Announcements, Events, Occasional Musings.
Along the way there may be boulders and stumps and wild roses and interesting rocks. And definitely beach glass.
As glorious spring arrived here in midcoast Maine, my writing mojo was stuck, frozen in the deep winter of “you are never going to get out of this place, lady.”
I’m drafting, so I told myself that I should be comfortable with the world of incompletely formed story pieces, plot holes, etc. But the perfectionist part of my brain was clearly NOT.
Read MoreOver last summer and early fall I was mostly focused on querying my first MG novel. My mind was entirely focused on the status of my queries to agents, and I am embarrassed to admit I spent a ridiculous amount of time staring at timelines on QueryTracker — A TOOL THAT IS BOTH A BLESSING AND A CURSE!
As a first-timer in the query trenches, I think I did a pretty good job of preparation, but definitely learned some lessons. It should be stated, regardless of how obvious, that everyone’s querying path looks a little diffrent. Truly, I have yet to hear two “path to publishing” stories that are identical! However, now looking in the rearview mirror after a few rounds of querying and dozens upon dozens of rejection under my belt, I thought it might be helpful to share what I think went well and what might be tweaked in my next round.
Read MoreIn early August, I received the exciting news that my manuscript was selected by author Sylvia Liu (Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation, Manatee’s Best Friend) for the newly launched Inked Voices Fall 2023 MG Mentorship. Sylvia shared that she was really excited to work together on my manuscript: “I fell in love with your main character, story, and environmental themes.”
Read MoreI have edited, parsed, cajoled, scrubbed, erased, scribbled, cross-checked, eliminated, fretted about, read aloud, and examined my manuscript more times than I can count. I have worked with beta readers, sensitivity readers, whale experts and on-demand fishing folks. I have made the leap in my thinking: now is the time.
Time to jump in. Into the query trenches I go!
Read MoreOnce upon a time I knew the alphabet by cryptic abbreviations, otherwise known as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (I had to look that up, which is how long it’s been since I’ve used it).
Now I’m learning the alphabet soup of the publishing industry. Every sector has its jargon, and the book writing and publishing world is no different. No, cheddar is not publishing industry jargon. But really, writers, what comes after beta? Cheese seems like an obvious option, IMHO.
Read MoreI wrote a little essay about what home has meant for me over the years, and it found a lovely home in Maine Women Magazine (June 2022).
Read MoreSpring is springing, the birds are singing, and I am getting serious about writing routines. My absolutely favorite time of the week is the morning I have scheduled with my dear friend and fellow writer to do this hard, wonderful thing TOGETHER.
Here’s what that looks like: we sign on to zoom, we catch up, we talk about what we’re struggling with in our writing (there’s always something), and then we simply WRITE. On mute. No cheating.
Read MoreIt starts with an idea. Actually, in this case, it started with my latest Instagram post. Doesn’t everything these days? What is even up with these days, these days?
This about sums up my lack-of-writing spiral of the last year.
Read MoreHello from a new year.
A year ago, I resolved to prioritize monthly blog updates. Then the COVID19 pandemic turned life upside down, and many of my writing intentions took a back seat to my responsibilities as a primary caregiver and newly minted homeschooler. Derailed plans seem somewhat minor in light of the loss and tragedy of 2020, but it still was frustrating to put my writing on the back burner.
Read MoreLife is upside down at the moment, but I am pausing to share that my essay “Breathing Lessons” has been published in Longridge Review. Here is an excerpt:
Read MoreI sat still out of necessity, although I was no older than six, trying to breathe no deeper than a puddle, no deeper than a thimble, no deeper than spilled milk.
Hello friends, I am thrilled to share that my essay, “The Unconcern of Eagles,” has been published in Entropy. Here is an excerpt:
Read MoreMy turn, my turn, my turn! My kids shriek and race around the house, bickering over who gets to use the something next. It doesn’t really matter what it is.
The rain falls steady against the window. The newspaper tells me we’re on day 49 without sunshine. Way to go, Seattle, you’re living up to your reputation, I think, not without bitterness.
Hello from the precipice of my children’s holiday break. We are reading CS Lewis right now, and are nearing the end of Prince Caspian. As Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund are on their journey, they are toiling along the precipice of a river, and so my kids asked me what this word meant.
“Well, it’s kind of like being at the top of a cliff,” I said, without looking up the word in the dictionary.
Read MoreHello friends (or, hi, Mom!)
It’s a weird, wild world, and today it is a little more full of words.
I’m excited to launch my website and increasingly public profile as a *gasp* writer. Writer with a capital W. Writing words for people other than me.
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