PAULA WHYMAN
curiouswriter

In which we wonder about writing, food, music,  
& random curious events. 










IMPORTANT!


Thank you for your interest in my early work.

Unfortunately, the only extant copy of the poem "My Little Rocking Horse," has been lost, or it's in a box in my parents' attic, along with the videotapes of me singing like the Partridge Family, and, I can only hope, my mother's 8-track of the Village People.

I knew I'd find a place for this. Awww, I think i love you...











FICTION

click titles for an excerpt...



"DRIVER'S EDUCATION"


Washington Writing Prize in Short Fiction
Writes of Passage: Coming-of-Age Stories and Memoirs from The Hudson Review, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2008.
The Hudson Review, Summer 2005

Sexual and racial tensions in a classroom threaten to explode as a young teen faces choices that will haunt her in adulthood.


"Driver's Education" now appearing in Writes of Passage: Coming-of-Age Stories and Memoirs fromThe Hudson Review. A Chicago Tribune and LA Times Editor's Choice book.

"THE MIDDLE WAY"

Virgin Fiction award anthology, Rob Weisbach Books/William Morrow, 1998

A young girl in Thailand is sold into prostitution by her mother.

Virgin Fiction, June 1998, Rob Weisbach/William Morrow; contains stories by Myla Goldberg, Ed Park...and me

“STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS”

Bethesda Magazine, March/April 2009

A woman is haunted by events from the past that threaten to disturb her domestic life.

"Statute of Limitations," Bethesda Magazine, March/April 2009.

"SAND PEOPLE"

Gravity Dancers: Stories, anthology edited by Richard Peabody, Paycock Press, 2009

A man battles neighbors to build his dream house, while his son resists the pull of the family heritage.

"Sand People," forthcoming in Gravity Dancers from Paycock Press.

"MINOR OFFENSES"

Delmarva Review, June 2008

A bored housewife has a sexual encounter with a utility worker, with disastrous results.

"Minor Offenses" now appearing in Delmarva Review

"THE ROSE GARDEN"

North Dakota Quarterly, Fiction Issue, Winter 2004

A psychologist confuses fantasy and reality as she travels alone for the first time after her divorce.




HUMOR

click titles for an excerpt...



"CHECK, PLEASE: WHEN THE MENU IS A MINEFIELD"


Washington Post, Food, March 31, 2010

Dining out with dietary issues, and Twizzlers.


“Potty Talk”


Washington Post Magazine, March 14, 2004

A homeowner finds something Very Special about her toilet.


“Contributor Notes” (parody)


The Potomac, Issues 1 and 2
www.webdelsol.com/The_Potomac


“Reality Shows Currently in Production”


The Potomac, Issue 3
www.webdelsol.com/The_Potomac


Selected Works

Fiction

"DRIVER'S EDUCATION"


Sexual and racial tensions in a classroom threaten to explode as a young teen faces choices that will haunt her in adulthood. ORDER HERE
"THE MIDDLE WAY"

A young girl in Thailand is sold into prostitution by her mother.
“STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS”

A woman is haunted by events from the past that threaten to disturb her domestic life.
"SAND PEOPLE"

A man battles neighbors to build his dream house, while his son resists the pull of the family heritage.
"MINOR OFFENSES"

A bored housewife has a sexual encounter with a utility worker, with disastrous results.
"THE ROSE GARDEN"

A psychologist confuses fantasy and reality as she travels alone for the first time after her divorce.
Humor

"CHECK, PLEASE: WHEN THE MENU IS A MINEFIELD"

Dining out with dietary issues, and Twizzlers. From the Washington Post.

“Potty Talk”

A homeowner finds something Very Special about her toilet. From the Washington Post Magazine.