First things first.... If you’re like me—well, if you’re like me, I am terribly sorry, but that’s another thing entirely. Anyway, the relentless drumbeat of awful news has been getting to me lately. The other day my husband (I am still getting used to saying that, and I don’t think I will ever get tired of it) gave me a hug while I was in the kitchen making dinner, and he asked me what was wrong. “Everything,” I said. It feels like that a lot. For me, the antidote to despair is action, even a...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Happy New Year! I hope. It’s already off to a rocky start, isn’t it? Here’s hoping we can hold things together and keep the wheels from falling off of—well, everything. A couple pieces of housekeeping, to start things off: Did you get a Kindle, a Kobo, or a different e-reader for the holidays? Now would be a fantastic time to go check out any of my books. Head over here and see what piques your interest. Also, if you head over to my ko-fi page you can pick up a free e-book of stories (it’ll...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Reset And here we are at the end, finally. The calendar’s just one page (if you still use a paper calendar, that is—I’ll admit that I don’t, although I do have a planner notebook), and the schedule is likely filled with more fun than work. At least, I hope it’s that for you! This will be a short newsletter since the end of my year is shaping up to be fairly busy. I’m almost done with the first draft of a queer holiday romcom, and I’m in the very early stages of another project that is so...
3 months ago • 1 min read
So, how’s the agent search going? I’m glad you asked! It depends on how you measure progress. Have I gotten an agent to express interest? No. If that’s the yardstick we’re using, then yeah, it’s been a failure. Fortunately, that’s not the yardstick I’m using. While I can do as much as possible to make sure my query letter and writing sample are as polished as they can be, I cannot reach through the ether and plant a suggestion in an agent’s head compelling them to write me back or ask for...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Happy October! This is the month where I finally feel like I start to come alive after the endless slog that is summer in the Midwest. Let’s hope the temperatures keep falling. My stuff Subscribers to this newsletter used to receive a free ebook of stories I’d previously published titled Lies I Tell Myself. Now, new subscribers get an ebook of different stories, The Trouble with Billy (shoot me an email if you never got one! I’ll be happy to send it your way). But if you want to see what you...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Happy September! Thank heavens August’s over! When September rolls around, it puts me in mind of Earth, Wind and Fire: It also makes me hopeful for cooler temperatures, since I have loathed every minute of the summer. One of my friends who was from the South Pacific and loved the heat liked to say, “Tropical fruits don’t like the cold.” My response? “Ice queens hate the heat.” But enough about that. September means the fall semester is in full swing at the university where I teach, and so my...
6 months ago • 2 min read
Welcome to August! This is the month of the year that most resembles my writing process: full of long, empty stretches where it seems like nothing is happening. I know I’ve written about this before, how it can look from the outside as if a writer is just being stagnant, but that’s usually when things are happening under the hood/behind the scenes. Last month, for instance, I finally (finally) finished a draft of a short story I started writing years ago. I queried another agent and...
7 months ago • 2 min read
Imposter syndrome, the gift you never wanted that keeps on giving anyway I’m still having trouble committing to my next big writing project, and the more time I spend in this in-between stage, the more that gap is filling in with self-doubt. It’s not a new experience for me: Self-doubt and I are on a first-name basis. It’s the voice in my head that tells me I’m wasting my time, I’m too old, and I may as well stop now before I make a(n even bigger) fool of myself. I call him Kevin. I tell him...
8 months ago • 1 min read
It’s Pride and I’m Furious (Warning: There may be more swearing than usual in this month’s letter.) Welcome to June! We’re almost halfway through the year, and this month we celebrate the summer solstice, and it’s also LGBTQ+ Pride month, which— Well. The world is a different place than it was a year ago, isn’t it? Whatever veil of civility kept people from showing their asses has pretty much been shredded. Granted, those people were never on our side in the first place, they just didn’t want...
9 months ago • 1 min read