October News

Happy Halloween, friends! It’s the most wonderful time of the year. I hope you’re enjoying spooky thrills and candy and pumpkin spice treats! 

If you're interested, there are several free horror reads right here on this blog. My horror novella, Our Miss Engel, is available on Amazon, Smashwords, and other retail sites. 

First, I will be a co-host at this year’s SpookFest, which will be held tomorrow, Oct. 30, starting at 6 pm CST. There’s still time to sign up if you’d like to read at the open mic. (If you would like to read, please register on Zoom so we can send you the event link.) Bring your spookiest horror stories and poems, or a personal paranormal experience you’d like to share. There will be a costume contest – winner gets a $25 gift card. Hope to see you there!

I'm thrilled to share one more Best of the Net nom came in after I posted my news last month. This one was for my poem, "A Seat at the Table." My deepest thanks to my dear friend and editor at the Rye, John Patrick Robbins, who has graciously given so many of my words a home, and congrats to my fellow nominees!

 

In publication news, my poem, “St. Teresa’s Day” appeared—again, in the Rye Whiskey. This poem is a cadralor, so if you’re interested in learning more about that form, I hope you give it a read.

“March,” appears on pages 209-212 in the latest issue of Open Skies Quarterly. The magazine is available as a free PDF, as well as in paper and hardback. Many thanks to editor Keith E. Sparks, Jr.

“Abundance,” appeared in Sledgehammer Lit! Many thanks to editor J. Archer Avary.

It is also my honor to share that Gleam: A Journal of the Cadralor Issue 3 is now out. We hosted a launch party for contributing poets to read their work. I'm so proud to be a member of this editorial team, and many thanks to all the cadraloreans who submitted their beautiful pieces. For those who don’t know, the cadralor is a new poetic form. The Gleam website has detailed info on what they are and how to write one. We’ve also added an editors' cadralor section as examples for future submitters to explore. My poem, "Baby's Breath," is included there. We are not yet open for submissions for Issue 4. I will announce on my social media pages when we are, as well as any other events, like workshops.