All lit news

Just a few things this week, some short story/publication news.

I have a brand NEW STORY HERE.

A (relatively) OLDER STORY, AFTER THE GAZEBO (ARDOR), received some keen attention this week, showing up in writing sites, such as this one (which is awesome): GREAT WRITERS STEAL and a brand new site, MINOTAUR'S SPOTLIGHT. As an aside, this story was written when my dog was diagnosed, and though the roles are flipped, it was motivated by my reaction to that reminder of mortality. It was a tough one to write, and I had no idea where it was going--it was one of those that just came, all out in an hour or so. (Of course it took months to refine, but that draft came out like a shot.) It's one of my less direct and more emotional pieces, and somehow it still worked, so I'm really happy that people seem to enjoy it.

Finally, I wanted to mentions some GREAT books out by folks I'm honored to know. DEAD LETTERS (poetry) by Joani Reese (which I haven't read yet, but ordered the other day and am excited to dig into) and THE MERRILL DIARIES (fiction) by Susan Tepper (just reviewed on LuLu and I loved it). Also, I got my hands on BOUND BY BLUE (fiction) by Meg Tuite early. The book will be out soon. So far, amazing. And the cover: beautiful. I keep it on my coffee table just so I can look at it all the time.

That's it for today. I'm regaining focus and momentum since being a little shaken and, well, just out of it over the last two weeks. That's the thing with emotions. They pass, or at least ease. Even the really good and unbearably bad ones. Things are looking up.

Have a beautiful week.