A Tiny Love Story Story

My path to publication in the New York Times

My Substack is free, but writing is how I pay my bills and feed my pups. If you’d like to subscribe, please feel free! If that’s too big a commitment and you’d like to make a one-time donation instead (maybe a really good cup of coffee?), I would appreciate that, too. Many thanks for your support.

---

It only took a couple of years, but I finally had a Tiny Love Story published in the New York Times last week. It was first included as a digital story, and then it was chosen as the one Tiny Love Story to make it to print in the Sunday paper. (Please note that “I Was Married to a Terrible Man” is NOT my story. Mine is three stories down and is titled, “Darkness Followed By the Dawn.”)

My story is a tribute to Julie, who supported and cared for me after so much loss, and I wrote it shortly after I lost my job in 2023—the final blow after coming out; losing my marriage of 25 years; and then losing my mom, my sister, my uncle, and my cousin within a 16-month span. (For you Swifties, I consider this my Grief Era.)

Earlier this year, I submitted three Tiny Love Stories to the NYT via their online portal. All of the stories were submitted separately, at different times of the year, and all received the same response: Nothing. Nada. Crickets.

But my friends and writing colleagues were getting published, and I was inspired to keep trying. After Suzette,

Charli

, and

Mesa Fama

all had Tiny Love Stories published in the NYT, I asked Mesa about her experience. She provided the editor, Miya’s email address, and I reached out to Miya directly.

I sent Miya an email with my three previously-submitted Tiny Love Stories included, and told her I wanted to follow up on my online submissions. These are the stories and accompanying photos I sent her:

STORY #1:
No More Goodbyes
She stood at the funeral home door, hugging my cousins as if she’d known them forever. In the span of three years, I’d lost my marriage, an uncle, a cousin, my beloved mom, my only sister, and my job. My past was shattered, but my future was safe in her gentle hands. She brought me water as I stood beside my sister’s casket. “I’ve got you,” she whispered. I expect her to leave after so much sadness, but she stays. She is tiny and steadfast and true, and her love is bigger than the sun.

STORY #2:
A Trio of One
My beautiful, witty mom, Sweet Caroline, died the year after a global pandemic shut down the world. During those masked days, Mom and I waved and blew kisses through a locked, windowed door. Twelve short months after we buried our beloved matriarch, my only sister, Carrie, got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and couldn’t find her way back to bed. Glioblastoma took her just four months later. Our original trio is now only me, the baby of the family, missing them both fiercely, fortified forever by a love that outlasted their corporeal lives.

STORY #3:
My Idol
She was hit by a car and left in a frozen ditch to die. Her hips were broken, her leg shattered, her fur rubbed off by the road. “She’s food motivated, so she wants to live,” the vet said. “That’s my girl,” I said. Tenacious and adorable, we named her Sissy, after my mom. Despite everything she’s been through, Sissy is still happy, grateful, and snuggly. She reminds me that even in the shadow of pain and loss, there is joy to be found in freshly mown grass. She is exactly who I want to be when I grow up.

Miya responded the next day and said, “I was moved by all of your submissions, but would appreciate the opportunity to learn more about your first story.” She then proceeded to ask me questions about the the people, the events, and the intricacies. One of her questions: “I hate to ask, but was your sister buried in a coffin or a casket?”

She was obviously incredibly detailed.

The next week, she sent me an edited version and said it would be posted online the following day. She had made a few minimal changes, chosen a new title, and written the copy for the photo caption. Later that week, she told me my story was the one that had been chosen to be in print in Sunday’s paper, which was a huge honor.

In the following photo, you can compare Miya’s edits to my original story:

After many months of waiting and hearing nothing, the process moved at lightning speed once Miya responded to my email. She was lovely to work with and was kind and gentle with my story.

The lesson for all of us writers in this story is simple: Don’t give up. Sometimes the tenacious bird gets the worm. (This early bird likes to sleep in, so I prefer a different story line.) Tiny Love Stories might look simple to write, but distilling a meaningful story down to less than 100 words is a unique challenge. Remember when you’re writing that every word has to count. It’s a fantastic writing exercise that requires a great deal of precision.

If you have any Tiny Love Stories or micro pieces you’d like to share here, I’d love to read them! XO