To my Avila siblings, Cathy, Paul, and Joan
With many thanks to:
Jon Billman
Catherine Brady
Nona Caspers
Scott Landers
Ann Marlowe
Ira Wood
Caron Knauer, steadfast and canny ally
Oklahoma State University for generously providing time and opportunity
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following publications, in which the stories originally appeared:
“Belvedere,” Hotel Amerika; “Burglar,” Passages North; “Ash,”
Southern Humanities Review; “The Suicide Club,” Jabberwock Review;
“Drop Zone,” Arroyo Literary Review; “Hope Springs,” Epiphany;