an AI!

Tanuki-chan found a tiny work of public art that someone left out. #DogsOfMastodon

*Bearly Believable* got rejected again. (That's the sixth time.) They said, "I thought this was a really fun story, but it doesn't quite fit the tone we're aiming for in this anthology." So, I've submitted it again. I don't think this "market" will like it either, but there weren't any others accepted novelettes right now. Sigh…

Cecelia smiled, playing shy.
Kelli ushered them into the dining room, pulled out a little table with small chairs, and #set two more places at it.
"Are we to sit here?" Kasseh asked curiously.
"No, no!" Kelli laughed. "No. We'll put Bello and Teenay here. You'll sit at the big table." (3/3) #wss366

"True enough," she said. "You did something right, for once." She turned to Cecelia and Kasseh.
"I'm Maggi. And this is Sendi, our oldest daughter. And you've already met Kelli. Welcome! Make yourselves at home! We're just putting dinner on."
"Thank you!" Kasseh said. (2/3) #wss366

The woman with the apron put her hands on her hips and said, "What's going on, Rudy?"
"These are Kasseh and Sisi", he said, indicating each. "They were just traveling through when the storm rolled in. I couldn't very well leave them out in that!" (1/3) #wss366

@philipbrewer I realized only after the fact that I should have originally said, "You sit under the tamarind tree with a big lizard, a laptop, and a cocktail. Oh! And an iguana."

RE: https://wandering.shop/@wss366/116339952987184322

Which of the 430 meanings of #set do you want to use for your Wandering Shop Story today? Follow #wss366 to see what our participants choose today!

@Daojoan @philipbrewer It's also nice when a big iguana stops by: https://wandering.shop/@stevendbrewer/110786531979732944