Feels like it’s been a while.  I’ve got a writing announcement to share this Thursday, so I’ll keep this post focused on what else I’ve been up to.  Earlier this month, my family went to Hawaii to celebrate my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary!  We’d all been planning this trip since before COVID.  It was so nice to vacation with both of my sisters’ families too, letting my kids hang out with all their cousins.  We went to Oahu and did all kinds of touristy things. We stayed at the Disney Aulani resort, where I got to experience my first lazy river (very fun!).  From our balcony, we could see the giant koi fish, the yellow inner tubes snaking along the waterway, and the snorkelers with their equally yellow life vests. 

Yes, I got my snorkeling fix, and when I went with my younger son, he even pointed out one fish he spotted having its gills cleaned by a smaller fish. 

We all went to the Dole Plantation, Pearl Harbor, and a luau on the beach where at one point my parents got to stand up (along with all the other couples celebrating an anniversary) while we cheered wildly.  One highlight for me was hiking through the Waimea Valley botanical garden to the waterfall.  We got rained on big time, and it was lovely.  Here in Portland we get our fair share of rain, but it’s different.  It isn’t something you experience with your shoulders bared. 

And I took lots of photos of foresty stairways.

After the extended family parted ways, my family of four stayed in the Waikiki area of Honolulu.  We took a sunset cruise one evening when the waves turned really rocky.  The boat even turned around sooner than planned.  We found it quite the fun adventure. 

We also had a great time at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  The evening show applied a storyline to the showcase of music and dancing from different Polynesian islands.  It really shows the power of character arc.  And I know I’m not focusing on writing in this post, but I had to share that on our way to the center, we passed a place called Haiku Village, and my mind went straight to poetry. 

Once we got home…I had to quarantine for COVID.  I’m gradually getting back into a more regular routine while trying to stay cool in this heatwave.  I did pass a milestone that made me eligible to join the local belly dance troupe for whom I’ve been an on-and-off guest dancer over the past few years.  We’ve got a performance coming up this weekend; I might opt not to do a solo this time, as I’m still recovering. 

I still remember those early pandemic days when the concept of travel felt so out of reach.  I swore I wouldn’t take it for granted.  I’m so grateful we got to go on this vacation and especially honor my parents. So many wonderful memories.

Kingdoms in the Wild just announced the longlist for their 2022 poetry prize, and a chapbook manuscript of mine made the cut!  They’ll announce the winner early next month.  (I have other poetry news to share soon.) 

Also in August is the Willamette Writers Conference here in Portland.  It was the first writer’s conference I ever attended, yeeears before my first sale.  It was a defining moment for an impressionable young writer, which I wrote about in my second blog post ever.  I’m excited to go to the conference in person this year, be among fellow writers, learn from speakers and panelists, and come away energized and inspired.

I’m very excited to have two poetry reprints come out today. 

This is the first time that “The Fabulous, Interconnected Living Root Bridges of the Fairies” is available to read online, for free.  Once again, The Hyacinth Review paired my poem up with delightful art, as they did with “Sea Grass Supplication.”  If you like written works steeped in nature imagery, do give their site a read.  (And if you enjoyed this fairy poem of mine, you may also like my poem “A Pixie Built a Human House” and my novelette “A Petrified Heart.”) 

Speaking of nature writing, if you like oceanic imagery in particular, then the magazine the tide rises, the tide falls is for you.  They’ve reprinted my poem “Merfolk in the Ghost Net” alongside other works that harken to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” in one way or another. (And if you liked this poem of mine—and perhaps want something less bleak—you might enjoy my flash story “Exchange (A Coral Study) and my poem “The Ichthyocentaur Beyond Marginalia.”) 

I’ve added a third part to my series of essays for Sidequest about the particulars of crafting poems about video games.  In “Level Up Your Poetry: The Name of the Game Is Immersion,” I examine the role of immersive experiences in both verse and digital gaming, and I focus on how you can play off of these expectations in readers and gamers for greater impact.

Tomorrow is the third and final online reading of this year’s nominees for the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem.  Presented by the SFPA, and hosted by Akua Lezli Hope, these events have been a great way to hear a variety of speculative poets reading their work.  I’m looking forward to participating. 

In other poetry news, I’m very pleased to have a poem forthcoming in the anthology Triangulation: Energy.  I’ve also got a couple of poetry reprints and a new essay due out soon—and yes, the essay is about poetry.  In fact, it’s a continuation of my series for Sidequest on crafting video game poetry.

Still pinching myself to make sure this isn’t a (very good) dream, but I’ve sold a story to Nightmare!  Fittingly, it’s a horror story based on a nightmare I had.  It’s called “Until It Has Your Reflection.”  More details will be forthcoming, but I wanted to share the news—before I wake up, ha.

Lookie what I recently got: copies of Wyngraf and the 2022 Rhysling Anthology.  Gorgeous covers, right?  I know I’m biased, but I really like the contents as well. 

Also, I have new story news to share soon.

Hot on the heels of my cozy fantasy story in Wyngraf, I’m pleased to share that my horror flash story “Bone Chill of a Too-Wide Smile” has been reprinted in Medusa Tales.  This story first appeared in Thrilling Tales (behind a paywall), so this is the first time it’s been available in a couple years, and it’s free!  Of course, if you’d like to savor this whole digital magazine about dehumanizing transformations, a theme I particularly enjoy, there’s also an option to purchase the issue.

The day has finally arrived!  It’s time for cozy fantasy, courtesy of the inaugural issue of Wyngraf.  My story in the issue, “A Petrified Heart,” has its roots in my childhood, growing up in a neighborhood filled with oak trees with lots of acorn halves all over the ground.  You can see the influence very early on in the story.  I used to gather some of them with bits of bark, fallen rhododendron flowers in our backyard, and even a berry or two from my mom’s bushes to set up little fairy place settings. 

I also always loved the piece of petrified wood pictured here, which my parents kept on a shelf. 

Needless to say, I really enjoyed the worldbuilding on this one.

I’m delighted that The Hyacinth Review has reprinted my poem “Sea Grass Supplication.”  They always pair their selections with lovely art, and I’m very pleased with the image they’ve chosen for mine as it reminds me very much of the knoll that inspired this poem.  “Sea Grass Supplication” originally appeared in The Curator Magazine. 

As for one of my other poems, the 2022 Rhysling Anthology is available – and speaking of lovely art, I think the cover is gorgeous.