Carolyn Flynn is a graduate of the Spalding MFA in Writing program, with concentrations in fiction and creative nonfiction. She is a practitioner of mindfulness and creative visualization, leading writing and creativity webinars and retreats through her business, SoulFire Studios. Her seven nonfiction titles, published by Penguin Putnam/Alpha Books, include topics such as mindfulness and creative visualization. For sixteen years, she was editor of Sage, a magazine in the Albuquerque Journal, which won best national magazine with the National Federation of Press Women. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is the mother of 21-year-old twins.
For more on Carolyn’s work and writing, visit her website at carolynflynn.com.
Star-Crossed
That night after the opera in Barcelona, I think that was when. I suppose I’ll never really know. I was there with Rob, our last night before he went to Paris on the train. Walking out of the opera at the Liceu, my heart was bursting, too wild and too big for the crowded streets pouring into La Rambla. I still ached with Aida’s torn loyalty. The voice of the enslaved Nubian princess trembled near the back of my throat. I still wanted to understand why people fall in love and lose all reason. Read more.
First Cut: Chapter Excerpt
A red bulb of blood rose from my skin. I watched with exquisite satisfaction as it ballooned from the tip of my razor. If I pressed even a little deeper and swiped it across, it would cut a line and throw my skin open. Then the truth would bleed out, staining everything. I drew in a ragged breath. I rubbed the ancient marks along the inside of my left arm. As my fingers pressed through the lattice of scars, a burn soared up from within, surprising me. Like one last breathing ember. Like it had been wanting to be the one noticed, sparked again. Read more.