If you're looking for something to do in Connecticut this Thursday, I'd like to invite you join me and about a dozen other poets who will be reading at the Westport Arts Center from 7pm-8:30pm.  The event is titled "Poetic Inspiration - Readings and Reflections," and includes such local luminaries as Laurel S. Peterson, the Poet Laureate of Norwalk, and Charles Rafferty, an award-winning poet whose work has appeared in a zillion prestigious journals, including The New Yorker, O, The Oprah Magazine, Ploughshares and Prairie Schooner.

The theme of the reading is to include poets "whose work responds to our times and the challenges we face."  The event is open to all ages, and will also feature several younger poets from the community.

So stop by the Center, located at 51 Riverside Avenue in Westport, say hi, and enjoy some great poetry and art!

The prolific and talented writer Paul Beckman runs a monthly reading series at KGB Bar in New York City.  On Friday, February 2nd, yours truly will take part in "F Bomb NY: Flash Fiction Reading Series" in the Red Room.  I will join six very accomplished writers: Gessy Alvarez, Madeline Artenberg, Nancy Ludmerer, Courtney Sender, Anne Weisgerber and Francine Witte.

​So if you'd like to hear some amazing flash fiction and have a drink or two, stop by KGB Bar on Groundhog's Day at 85 E 4th Street.  The event will take place from 7-9pm.  Hope to see you there!

Admittedly, there's been a LOT of radio silence on my blog/website the past few months.  I could blame things happening in real life that took me away from the writing life, which is true.  I could say that I had the holidays, traveling across the country, and three kids' birthdays to contend with.  I could talk about the leak in our roof that turned our house into a construction zone for months, which was extremely stressful.

But I think the ABSOLUTE truth of the matter is that I'm my own boss.  And as the year drew to a close, I had a hard time juggling everything, and my website suffered the most neglect.  I didn't have someone looking over my shoulder and nagging me when I failed to post blogs.  So while I felt EXTREMELY guilty when I didn't put up holiday photos or talk about all my New Year's writing resolutions, that guilt was not motivating enough to get me off my tush and into the computer chair.  I threatened to fire myself, but myself laughed in my face and said I didn't dare.

Or something like that.

BUT that does not mean that there wasn't a ton of stuff going on behind the scenes, even if I wasn't talking about it here.  A few months ago, I hinted that I had some big news coming, and that's still in the works.  I should have an announcement to make in the next couple of months.  I've also had interest in one of the novels I'm writing from a major publisher, so I need to finish writing/editing the book to see if they like the second half as much as the first part!

So stay tuned - this website will be getting warmed up again in the next few weeks as I backpost all the things that have been going on in my writerly world since October.  And considering how cold the East Coast has been this winter so far, a little warmth will help take the chill off!  We spent the holidays visiting my folks in California, so we went from this:

to this:

​Although, despite the freezing temperatures, I'm happy to be back home again.  I think Dorothy had it right.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season  and I wish you much joy in 2018.