A prolific blogger I am not. But a lot has happened in the past month or so that’s worth noting.

Number 1:
At the end of June, I spent a week at my alma mater, Colgate University, at their annual Writers Conference. It was, in a word (or three), awesome … and enlightening … and rejuvenating. The conference itself offers a wide range of workshops, covering fiction and poetry, as well as memoirs and playwriting. I spent the week with nine brilliant participants in John Gregory Brown‘s Jumpstarter Workshop, “So the Story Begins: Using Prompts to Find Your Way Forward.” We used many types of prompts (verbal, visual, etc), to create a number of different stories.

I sat through a lot of helpful and informative Craft Talks by JGB and the other instructors. The panel discussions on agents, as well as writing through challenging times, were fascinating and engaging. And the phenomenal instructor readings caused my TBR pile to double! I was impressed with the other participants, as well: the quality of their readings—both the writing and delivery—was outstanding.

To be honest, between covid times and personal obligations, I’d been struggling with my writing. So much so, I wasn’t even sure I should go to Colgate. But a half-day in — in the middle of writing to my first prompt — I knew I’d made the right decision to go. Being at Colgate — creating on its beautiful campus, among talented and knowledgeable people — reminded me why I write and why I love it as much as I do. I came home rejuvenated and inspired. Plus, I got to have dinner and catch up with one of my best friends in the world.

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Number 2:
On July 1, the ghost anthology, Even in the Grave was released into the wild! Edited by James Chambers and Carol Gyzander, EITG contains my short story, “In the Machine,” a humorous tale about a grandmother trapped between worlds.

So happy to share the TOC with Marc Abbott, Oliver Baer, Alp Beck, Allan Burd, John P. Collins, Randee Dawn, Trevor Firetog, Caroline Flarity, Patrick Freivald, Teel James Glenn, Amy Grech, April Grey, Jonathan Lees, Gordon Linzner, Robert Masterson, Robert Ottone, Rick Poldark, Lou Rera, and Steven Van Patten.

Purchase your copy here.

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Number 3:
On August 13, A Little Purple Book of Sharp With by Charlotte Riddell – edited by me!— Signed, Numbered, Limited Edition will be released.

If you’ve never heard of Charlotte Riddell, check out this book. She was a past master of the horror genre, who knew how to tell a phenomenal ghost story.

I’m thrilled to be a part of one of Borderlands Press‘s Little Book series. I had an amazing time researching Charlotte Riddell and reading her stories, as well as working with Tom Monteleone. I also had a number of enlightening conversations with Lisa Morton, who helped me figure out the intricacies of some of CR’s stories.

Pre-Order your copy here.

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Number 4:
Last, but definitely not least, my poem “How Do I Tell Her?” was accepted into the Horror Writers Association’s Poetry Showcase, Volume IX.

Getting into the Showcase has been a mini-white whale for me, so I am thrilled to be a part of it.

This volume is edited by Angela Yuriko Smith, and she worked with judges Lee Murray, Maxwell I. Gold, and Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito to choose the 50 poems that make up the TOC.

This year’s featured poets are Stephanie M. Wytovich, Geneve Flynn and Naomi Simone Borwein.

The following poets have also been selected to have their work included in this year’s showcase: Mary A. Turzillo, Christina Sng, Alessandro Manzetti, Victoria Nations, K. H. Vaughan, Cassondra Windwalker, Jacqueline West, Carina Bissett, Hillary Dodge, Lucy A. Snyder, Colleen Anderson, E. F. Schraeder, Sara Tantlinger, Ann K. Schwader, Corinne Hughes, Monica S. Kuebler, Janine Cross, Kathryn Ptacek, Holly Lyn Walrath, Gary Robbe, Marge Simon, Stephanie Ellis, R. Leigh Hennig, Austin Gragg, M. Lopes da Silva, Denise Dumars, Gordon Linzner, Saytchyn Maddux-Creech, Ross E. Lockhart, Teel James Glenn, Bruce Boston, John Claude Smith, Roni Stinger, Dan B. Fierce, Madison McSweeney, Steven Clapp, Rook Riley, Timothy P. Flynn, Dianthe West, Lori R. Lopez, Terrie Leigh Relf, Lisa Becker, Donna K. Fitch, Ai Jiang, J.E. Erickson, and Gerri Leen.

This volume will be available for purchase soon.

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