July News

Hello, friends. I hope you’re having a great summer! I have some very exciting news to share!

My poetry chapbook, High Water Lines, has been selected for the Prolific Press International Chapbook series! High Water Lines is a collection of poems about poverty and the working poor. I don’t have a release date yet, but I will be sure to update regularly on my social media sites. (Look! Their symbol is a bunny! You O4S fans out there will know why this makes me ridiculously happy.)

I have also received notification that my poem, "Hirsute Woman," was selected by readers and a panel of judges to be included in the Anniversary Edition of Voice of Eve Magazine. Huge, huge thanks to editor Richard Holleman for leading this amazing magazine for women's voices.

Also, Duane Vorhees, who has been so gracious as to regularly give my work a home, interviewed me for Duane’s New PoeTree Blog.

Here are my latest publications:

The Mojave River Review. My poems "Kitten Love" and "Casino Christmas" can be found on page 175.

Ponder Savant’s Art of Depression series. Many thanks to editor Mia Savant for including my poem, “Paper Wasps.”

The Wild Word’s Long Summer Nights issue. I am always thrilled to add to my list of international publications, and The Wild Word is based in Berlin! Thank you to editor Kusi Okamura for including my poems, “Return,” “Jesus Flicks,” and “Girl with a Cigarette.” Ich bin ein Berliner!

Reviews on Requiem for a Robot Dog (Cajun Mutt Press) are starting to come in on Amazon! The first was five stars:

"Requiem for a Robot Dog is an excellent collection of poems, thought-provoking and gorgeously written. Curl up and ponder life with this book from the big terrors to the little miracles. Let Lauren’s words fill your mind and your heart with their joys and sorrows. You won’t regret it."

Another five-star review called it, "Engaging, thought-provoking work. Bravo!" 

Requiem also got a mention in Literary Mama’s editor’s recommendations. Allison Blevins, poet, editor of The Harbor Review, and editorial assistant at Literary Mama, wrote:

"I left this book with more questions about myself and my world than when I entered. Requiem for a Robot Dog is truly a liminal space holding up a mirror to our culture and beliefs and shared experiences."

Many thanks to these kind readers for their feedback!

For you O4S fans out there, I am making slow but steady progress on the final book. I just hit the 79,000-word mark. I'm still hoping to have a draft done by the end of the year. I have some O4S trivia and other bonus material planned for the coming months.

Thank you, friends, for stopping by! I am so grateful for your support and your readership.