THE GLASS DOOR

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She is a writer working from home at the height of the pandemic in New York – and trying to outpace her past in a walled garden that is one of the few outlets for her anxiety. He is a grocery delivery man on the frontlines. They communicate only through the glass storm door of her house. But is it the doorway to a real connection or merely an entrée to her imagination? Georgette Gouveia, author of “The Games Men Play” blog and novel series about power and rivalry, sets a different course in the short story “The Glass Door,” a poignant tale of brief encounters and missed opportunities that JMS Books published Aug. 12.

“I had this image of a female writer and a delivery man connected and divided by the glass door to her house at the height of the virus in New York this past spring,” Gouveia says. “So I thought I would see how I could spin that as there have been many love stories about couples separated by architectural elements — Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Hero and Leander. Since then, I’ve gotten two other ideas about brief encounters in the time of Covid, which, of course, lends itself naturally to brief encounters. I see that the wellspring of emotions the virus has stirred has gotten many other writers and artists percolating as well. 

“I can’t help but have mixed feelings about all this. It’s a horrific time for humanity, which means it’s a great time to be a writer. You have only to look back at the ancient Greeks to see that as Athens declined, it still produced great plays. Art endures and I suppose there is comfort in that.”

A 2020 YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester Visionary Award winner and a 2018 Folio Women in Media Award winner, Gouveia is the editor-in-chief of WAG, a luxury lifestyles publication named a top magazine by the New York Press Association for several years. Prior to joining WAG, she was an Associated Press Award-winning senior cultural writer with Gannett Inc. As a nonfiction writer, Gouveia is the author of “The Essential Mary Cassatt” (Wonderland Press/Harry N. Abrams Inc.) and several art historical essays. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied with short story writer Grace Paley.

Gouveia is also a student of ancient Greek culture, classical singing and yoga.. She lives in New York, where she enjoys caring for her home and long walks. For more, visit thegamesmenplay.com.