Sunshine Over Helsinki
The good folks at Failbetter have published my short story “Sunshine over Helsinki”. This is an odd little story that was inspired by a discussion with my friend Penny about ideal jobs; we landed on the idea of doing weather forecasts for a cold climate (like Minneapolis or, perhaps, Helsinki) from the safety of Southern California. Fair enough, I thought, but somehow I can’t picture myself being happy in Southern California, where the weather’s always blandly perfect. (Of course, it’s not yet winter here–come January I’ll be dreaming of palm trees…)
The day “Helsinki” came out, another of my stories was rejected, but with a kind note–it was, the reviewer thought, “[p]ensive, melancholic without being self-indulgent, but too cute”; this, I think, may be my epitath. Oh, if only I could follow through on a story that was a little less “cute”!
Anyway… I hope you enjoy “Helsinki”; it borders on the cute as well, I suppose, but I think if you give it a chance you’ll find there’s a pleasantly melancholic after-taste.
