Holy Shift: A Love Story in Code

As a computer scientist, she knows how to debug software, but her own heart? That’s another story!

Chana-Malka lives by codes: the ones dictated by her Orthodox Jewish upbringing, and the ones she writes as a computer scientist. She can debug software, but when it comes to forbidden desires, family expectations, and the chaos of her own heart, she’s stuck in an infinite loop. She dates Mr. Right: safe, steady, and mother approved. But can’t stop wanting Dr. Wrong: brilliant, bizarre, and inexplicably magnetic. Meanwhile, Yitzy, her lifelong coach of a father and Sophie, her built-in surveillance system of a mother, seem to have a direct line to God and all her business. When Chana-Malka’s worlds collide, sex doesn’t liberate her. Religion doesn’t protect her. AI doesn’t save her. Family doesn’t rescue her. With humor, heart, and a whole lot of chaos, Chana-Malka must learn how to write her own code. Because some crashes aren’t just inevitable—they’re transformative.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Simi Monheit calls Northern California home. Simi is a graduate of Stanford’s Online Novel Writing Certificate program, has a Master’s degree in Computer Science and an undergraduate degree in English. She started writing after a career in technology. Her work has appeared in JewishFiction.net, The Forward, Moment, Chautauqua, HerStry, Pacifica Literary Review and Lilith Magazine. Simi most recently was a Pushcart Prize nominee (2020), placed in the 2O20 Writer’s Digest literary fiction short story contest, and even won the 2022 Pacifica Literary Review bodice ripper contest.