WENDY C. ORTIZ is the author of Excavation: A Memoir (Future Tense Books, 2014), Hollywood Notebook (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018), and Bruja (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016), a “dreamoir.” Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, StoryQuarterly, FENCE, and elsewhere.
My current favorite book is: Conflict Is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman (read a while ago but I think about it a lot).
My current favorite film director is: Steve McQueen.
My current favorite television show is: Ozark.
My current favorite song/album/musician is: my RELAX playlist and my ECSTATIC playlist.
My current state of mind is: foggy with a filtered beam of sunlight hitting the wood kitchen floor.
My current chemical romance involves: weed gummies.
My current favorite words/phrases are: my kid’s first, middle, and last name. But especially her middle name.
My current mode of transportation is: my car or my shod feet (the usual).
My current favorite fast food item is: whatever scraps I get from the bottom of the bag of whatever my family decided to get.
My current workout routine consists of: hour-long walks and stationary bike rides and light weights though I want to move to heavier weights soon.
My current regrettable decision involves: letting people get close to me and then breaking my heart with their shitty behavior. Fuck you to all of them.
My current hopes and dreams are: to make it out of this pandemic alive with my mind intact.
My current projects/hobbies include: transcribing journal entries from the 1990s; cooking; staring at the sky; reading; singing to my dog; writing another book.
My current favorite website is: www.vaccinateca.com.
Wendy C. Ortiz is online at wendyortiz.com.
Brian Alan Ellis runs House of Vlad Press, and is the author of several books, including Sad Laughter (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018). His writing has appeared at Juked, Hobart, Fanzine, Monkeybicycle, Electric Literature, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Funhouse, Heavy Feather Review, and Yes Poetry, among other places. He lives in Florida.
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