2018

Another year passes with its share of highs and lows and much staid space in between. This was a difficult year for me, both personally and professionally, but I can't say those hardships didn't result in much growth. Looking back, it was a real rollercoaster of a year filled with pain, sadness, and poor decision making, but also lots of love, fun, and great experiences as well. Despite any difficulties, I accomplished a lot and have much to be grateful for. I feel very fortunate to have retained some amazing people in my life, while at the same time jettisoning those unworthy of my time and energy.

As usual, I edited the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter issues of HST Quarterly. Also, I wound up getting a good start on the second volume of Horror Sleaze Trash: Prose in Poor Taste! I was genuinely surprised we received enough quality submissions to begin compiling yet another volume of 300+ pages in just over a year since the last one, but if we continue at this rate, this anthology just might become an annual thing.

Keeping on the subject, Horror Sleaze Trash finally branched out onto social media in a big way, and we launched a completely new website to boot. Be sure to find us there and on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter as well, if any of those are your kind of thing. Many thanks to HST Associate Editor India LaPlace for heading up the necessary evil that is our new social media department! Whoever said Millennials weren't good for anything?

While I didn't publish much of my own writing this year, I did manage to place poems in two issues of EZ.P.ZINE from Pyre Publishing. Many thanks to A. Lynn Blumer for graciously accepting "All the Whores in Amsterdam" in Bird in Paradise and "Spades" in Reap What You Sow.

Besides all that, my daughter graduated from college! Photographic evidence here. Immensely proud of the fine young lady my little girl has grown up into.

Also, I visited Japan! This was my third time over there in the span of eight years, and I'm still not sick of it yet. I can speak to most people without much embarrassment, I know the train system like the back of my hand, and I've rounded out my knowledge of the main island's cities and geography. Next time, Hokkaido!

And then, to cap things off, I actually made it home for the holidays for the first time in nearly a decade of living out west. It was a great time spent in Michigan and I'm glad I went, but needless to say that I've lost my tolerance for REAL cold would be the understatement of the year...

So, there you have it. Another year of ups and downs, productivity and utter waste. I like to think I'm getting better at this thing called life with each passing year, but it could be that I'm just one lucky cat. Do I have enough of my nine lives remaining to make it through 2019? Stay tuned to find out!

xoxoxox,

AG