As a child, I hated reading
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and would have never thought
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of myself as a
Writer
but after falling in love with the Harry Potter series
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everything changed for me
I started writing short stories and poetry in my free time and began writing professionally at the age of 16 as a Staff Writer for the Delano Herald Journal. After taking a brief pause from writing to pursue acting, my world came crashing down on me in 2012 with the sudden passing of my mother. I returned to my writing roots to grieve through writing a chapbook of poems in dedication to my mother, and it led me back to school, eventually graduating Summa Cum Laude from UCLA with a BA in English. I am currently finishing my first novel, with many more projects on the way!
Short Stories
La Belle Dame
The dark never felt so cold and deafening as it did that first night Alice found herself gagged and bound to a stranger’s bed. How she got there remains a mystery.
She had been driving east with her boyfriend on the Interstate 90 towards
Minneapolis to visit the University of Minnesota.
She and Dave had just been accepted, and even though they both planned on attending, the fresh warmth of spring seemed to
merit a quiet weekend away.
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Little Pierogi
Not an inch of snow had fallen during the weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday, but it was still just as a frigid, with “record low temperatures in the single digits!” said the KARE 11 Weather Reporter.
Grandma liked to listen to the weather
every morning while she cooked her “everything omelets,” which were basically eggs with whatever leftovers she could find.
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Mahjong Tiles
The navy paint from the Winston Plumbing logo had started to fade on the cold white metal of the Chevy van parked outside the Ottness house.
Dave had just finished installing a new water heater for his friends Ottie and Rita.
An icy blast of Minnesota wind hit his face as he left the house, loading his bucket of tools and rusty dolly into the van.
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Poems
Cold Feet
There is a knocking... You hear it. You feel it pulsing through you – slowly… and painfully. It has made you slow down, and deeper down, like you’re falling, stupefied.
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And the blue haze at the top keeps getting darker, so dark that it’s hard to see your own pale hands or your cold limp feet; and even harder to breathe as you’re filled past the brim, weighing you down, deeper down.
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Three & Three
Sweet daughter aged three
Running barefoot through the dew grass
Picking dandelions for your mother
Laughter echoing to and fro
The morning sun hugging
All that you are
Tired mother aged thirty-three
Worn from a week of troubles and no sleep You hear her small footsteps coming “I picked you flowers Mommy.” “Those aren’t flowers, they’re weeds.” “What’s a weed?”
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I’d Like to Believe
I’d like to believe there’s a place we go When our higher selves float out of our bodies into space Awaiting a mystery, a new oasis of life after life Where everything that could be thought is thought And nothing is felt with touch, only intuition An eternal light energizing a new realm of everlasting peace
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I’d like to believe that the spiritual essence is real in you And somehow you’re able to see me, watch over me, guide me That you’re sending me messages through symbols, objects, people Like a flicker in the lights when I look at your picture Or a gentle touch from a stranger when you’re on my mind I keep asking, “Is it really you?”
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Published Articles
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By Kelsey Linden
Staff Writer
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Lonely and helpless, a single father enters her room with one need. Tears slide down his cheeks as he looks toward the only person he feels he can turn to. “What can we do for you?” the woman asked...
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Delano's Citizen of the Year - Donna Anderson
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By Kelsey Linden
Staff Writer
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Walking hand-in-hand with her best friend through the dimly lit halls of Delano High School, a smile widens across her face as she laughs and waves to all who pass her by. Every person who sees her, remembers that smile. That smile is eighth grader Mackenzie Botz. She has touched many with her love and care...
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The smile that keeps on giving
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By Kelsey Linden
Staff Writer
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Delano’s Bonnie Weege says children keep her on her toes, keep her young. With a smile on her face and a wave to all children who pass by, Bonnie Weege has been having a “fun ride,” transporting children to and from school for the past 35 years...
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Looking back at 35 years behind the wheel
