My long-awaited (by me) short story collection, Trick of the Porch Light is available.  I would so appreciate you heading to External link opens in new tab or windowBarnes and Noble, External link opens in new tab or windowAmazon, or External link opens in new tab or windowMouthfeel Press and getting a copy.

My prose piece What We Will Do was a semi-finalist in Midway Journal's -1000 Below: Flash Prose and Poetry Contest.

Nice to see Birthday Fugue presented on the External link opens in new tab or windowWinning Writers site.
 
Here is External link opens in new tab or windowYouTube of the two poems below plus one titled Prosper. All part of a celebration of Kate Fox's new poetry collection from Shelia-Na-Gig. You can find me at minute 25:45.

Two poems--Let's Tip Things Over and Escalatory--now appear in the latest edition of External link opens in new tab or windowSheila-Na-Gig.

My poem "Life Span" appears in the latest External link opens in new tab or windowCider Press Review. Also, you can listen to it External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

The Women in Our Dragon Boat (which also appears in Let's End This Now) is out and about in FLARE: The Flagler Review.

Moreover! My third poetry collection Let's End This Now is also recently published and available External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

Looking forward to my trip to Chattanooga and Atlanta to read from my new collectionExternal link opens in new tab or window Let's End This Now. First up? A reading on June 6th 2024 from 6-7:30 at The Arts Building, 301 E 11th Street, Chattanooga, TN. I'll be reading with Kris Whorton and Dana Shavin.

Next up is the reading at theExternal link opens in new tab or window NFSPS conference on Friday, June 7th. Lunch first and then reading, 12:15-2:15.

A couple of months ahead of of schedule, Let's End This Now is availableExternal link opens in new tab or window here.

My poem External link opens in new tab or windowSelkie Trap External link opens in new tab or windowis in The Westchester Review in print and audio.

External link opens in new tab or windowI Will Survive, based on my one and only disco experience, appears in Loud Coffee Press.

My poem File Not Found is in the Red Penguin Books anthology External link opens in new tab or windowAbout Time.

My chapbook Sky with Falling Cat was a finalist in the Action, Spectacle Chapbook contest.

Planning ahead for the launch of Let's End This Now, I will be reading at theExternal link opens in new tab or window National Federation of State Poetry Societies convention on June 7, 2024 at 1:15. If you are in or near Roswell, Georgia, I would love to see you.

Here's what happened in Kansas City!

I'll be signing books and talking story once again at AWP. Firm plans listed here as they are finalized.

Thursday, February 8th 2024, I'll be signing copies of my short story collection Trick of the Porch Light at the Mouthfeel Press booth, 3021 from 11-12.

Thursday, February 8th 1:35-3:10. I'll be helping out at my alma mater Rainer Writing Workshop booth, #811. Good news? You can see External link opens in new tab or windowKris Whorton at the same time. Stop by and see what the MFA program is all about.

Thursday, February 8th at 3:15-4:00. I'll once again be withExternal link opens in new tab or window Kris Whorton at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga booth #933 with books to sell and sign.

Friday the 9th, I'll be at the Finishing Line Press booth #1207 with  External link opens in new tab or windowKris Whorton again from 10-11. I'll be signing copies of my poetry collection When We Almost Drowned.

Soon after, on Friday, February 9th,, I'll be signing copies of my latest novel What The Moon Did at the Flexible Press Booth, T3307, from 11-12.

Later in the day on Friday, I'll be at the UCLA Extension Writer's Program booth, #831, from 1:35-3:10, ready to chat up anyone looking for an amazing class.

The night of Friday the 9th from 7-9, I'll be reading with Flexible Press writers at The Milwaukee Delicatessen Company, 101 W 9th Street. More information External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

My poetry collection What Can I Do for You? was a finalist in theExternal link opens in new tab or window 2023 Cowles Poetry Book Contest. 

The Mad Hatter's Feast of Delights appears in the Seven Deadly Sins edition of External link opens in new tab or windowCosmic Daffodil.

My little odd piece "Ready for Digging" appears in External link opens in new tab or windowArts & Letters issue #47, hard copy and old-school!
I'm excited to say this flash involves cheddar cheese and an armadillo.

My third collection of poetry, Let's End This Now, won the 2023 poetry contest put on by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. The book will be published in 2024, and I'll be reading in Roswell, Georgia in June at their External link opens in new tab or windowconvention. Hey, you might be close by! I'll put out an announcement or ten before the date.

My poem Julien at Three was an honorable mention in External link opens in new tab or windowFree the Verse's love poem contest (the stipulation was that said poems didn't make the editors gag).

Two poems appear in the Fall/Winter 2023 edition of External link opens in new tab or windowThe Atlanta Review: "When We Were All There" and "I Talk to My Dead Father in the Bathroom."

More news on the poetry front: my poem "Let's End This Now" (the titular poem for my manuscript making the rounds) was the runner up in the External link opens in new tab or windowNorth American Review's James Hearst Poetry contest. My poem and all the finalists' will be published in the next edition.

My third poetry collection (in some recent form) was short listed for the External link opens in new tab or windowSteel Toe Poetry award. Creeping closer.

My poemExternal link opens in new tab or window Old Mom was nominated by the writer External link opens in new tab or windowNicole Graev Lipson for a Pushcart Prize. I was unaware that Pushcart winners are given the ability to nominate after receiving the honor. Suffice it to say, I was beyond touched.

Join me and a slew of fantastic readers, including star reader Sandra Rivers-Gill on Thursday, December 14th at 4 PST/7 EST, External link opens in new tab or windowHere is the Zoom link. Hosted by Sheila-Na-Gig. And if you missed it, External link opens in new tab or windowhere is the YouTube video! For those of you wanting to skim, you can find me around minute 37.52 or so.

Finished reading the amazing manuscripts on the longlist for Rare Swan Press' Karin Ann Flickinger Poetry Prize. Kari was a talented poet and an amazing scholar, and it was no surprise that the manuscripts entered were stellar. External link opens in new tab or windowHere is a list of winners. Congrats.

My prose piece So Much Gone was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by External link opens in new tab or windowgreat weather for media. And I will be reading the piece along with others from A Shape Produced by a Curve on November 18th, 2023, at 1-2:30 PST. RegisterExternal link opens in new tab or window here.

Enter aExternal link opens in new tab or window Goodreads giveaway for Trick of the Porch Light. Ends November 18th.

What the Moon Did a semifinalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowKindle Book Award.

If you missed the Shelia-Na-Gig reading, it's available External link opens in new tab or windowhere on YouTube.

Appearing in the latest The Comstock Review: poems "Map" and "A Rock We Can Breathe On."

"My Husband Bakes Bread" received an International Merit Award from the Atlanta Review.

My poem "External link opens in new tab or windowThe Chinese Balloon Incident" is live on Sheila-Na-Gig, the lovely publisher of my collection External link opens in new tab or windowGrim Honey. I will be reading alongside featured poet Alissa Sammarco on September 21st at 4 pm ET. External link opens in new tab or windowRegister for the Zoom here.

External link opens in new tab or windowTrick of the Porch Light book launch events: Please come join me on Zoom with writer friends, in-person, or online at these events.

Read about how this collection came to be, through error and trial and a lot of writing. Leslie Pietrzyk interview me about External link opens in new tab or windowTrick of the Porch Light on her External link opens in new tab or windowblog.

In person, I'll be at the Stoveworks in Chattanooga, Tennessee on September 16th 2023 at 5 pm EST with my dear writing friend Kris Whorton. Both of us have new books. Kris's External link opens in new tab or windowAlchemy is fantastic. Details here on External link opens in new tab or windowKris's website.

On Zoom, I'll be hosted by my publisher External link opens in new tab or windowMouthfeel Press on September 23 at 4 pm CST. Kris will be back, and we will be joined by External link opens in new tab or windowWarren Read, my pal and co-conspirator. Register for the event External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

My third poetry collection was longlisted during External link opens in new tab or windowYesYes Books open reading period.

I had a great conversation with External link opens in new tab or windowCynthia James about on her podcast Women Awakening. Watch it on YouTube External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

After thirty years of hope and longing to appear in these hallowed pages, I have a poem, Old Mom, in the August 2023 issue of External link opens in new tab or windowThe Sun. More importantly, the editors picked the last line from my poem to act as the heading for the poetry section. Strangely, this was extremely satisfying. Issue will be out soon, and info online to follow.

My poem God's Weekend Visit does a bit more good work in the world as a finalist in the 55th External link opens in new tab or windowNew Millennium Writing Awards.

Written from a prompt and based on a dream, External link opens in new tab or windowThis Life Where I Don't Get It appears in The Cumberland Review.

Excited for my odd prose piece "So Much Gone" to appear in the next edition of External link opens in new tab or windowGreat Weather for Media. Order External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

My poetry manuscript Cookies With Ghosts received an honorable mention in MoonPath Press's latest External link opens in new tab or windowcontest. Onward!

Two readings! The first on June 4th at 2 pm PDT at External link opens in new tab or windowDime Grinds. Here is the External link opens in new tab or windowZoom link.
The second is on June 8th at 3:30 PDT. I'll be with a number of lovely people I know and love. Here is that External link opens in new tab or windowlink. I would love to you at either or both!

Once again, a nonwinner in a group of fantastic nonwinners and one winner. My chapbook was a semifinalist in theExternal link opens in new tab or window Baltic Writing Residency contest. Congrats to the whole list.

My short prose piece Sparks Ignite is in the current External link opens in new tab or windowThe Nassau Review. And these kind folks nominated my piece for a Pushcart Prize.

As previously reported on this page, my poem God's Weekend Visit was an honorable mention in the Steve Kowit Poetry Prize. External link opens in new tab or windowHere, you can read it on page 139. It's a huge compendium of poetry!

This lovely External link opens in new tab or windowvideo--much of which I did not understand--popped up on YouTube. Spanish speakers, while I know she gave it a thumbs up, if there is anything I should know, send a message!

A wonderful article in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Columbian by Scott Hewitt about the inspiration for What the Moon Did.

I'll be reading with others from my MFA program on Monday, April 3rd at 6:30. External link opens in new tab or windowHere is the link to join. External link opens in new tab or windowMore information on Facebook.

Enter the second External link opens in new tab or windowGoodreads Giveaway starting March 17-April 16. Signed book and moon swag!

My poem Vancouver Lake, Washington in the latest edition of External link opens in new tab or windowCatamaran.

Local launch for What the Moon Did! Vancouver/Portland friends, pals, family. Please come to my first reading in a bookstore for a long time. Saturday, March 18 at 2:00 pm (PST), at External link opens in new tab or windowBirdhouse Books in downtown Vancouver. Come for the story! Stay for the cookies and punch.

A poetry reading for the launch ofExternal link opens in new tab or window SHIFT, Volume 5. February 24, 2023 at 6 pm (CST). More information to come.

First reading for the launch of What the Moon Did at External link opens in new tab or windowLiterati Books in Ann Arbor, a Zoom reading on February 27 at 4 pm (PST)/7 pm (EST). JoinExternal link opens in new tab or window Darien Gee and me online as we talk books, generational healing, friendship, and staying the course as a novelist. Check the store's site External link opens in new tab or windowhere for log in information.

I will be signing books and talking story at AWP in Seattle, March 8-11. Please come see me at the Bookfair at the Flexible Press booth (T1401) the 9th from 11-12, at Sheila-Na-Gig's booth (T534) the 10th from 10:30-12, at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program booth (742) the 10th from 12-12:30, and at the Rainier Writers Workshop Booth (710) on the 11th from 2-3.External link opens in new tab or window Here's a searchable map.

If you missed the online reading/discussion at Literati Books, you can watch it External link opens in new tab or windowhere. Darien Gee and I talk about writing, inspiration, and how truth and fiction come together.

Launch day appearance: Appearing on External link opens in new tab or windowSarahlyn Bruck's blog and answering a few questions about External link opens in new tab or windowWhat the Moon Did, writing, and Italy.

Check out the digs for my novel External link opens in new tab or windowWhat the Moon Did on the Flexible Press page. Available in External link opens in new tab or windowKindle andExternal link opens in new tab or window paperback editions!

Enter the External link opens in new tab or windowGoodreads Giveaway for What the Moon Did, January 27-February 26.

Crackle, a flash piece about snails and not really about snails, at External link opens in new tab or windowBarely South.

A poem about odd messages found on birds in Stone Poetry Quarterly. External link opens in new tab or windowCatch It.

A poem for many issues:External link opens in new tab or window Disaster Poem in A Plate of Pandemic.

I love the title of this journal so much. Happy to have External link opens in new tab or windowLiving in an Aging Body in Hags on Fire.

A flash piece--External link opens in new tab or windowSpark's Ignite--won me an amazing online weekend of workshop with External link opens in new tab or windowWriting by Writers.

My poem God's Weekend Visit is a current finalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowSteve Kowit Poetry Prize. Results in January. Fingers crossed.(Uncross them, but still happy to have been a finalist.)

When the Telephone Had a Curly Cord inExternal link opens in new tab or window The Nonbinary Review.

My third poetry manuscript in a former form was a finalist in theExternal link opens in new tab or window Hillary Gravendyk Prize. Progress. Onward, etc.

Texlandia published this poem in a lovely journal, and now External link opens in new tab or windowPost-Apocalyptia is online. Click to page 76.

External link opens in new tab or windowWriter's Digest published a few of my thoughts about Shakespeare and how he continues to inform writing, four hundred years after his death.
 

Two poems--Going Without and Poets Against Dementia--in External link opens in new tab or windowdecember magazine.


External link opens in new tab or windowElegy for Everything--an elegy, no less--is in Coalesce.

My poem When the Telephone Had a Curly Cord was called out when I was received an International Merit Award from the External link opens in new tab or windowAtlanta Review.

My submission packet to the Baltic Writing Residency landed me a semi-finalist spot, which would be a sad thing except I was in a list of "non-winners" of high skill and talent. I will apply again!

This is a External link opens in new tab or windowfun list of five Shakespeare books I thought would only add pleasure to anyone's enjoyment of the bard.

Here's a External link opens in new tab or windowYouTube video produced by SNHU's MFA program. I've had the pleasure of teaching for them for four years, and was asked to chat about writing, genre, and time travel.

After eleven long years of submitting some form of a short story collection, Trick of the Porch Light will be published by External link opens in new tab or windowMouthfeel Press, Fall 2023.

My poem External link opens in new tab or windowMath Problem in The Curator.

Two shout-outs in one day (lord knows I could use them spread out). But huzzah! A External link opens in new tab or windowmention of my poem "External link opens in new tab or windowZoo Story" and  redux of "External link opens in new tab or windowIt's Not Just the Cat."

I have two poems inExternal link opens in new tab or window Jabberwock Review, Volume 42.2.

This poem--External link opens in new tab or windowStruck--was inspired by a sad dog loss. Here in Press 53. It appeared in January, and somehow, I missed its birth.
.
External link opens in new tab or windowEver Again, a flash fiction piece, appears in External link opens in new tab or windowCapsule Stories and their edition focused on "into the light."

My poemExternal link opens in new tab or window Barbie Dream in a celebratory Barbie-based edition of Limp Wrist.

Reading with quite an amazing group of poets, all of us writing to the theme of Barbie (her birthday is 3/9!).External link opens in new tab or window Join usExternal link opens in new tab or window for the reading on 3/16/ 2022 at 7 pm (EST). The poems go live 3/1 and 3/9 on External link opens in new tab or windowLimp Wrist.

Bad Behavior and Naming Conventions in the latest edition of External link opens in new tab or windowMollyhouse. Free to download.

Recent acceptances from Texlandia, Limp Wrist, December.

What Glory Chose, a short story that quite literally came from a dream, was the first runner-up in External link opens in new tab or windowStoryQuarterly's annual fiction contest and will be published this year with the other winners.

My poem Grim Honey is having a good day here on External link opens in new tab or windowVerse Daily.

Reading January 12! External link opens in new tab or windowFlash fiction Forum, a great reading series, now online. Please join us at 7 pm PST.

A nice review about Grim Honey External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

My latest poetry manuscript Ranch House at the End of the World was a finalist in the Ex Ophidia Press Poetry Book Prize. It is currently a finalist in Madville Press's contest. Let's see what happens next. What happened next, sadly, was that my manuscript was not picked. But onward!

A little bit of the backstory about my poem External link opens in new tab or windowDisagreeing with Gandhi, which appeared in the Bacopa Literary Review.

My poem External link opens in new tab or windowWhen I Wash Raspberries was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

My poem A Long Way From Home is happily ensconced in Tar River Poetry, Volume 61.

In other prize placement news, Grim Honey was a top notable book in the Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition. External link opens in new tab or windowClick to page 96.

I have the keen desire to sing External link opens in new tab or windowSomeday My Prince Will Come when thinking about my short story collection and its also-ranness. But still, happy to beExternal link opens in new tab or window longlisted for Steel Toe Books' annual contest.

Grim Honey won an honorable mention nod in theExternal link opens in new tab or window Royal Dragonfly Book Award for 2021. You have to scroll a bit if you want to see. Or search for the title.

I will be reading my poem Girl Bird Ready for the launch of Welter Online. Please join us here on External link opens in new tab or windowZoom. Tuesday, December 7th at 6 pm EST (3 pm PST). Read the poem External link opens in new tab or windowhere.

A zoo-based poem appears in External link opens in new tab or windowMiracle Monocle.

Revolute Lit nominated External link opens in new tab or windowAlice Takes Her Mother to a Funeral for 2021's Best of the Net prize.

I had a computer disaster just before part one of this workshop on writing grief and loss, but we ended up having a great time. Click here for the discussion in External link opens in new tab or windowpart one. Also available, External link opens in new tab or windowpart two, which was a critique of the participants' poems.

A wonderful interview about The Play's the Thing with Mandy Jackson-Beverly on External link opens in new tab or windowThe Bookshop Podcast.

Grim Honey is a Distinguished Favorite in the External link opens in new tab or windowNYC Big Book Award.

Please join me at a External link opens in new tab or windowQuiet Lightning reading on November 1 at 6 pm, PST.External link opens in new tab or window If you missed the reading, here is a External link opens in new tab or windowvideo (I'm third) but stay for some amazing work.

You can fast-forward a bit and then you will find me External link opens in new tab or windowhere chatting about poems, grief, and loss and how we write about them.

My poem "Disagreeing with Gandhi" appears in the latest edition of the External link opens in new tab or windowBacopa Literary Review.

My poem My Mother and I Join The Circus appear in The Oakland Review, volume XLVI, Spring 2021.

While the reviewer from the Historical Novel Society took a bit of umbrage over my changing of the facts--as well she should--this nice External link opens in new tab or windowreview of External link opens in new tab or windowThe Play's the Thing recently was published.

Will be reading my poemExternal link opens in new tab or window Alice Takes Her Mother to a Funeral with Randolph's MFA program folks and other contributors to Revolute's .002 edition on September 23 at 5 pm PST.

Listen to a External link opens in new tab or windowlovely chat with NPR's Suzanne Lang about Shakespeare (and love) and my poetry collection Grim Honey.

A multiple-choice prose piece in External link opens in new tab or windowSledgehammer.

A poem about my best friend Kris appears in External link opens in new tab or windowPure Slush's latest anthology on Friendship.

My story External link opens in new tab or windowLater, After, appears in Cuthroat's COVID Chronicles edition.

Excited to be on External link opens in new tab or windowthis list with fantastic writers.

I had such a great time chatting with C.P. Lesley on the New Books Network. Have aExternal link opens in new tab or window listen to the podcast. LitHub picked up the interview and posted itExternal link opens in new tab or window here with some nice graphics!

A wonderful External link opens in new tab or windowreview from my local paper The Columbian.

Very excited for two of my students--Pathrinathan Pathmanathan and Zachary Liebhaber--finalist and semi-finalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowAllegra Johnson Prize at UCLA Extension. So good to see these writers and their stories honored.

The last bit of the External link opens in new tab or windowmini-interview--a bit about poems that inspire.

I have made a bold, decade-long career of being a semifinalist and finalist in the Black Lawrence Hudson Prize contest. Scroll all the way down this list to find my first story collection named semifinalist in 2011. More placements--even finalist--a couple of times, but, as of yet, my short stories remain lauded but not published in a collection. However, thank you Black Lawrence for your External link opens in new tab or windowrecognition in the 2021 contest.

External link opens in new tab or windowPart four of the mini-interview. More about poems.

I had a great time talking with Evan Karp from Litseen. He is a true literary citizen, promoting and supporting writers and their work for years. He was kind enough to video my External link opens in new tab or windowshort reading from The Play's the Thing and present a really fun External link opens in new tab or windowQ and A.


Please join me for the External link opens in new tab or windowlast reading of the spring: a late but fun launch for Grim Honey. Afterword: this was a blast. If you missed it, External link opens in new tab or windowclick here.

A pandemic poem with tomatoes is here in this External link opens in new tab or windowpandemic project. Scroll or search for In the Pandemic Garden.

External link opens in new tab or windowA nice review of Grim Honey by Sunny Solomon, long-time book encourager.

A little moreExternal link opens in new tab or window mini-interview. One Q and one A about writing poems--just the right amount.

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Oregonian book newsletter had some nice things to say about The Play's the Thing.

A charmingExternal link opens in new tab or window mini-interview! Who needs more, really?


Feeling special because of my brand-new External link opens in new tab or windowPoets and Writers listing.

Here is the External link opens in new tab or windowFacebook Live event featuring The Play's the Thing with Chelsea Pieper and Suzanne Irving.

A fun External link opens in new tab or windowQ and A with Deborah Kalb.

This is a great site with loads of info on authors, including me this month! Thank you External link opens in new tab or windowAuthors Answer.

My former student Sarahlyn Bruck does blog wonders.External link opens in new tab or window Here I am as the featured writer.

A wonderful, indulgent interview about my poetry, poems, and Grim Honey here in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Poet.


Much of my poetry writing this past year has been prompted by the great folks at External link opens in new tab or windowTwo Sylvias Press. External link opens in new tab or windowAlice Takes Her Mother to a Funeral in Revolute Lit Mag is one of them (as is the poem below).

Hard to believe that two years ago, I had just returned from teaching a semester abroad in Florence. One of the most amazing parts of that experience was being with my older son for a month. Here is my poem External link opens in new tab or windowYou Over There, You in The Commuter this week (May 10-17).

Also hard to believe that over 40 years ago, Suzanne Irving and I were together at Miramonte High pursuing our dreams to be a writer (me) and an actor (Suzanne). On May 18th, we will be in conversation about all things Shakespeare, literature, and drama on this External link opens in new tab or windowFacebook Live event.

May giveaway of The Play's the Thing on External link opens in new tab or windowFreshFiction.

A wonderful review of External link opens in new tab or windowGrim Honey on The Oregon Poetry Association website.

My review of Alicia Hoffman's fantastic poetry collection Animal in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Lake.

My poetry collection External link opens in new tab or windowWhen We Almost Drowned is available.

NewPages lists Grim Honey on their External link opens in new tab or windowNew and Noteworthy Page.

My short story External link opens in new tab or windowJoyride published in The Portland Review.

Grim Honey is out and available and part of the External link opens in new tab or windowpromopalooza on Gyroscope Review.

My flash fiction piece External link opens in new tab or windowSwing Out published in Leon Literary Review.

An essay in External link opens in new tab or windowWriter's Digest about putting together a poetry collection.

External link opens in new tab or windowApril giveaway for The Play's the Thing on External link opens in new tab or windowFreshFiction!

My poem Photograph Late 1980s in External link opens in new tab or windowRuminate.

Read my recent blogs on External link opens in new tab or windowMedium.com.

A poem explaining the unexplainable: External link opens in new tab or windowThis is It in Cathexis Northwest Press.

Apparently my poem External link opens in new tab or windowPhotograph, Late 1980s was a finalist for the New Millennium Awards.

My flash fiction pieceExternal link opens in new tab or window It Rained All Night published in deLuge Journal.

External link opens in new tab or windowNorth American Review nominates Unripped for a Pushcart Prize, 2020.

My story Caught up on External link opens in new tab or windowPenDust Radio as an audio.

The Robin Does Not Know featured in External link opens in new tab or windowAdanna: Mothering in a Pandemic.

A pandemic ode to a pamplemousse in External link opens in new tab or windowGyroscope Review.

My poem Losing it Found published in External link opens in new tab or windowBurningword LIterary Journal.

My poetry manuscript External link opens in new tab or windowGrim Honey: Poems won Sheila-Na-Gig Editions' annual prize and will be published in 2021

Twenty years after my first novel was published, so nice to see a good review for External link opens in new tab or windowHer Daughter's Eyes.

So We Could Fight, a poem about fighting with childhood friends, was on the shortlist for the Macaron Prize at External link opens in new tab or windowCagibi Journal. My new goal is to be on as many lists as possible. Let's see what I can do.

My poem Grim Honey will be published inExternal link opens in new tab or window The Chacalaca Review, and I'll be reading 6/20 at 6 CST (4 pm PST) a la External link opens in new tab or windowZoom. Join us.

A bridesmaid who might get married: My collection Accepted Forms of Ruin made it to finalist in Blair Press' External link opens in new tab or windowBakwin award contest. Currently, it is being read by Carmen Maria Machado. Yes, indeed.Do I feel optimistic? Not really, But it is nice. Update: alas, an also-ran, but 1 of 3 finalists from over 160 manuscripts.

Nice to see this External link opens in new tab or windowline-up of colleagues at Southern New Hampshire University's website.

My pandemic poem, The Robin Does Not Know, wins second place in Negative Capability's Spring poetry contest.

External link opens in new tab or windowMy thoughts about writing sex scenes. An often troubling topic!

Honored to have my poetry collection When We Almost Drowned listed in Pretty Owl'sExternal link opens in new tab or window POP shop!

I was the featured poet-of-the day on Gyroscope's Poetry Month fandango. Click over to read my poem External link opens in new tab or windowHow to Roast a Pelican.

My essay on figuring out how to live during the pandemic--External link opens in new tab or windowAnne Frank Keeps Me Going--in Litbreak Magazine.

Definitely, hands down, the hardest thing to teach: External link opens in new tab or windowPoint-of-View.

Safari available in External link opens in new tab or windowForeign Literary.

My flash nonfiction piece External link opens in new tab or windowThis Decade in Atlas and Alice.

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Dry Years is now available to view online at The Worcester Review.

Frankly, I was thrilled to see External link opens in new tab or windowRubric/Grade Scale listed on Necessary Fiction'sExternal link opens in new tab or window Submittable page.

Listen to a reading of our times--online. Two Pulp Literature authors--Katherine Wagner and Douglas Smith--and I External link opens in new tab or windowread from our work and answer writing questions.

How Astonishing makes it all the way to runner-up in the North American Review's 2020 James Hearst Prize in Poetry. This poem and Unripped and I Forget About Fame will be published in the upcoming edition. Also, a reading, somewhere in the PNW, this year, once the virus passes.

Journal of the Former World appears in the External link opens in new tab or windowHouse of Zolo's first publication ever! Very exciting.

My creative nonfiction pieceExternal link opens in new tab or window Death and Other Coincidences, which by coincidence, is not the title I gave it, in Two Hawks Quarterly.

The Dry Years finds its way into the latest issue of External link opens in new tab or windowThe Worcester Review.

My poem Unripped is a finalist in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Sewanee Review poetry contest.

Please join me for a reading atExternal link opens in new tab or window Diablo Valley College for a reading November 7, 12:30. I'll be reading from my collection External link opens in new tab or windowWhen We Almost Drowned and some newer work.

My poem Grim Honey  a finalist in the Kallisto Gaia Julia Darling Memorial Poetry Prize.

My flash piece, External link opens in new tab or windowWatch Us Go in New Flash Fiction Review.

Curve, Wave appears in External link opens in new tab or windowGyroscope's Crone Power edition!

I'll be reading at the External link opens in new tab or windowOctopus Literary Salon on August 31 from 4-6. Join us!

My novel manuscript The Play's the Thing was picked up for publication by External link opens in new tab or windowTouchPoint Press. Look for it in 2021.

This nice little External link opens in new tab or windowwiki blurb appeared for my novel When You Believe. It made me want to read it (it's been a while).

External link opens in new tab or windowRubric/Grade Scale in Necessary Fiction (and it's about poetry).

Very happy for my former student Kari Flickinger and all her successes. External link opens in new tab or windowHere is an interview all about her.

Also very pleased for my former student External link opens in new tab or windowDaniel McClary's success in the Allegra Johnson contest, run through UCLA Ex. His novel Mahout is amazing, and it's only a matter of time before it's published.

What We Learn When We Learn Italian in the latest edition of External link opens in new tab or windowChiron, Spring 2019.

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Burning Hour, is available in External link opens in new tab or windowaudiobook format!

My short story collection--in its form Outside of Normal--was a semi-finalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowSundress Publications first fiction contest.

The Wigleaf nominates External link opens in new tab or windowKnock, Knock as one of their Top 50.

Storytime is included in the latest External link opens in new tab or windowTahoma Literary Review.

External link opens in new tab or windowKnock, Knock lives on. Dan Chaon picked it to appear inExternal link opens in new tab or window Best Microfiction 2019! Coming soon.

My poems Bon Soir is a Feeling Not a Time and Clarins (both set in France!) appear in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Pangolin Review.

Only a tiny bit about me: my former student Kerry Fisher is doing wild and amazing things out in the book world. Her fourth novel External link opens in new tab or windowThe Silent Wife picked up by Grand Central!

My poem External link opens in new tab or windowTea Party Photo was shortlisted on A3 Review's monthly theme contest on parties.

Love thatExternal link opens in new tab or window Knock, Knock showed up in a best short prose list for 2018. Thank you External link opens in new tab or windowClaire Polders.

External link opens in new tab or windowEscape Room in Press 53.

Outside of Normal, a ghost story, is inExternal link opens in new tab or window Community College Humanities Review.

My short story collection Accepted Forms of Ruin has been longlisted for the External link opens in new tab or windowDzanc Short Story Collection Prize.

Much appreciation for my finalist finish in theExternal link opens in new tab or window Hudson Prize at Black Lawrence Press.

A lovely External link opens in new tab or windowreview of my ebook External link opens in new tab or windowPrime.

In more bridesmaid news, The Dry Years was a finalist External link opens in new tab or windowhere as well.

The Dry Years receives an External link opens in new tab or windowhonorable mention from Glimmer Train. Yay!

My story Accepted Forms of Ruin is in the latest edition of External link opens in new tab or windowSouwester.

My collection of poetry When We Almost Drowned was a semi-finalist in Gold Wake Press's Spring Contest.

My short story A Quality of Happiness in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Tishman Review. Read it in Kindle.

Though it would appear the writer hoped I'd retire sooner, a lovely article in DVC's External link opens in new tab or windowInquirer.

External link opens in new tab or windowLate Night Selfies, an early version, in Thoughtful Dog.

Kind of a fantastic review for my Kindle book External link opens in new tab or windowWhere I am Now. I love this story, and it never found a traditional home. But there are 19 reviews on Goodreads, and this External link opens in new tab or windowone made me very happy.

My flash piece External link opens in new tab or windowKnock, Knock on External link opens in new tab or windowmatchbook.


My creative nonfiction piece "Until One Day They Are" appears in External link opens in new tab or windowHoly Shit: Bathroom Reading for Irregular Christians.

I will be reading from my story Spain, 1933 at External link opens in new tab or windowDeep Vellum Books, November 30th at 6:30. This is the launch party forExternal link opens in new tab or window Reunion: the Dallas Review.

The Burning Hour wins first place in External link opens in new tab or windowWesterns.

New Episode of Jane the Virgin Now Available (a poem, not a commercial) is up on External link opens in new tab or windowThe Paddock Review.

Monsters in the Agapanthus is published once again, and in fine form in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Coil.

My collection Jungles of America was a finalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowCypress and Pine Fiction Series.


External link opens in new tab or windowThe Burning Hour is a External link opens in new tab or window2017 WILLA Awards finalist in contemporary fiction. Read more about the awardExternal link opens in new tab or window here.

I'm excited to read my short story "This," which appeared in Great Weather for Media's new anthology, External link opens in new tab or windowThe Other Side of Violet at External link opens in new tab or windowAlley Cat Books on November 3rd at 7 pm and November 4th at theExternal link opens in new tab or window Octopus Lounge in Oakland.

I will be reading with a number of amazing writers at
External link opens in new tab or windowWhy There Are Words Sausalito on August 10th at 7 pm. Please join us!

In September, some of my MFA pals and I will be presenting at theExternal link opens in new tab or window Montana Book Festival. The panel is titled: Don't Go Home, Go Small: A panel on publishing with a small press. September 27-October 1.

I will be presenting and doing writing critiques forExternal link opens in new tab or window Write on the Sound, October 7-8. Sign up now!

Really wonderful to listen to  students External link opens in new tab or windowread their work at Diablo Valley College, the culmination of the writing contest.

My poem "External link opens in new tab or windowPrivet" in External link opens in new tab or windowSheila-Na-Gig.

"This" available August 1st in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Other Side of Violet from great weather for MEDIA.

Monsters in the Agapanthus is a finalist in the 2017 Luminaire Award for Best Prose at Alternating Current's The Coil.

My short story External link opens in new tab or windowAccepted Forms of Ruin received a Honorable Mention from External link opens in new tab or windowGlimmer Train Magazine.

The Burning Hour is a finalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowNational Indie Excellence Awards in Best Regional Fiction West.

My poem External link opens in new tab or windowHow to Roast a Pelican in External link opens in new tab or windowCrack the Spine (both seem like bad advice, right?)

Find me at the RWW table 550-T on Friday from 2-3.30 at AWP!


My essay External link opens in new tab or windowTo My Forties appears in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Chaos.

External link opens in new tab or windowTheft, a piece written for a MOOC at the University of Iowa, appears in External link opens in new tab or windowPretty Owl Poetry.
And External link opens in new tab or windowHunting, another piece written for that class, in External link opens in new tab or windowObra/Artifact.

I'll be atExternal link opens in new tab or window Meachum at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga March 23-25 for Meachum.

I will be participating atExternal link opens in new tab or window Authors on the Move for the Sacramento Public Library, March 4.

External link opens in new tab or windowOld Cadillac People published by Scintilla Press.

External link opens in new tab or windowNot Once nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Burning Hour has been honored as a "Winner" in the "Fiction: Western" category in the External link opens in new tab or windowBest Book Awards.

MyExternal link opens in new tab or window poetic attempt at trying to figure out the election on External link opens in new tab or windowBarely South's blog.

My poem External link opens in new tab or windowSugar Bowl in the latest edition of External link opens in new tab or windowLime Hawk.

Nice review ofExternal link opens in new tab or window The Burning Hour from Ann Ronald, author of External link opens in new tab or windowFriendly Fallout 1953 and  retired dean of University of Reno, Nevada's English Department.

Rachel Finally Red in External link opens in new tab or windowEunoia Review

I will be talking about POV at External link opens in new tab or windowWrite on the Sound on October 1st. Book signing that evening. Hope to see you.

External link opens in new tab or windowNantucket in External link opens in new tab or windowFive on the Fifth . And just nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Alert the media! I will be at the External link opens in new tab or windowMontana Book Festival September 23-24th.

It's happened before and it didn't happen again! But I'm pleased that my short fiction collection External link opens in new tab or windowJungles of America and Other Stories was a finalist in the Hudson Prize. Uncross all digits. The same collection was longlisted for External link opens in new tab or windowStillhouse's Fiction Contest. and that, unfortunately, didn't pan out either. Time to regroup.


External link opens in new tab or windowThree, Four, Five, External link opens in new tab or windowNot Once, External link opens in new tab or windowLeaving Mr. Wong and several other short stories are now available on Audible.com

Roommates is a finalist in Ruminate's 2016 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize. So two years a semi-finalist and now this. I might get there someday.

My short story External link opens in new tab or windowRoommates inExternal link opens in new tab or window Palaver Journal

Caught and Other Stories a finalist in External link opens in new tab or windowPress 53's Award for Short Fiction

My short story Attachment Disorder in External link opens in new tab or windowCrossborder: A Journal of Fiction





External link opens in new tab or windowRemains wins an editor's prize and is published on External link opens in new tab or windowWaypoints

External link opens in new tab or windowJungles of America in External link opens in new tab or windowThe East Bay Review

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Room of Wonders in External link opens in new tab or windowLitbreak

A zombie apocalypse. ReallyExternal link opens in new tab or window. A World That Certainly Didn't in External link opens in new tab or windowMarathon

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Brightness of Things in External link opens in new tab or windowTinge

External link opens in new tab or windowTriggers is up on the External link opens in new tab or windowWatershed Review

External link opens in new tab or windowSummer Water in theExternal link opens in new tab or window London Journal of Fiction

Poem External link opens in new tab or windowCourtship Poem of the Week at External link opens in new tab or windowWest Trestle Review

Jungles of America an Honorable Mention in the External link opens in new tab or windowHelen Literary Magazine Short Story Contest.

External link opens in new tab or windowNight Monsters in External link opens in new tab or windowYellow Chair Review

External link opens in new tab or windowTwo Days of Magical Thinking in External link opens in new tab or windowGravel

All the Time in the World a semi-finalist in theExternal link opens in new tab or window Hudson Prize.

External link opens in new tab or windowCaught appears with very cool illustrations in External link opens in new tab or windowBuffalo Almanack

External link opens in new tab or windowHiggns' Ghost now available in snippet form on External link opens in new tab or windowYour Impossible Voice and in hard copy, too.

Flash nonfiction External link opens in new tab or windowBackseat in External link opens in new tab or windowFoliate Oak

Poems Guide in West Trade Review and External link opens in new tab or windowWhat To Do If You're Choking in The Virginia Normal

External link opens in new tab or windowGertrude published in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Literary Nest

External link opens in new tab or windowLeaving Mr. Wong wins the 2015 Dr. Nella C. Seshachari 2015 from External link opens in new tab or windowThe Weber Review

External link opens in new tab or windowThis Ain't No Party published on External link opens in new tab or windowPithead Chapel

As if Happiness Were Sky in the anthology External link opens in new tab or windowCreature of Habitat


Listen to my interview with Suzanne Lang on External link opens in new tab or windowKRCBA

Some haiku SPAM for your enjoyment at External link opens in new tab or windowEckleburg


Thoughts about beginnings on External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious



Not Once finalist in the External link opens in new tab or windowDriftless Prize in Fiction



Essay about Procrastination in External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious

External link opens in new tab or windowFour Tips for Writing for the Romance Market in External link opens in new tab or windowWriter's Digest

Thinking about External link opens in new tab or windowresearch on External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious

ELJ publishes External link opens in new tab or windowIt Would All Happen in Barcelona

Woodrunner eChapbooks publishes my fiction chapbook External link opens in new tab or windowMonsters in the Agapanthus

Craft essay on the unreliable narrator on External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious

Craft essay on problems with point-of-view now in External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious

External link opens in new tab or windowSExternal link opens in new tab or windowneakers inExternal link opens in new tab or window Hawaii Pacific Review

External link opens in new tab or windowOnce a Month  in External link opens in new tab or windowSplit Lip

My External link opens in new tab or windowessay about the process of writing External link opens in new tab or windowBoots inExternal link opens in new tab or window Compose.

Craft essay on writing sex scenes on External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious

My short story collection The Possibility of Fire was a finalist in the Tartt First Fiction contest. Argh!

External link opens in new tab or windowLuck in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Boiler

External link opens in new tab or windowOCD Day iExternal link opens in new tab or windown Burrow  Press Review  and nominated for a External link opens in new tab or windowPushcart Prize

External link opens in new tab or windowBig as the World in External link opens in new tab or windowPer Contra

External link opens in new tab or windowThree Witches in External link opens in new tab or windowClare Literary Journal

A nice write up about How to Bake a Man in the External link opens in new tab or windowOrinda News

Jessica's new novel How to Bake a Man forthcoming from External link opens in new tab or windowGhostwoods Books

External link opens in new tab or windowBoots in External link opens in new tab or windowCompose: A Journal of Simply Good Writing

External link opens in new tab or windowMonsters in the Agapanthus in External link opens in new tab or windowLunch Ticket

External link opens in new tab or windowFailure to Disperse published in External link opens in new tab or windowStoryacious

External link opens in new tab or windowTurnip published in External link opens in new tab or windowBay Laurel

External link opens in new tab or windowEl Camino published in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Flagler Review

External link opens in new tab or windowFinally on External link opens in new tab or windowShark Week Stories

All the Time in the World published in Fat City Review

External link opens in new tab or windowSkin Changer published in External link opens in new tab or windowPrime Number

External link opens in new tab or windowFrankenstein Goes to the Bathroom wins second-place in External link opens in new tab or windowThe Missing Slate's Halloween Contest

External link opens in new tab or windowWere in External link opens in new tab or windowBlastFurnace

External link opens in new tab or windowIndiscriminationExternal link opens in new tab or window inExternal link opens in new tab or window SPC Tule Review

External link opens in new tab or windowMuseum now in External link opens in new tab or windowRose Red Review

External link opens in new tab or windowChipped published in External link opens in new tab or windowGravel

External link opens in new tab or windowBrace published in External link opens in new tab or windowFoliate Magazine

External link opens in new tab or windowKneeJerk Magzine publishes External link opens in new tab or windowHe Grabbed Me

External link opens in new tab or windowGenerations publishes She's Been Through Too Much, available in hard copy September 2013.

External link opens in new tab or windowSouth85 publishes poems External link opens in new tab or windowAutomatic Rapture and External link opens in new tab or windowIt's Not Just the Cat

External link opens in new tab or windowGingerbread House Literary Magazine publishesExternal link opens in new tab or window Before Waking Her Up

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Lindenwood Review publishes Starving

External link opens in new tab or windowOutside In: Travel and Literary Journal publishes External link opens in new tab or windowCrown

Carve Magazine presents External link opens in new tab or windowThe Possibility of Fire  an Esoteric Award.

External link opens in new tab or windowMason's Road publishes External link opens in new tab or windowThree, Four, Five

External link opens in new tab or windowLitrouk.com publishes External link opens in new tab or windowThe Sausage Class.

External link opens in new tab or windowHarry Opens It published in External link opens in new tab or windowEdge

 External link opens in new tab or windowFlywheel Magazine nominates External link opens in new tab or windowTuna for the Apocalypse for the External link opens in new tab or window2012 Million Writers Award

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Mom Egg publishes Jessica's poem Bedtime Story.

 Three poems appear in External link opens in new tab or windowStraight Forward Poetry, pages 6-8

Jessica's essay External link opens in new tab or windowThe Man Raft in the Winter Edition of External link opens in new tab or windowThe Coachella Review

Jessica's poem External link opens in new tab or windowSabotage in Flywheel Magazine online

Jessica's short story Harry Opens It  finalist in Cutthroat Journal's Rick DiMarinis Short Story contest.

External link opens in new tab or windowThe Anarchist's Mother in audio on External link opens in new tab or windowWordPlaysound.

Essay External link opens in new tab or windowLook at him on the Edge in The Whistling Fire

Jessica's poem External link opens in new tab or windowImpossible Things now in the online journal External link opens in new tab or windowSwitched on Gutenberg

Jessica's short story Marco on the Beach appearing now in audio on External link opens in new tab or windowThe Drum Literary Magazine. 

External link opens in new tab or windowPear, a poem that appeared in External link opens in new tab or windowSpittoon, has been nominated by the editors for the Sundress Press' 2012 "Best of the Net" anthology.

Jessica's short story manuscript Tuna for the Apocalypse  was named a finalist in The Black Lawrence Press'  2011 Hudson Prize Contest:

External link opens in new tab or windowBlack Lawrence Press Hudson Prize Finalists

And in 2012, a revised, new, perhaps not superior manuscript was named semi-finalist:

External link opens in new tab or windowBlack Lawrence Press Hudson Prize Finalists

Note that the winner wrote a few finalist manuscripts, so I have a feeling they like him!