Pulse: soon to be included in The Black Napkin Issue 4

I took a long break the last couple of years, both from submitting my work to literary journals and from performing it, while I taught myself the business of independent publishing, releasing Whispers in 2014 and then Switch in 2015. My last performance (until this month) was in July of 2015. My last inclusion in a journal was in Issue 8.1 of The Ottawa Arts Review, which was released in August of 2014.

This month, I’ve taken a turn back to my roots, and I couldn’t be happier. On July 2nd, I performed a poetry set at Poets @ ArtFest II, a wonderful event arrange by the ever amazing Bruce Kauffman. On July 18th, I attended the Poetry Show, arranged by Andréa Prins of the Kingston Poetry Collective, where I watched an amazing set by Kay Kassirer and participated in the open mic between sets. And just last weekend, I attended the Limestone Genre Expo, where I had the opportunity to participate in panels with other wonderful authors – some I know well, some I don’t see nearly often enough, and some that I met for the first time – on topics ranging from the Feminist Journey to the Evolution of the Young Adult Market to Horror Trends, as well as doing an hour long reading from Whispers.

I’ve also begun submitting the stories and poetry I’ve written over the last two years to journals and magazines – work that has been moldering in dark drawers for far too long. And, to my great surprise, I woke up this morning to my first acceptance. Pulse, a poem that is near and dear to my heart, will be published in Volume 1: Issue 4 of The Black Napkin Press. This issue is scheduled to be published in August – exactly two years after my last inclusion. Be sure to follow Black Napkin, so that you can see Pulse as soon as Issue 4 is released.

I feel like I’m headed in the right direction, and I want to thank everyone who has stuck by me along the way. It’s been quite a ride, and it’s only going to get better from here.