Ingrid wrote her first tragedy at age seven on a Soviet typewriter she says was “roughly the size of a family sedan.” She soon discovered that writing was the perfect loophole for lying without getting in trouble. “As long as I typed it up and called it ‘fiction’ my mother never threatened to break out the dreaded Chancleta—that’s a flip-flop for those of you uninitiated in the art of Cuban child-rearing. It is a truth universally acknowledged that all Cuban children quiver and pale at the mere mention of The Chancleta.”

Ingrid has been a member of Friday Night Writers for about four years. “There’s nothing like a captive audience to improve the craft,” she says. “It’s nice to bask in the warmth of glowing reviews by your best friend and your dog, but ultimately, constructive criticism is the only way to get better at anything. With the exception of skydiving.

Ingrid’s story in the upcoming book Everything Is Broken is entitled Semper Fi.