Saturday, August 27, 2011

Cereal

Um... I mean serial. But cereal seems more interesting as a title right now because It's early, and I'm hungry.

OK, so, my hand is all better (just about), and I'm writing again. The problem is I am now boring because I've been inactive these last few months due to constant pain and whatnot.

So, I plan to revamp this blog for a while. In other words, I will no longer discuss me or my writing life here. Instead.... I will post fiction. Yup. Original, unpublished fiction. It's a serial story that I will be writing as I go, and I hope you enjoy it. I'll post the first tonight Saturday 08/27/11, and the plan here is to add to this story each weekend.

I am undecided as to whether I'll leave up the archives. Perhaps I'll make up my mind as I go, depending on whether my mom is the only person who logs in to read this story. What I have now is a premise. I will write today and post later tonight. We'll see where it goes. And who knows? Maybe my life will become interesting again soon, and I'll go back to the navel gazing.

Hope you join me!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Ass-backward hibernation

Well, it's official, I'll be in charge of the San Antonio College Writing Center again. Only this time, it will be just me and one other coordinator running the show. I can't wait to get started. I have so many ideas, and I feel truly privileged to have the opportunity. This is a supplementary position to teaching, so I'll still have two classes and my freelance work. I just hope I can keep up with everything.

Ironically, I haven't been able to do much of anything this month, and I'm having a tough time with it. There, I said it. No sugarcoating. If you follow this blog, you already know that I have a ruptured tendon in my hand/wrist. The injury is preventing me from using my right hand to do just about anything. And it's a constant, dull pain. I've been doing my best. I use voice recognition software for email and social media, and sometimes, like now, I just type left-handed.

Here's the thing: Writing is my Prozac. It's my therapist, my mirror, my stress relief. It's how I work out needless worry and manage necessary concerns. And I miss it. I've been going through a lot of emotional distress lately, and sure, much of it has come from the pain. But I think most of it comes from simply not being able to write. And though I know that this will pass, the injury will heal, right now it sucks.

I'm a strong believer that illness is often my body's way of telling me to slow down. Forcing me, rather. And slow down I have! With the new position, I'm sure I'll need it. In the meantime, I'm healing, hibernating, storing up ideas and reorganizing old work. I'm preparing myself for a lot of wonderful things to come this fall. It's so easy to forget when in the middle of it, but the pain does pass. I should know this by now.


Check out To Begin Again, an award-winning collection of short stories & Musical Chairs, a memoir about rebellion and reinvention.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

New Work & Interview



Here's the latest publication. I wrote this a year or so ago. Also, if you'd like to read about my writing process (part of which I am still doing daily, despite my injury), check out my interview in Black Fox Literary Magazine. It's a debut issue and very well done. I'm thrilled to be a part.

*More good news (and another plug for the collection)! I found out that To Begin Again is now a finalist for the Readers Favorite Competition as well. I'll find out soon if it placed. If you'd like to read the review of the book, go here: http://readersfavorite.com/review/4015

I love you all. Hope to be back in action soon. In the meantime, if you write, write extra for me. :)

Chapbook release

"As our children walked in circles, their children shook their heads and made their way toward another life; new ghosts remained. And w...