New Story Out, Two Poems Published, and Cosplay News!

New Poem: I Need to Switch to LEDs Come Hear Me Read On Story Hour!

New Story Out, Two Poems Published, and Cosplay News!

It’s been a long while since I had any writing news to share, but I do have some now! On August 1st, Wyngraf, the Magazine of Cozy Fantasy, released their first anthology of flash fiction originally posted on their website. I had sent them a very small story last year as a Flash Friday consideration, and the editor decided to hold onto it, so he could release it as one of four brand new stories in the anthology, The Little Cozy Book. There are several ways to purchase the anthology at the link, and I’m so happy to see my story, “She Waits, Having Breathed Love on the Salt Air,” in the world!

Also in writing news: earlier this year, my alma mater opened submissions to alumni to be published in the 80th Anniversary edition of their campus literary journal, The Fioretti. I sent them a couple of my more literary poems and was delighted the student editors chose both of them to be published. They even featured one of my poems as the first selection in the journal. It always gives me a little thrill to see my words in print, and I feel especially honored that they will be forever archived at the university where I made lifelong friends and continued my love of creative writing (even though my degree was in Early Childhood Education). The journal is not for sale, but I did go ahead and take pics of my poems in print form to share:

An image of a page in a literary journal with the following poem printed it on it: Between Our Toes - Amanda Cook, '00/My youngest asked me/What is sand?/A mountain, dear/Crumbled by wind and water/It came from the stars/Like us, dear/Wind and time/Washes us clean/Leaving only memories/My youngest asked me/What is sand?/Cliffs and boulders, dear/Crumbled by sea and time/My spouse cut in/White sand is the digested remains of coral./We slip our toes into skeletons/Sticking to sunscreened skin/Time clings to our soles

An image of a poem printed on a page that reads: Trust Fall - Amanda Cook '00On a beach hugging the AtlanticI watched a gull in explosive breezesIts wings inverted V’s white belly Black head black wing tipsHe sat on an air current just sat thereTrusting the windTo hold him up a stringless kiteA still image of a white bird against blue sky

In other news, I’ve been back to attending conventions, writing and otherwise. In June, I had an amazing time at Fourth Street Fantasy in Minneapolis, where panelists spoke on a variety of topics related to writing fantasy and science fiction (like “Modeling Complex Systems,” “Getting by on Vibes,” and “Reclaiming Narratives”), and I finally was able to see much of my online writing community in person again.

And just this past weekend was Gen Con in Indianapolis, which is a highlight for my family every year. We love to play board games, but I also love to sew and cosplay. My friend, Rhonda, and I decided to cosplay as the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s book/Amazon series “Good Omens” this year. Not only did we have the best time walking around the con as this unlikely pair of friends, but we also received “Gen Con 2023 Hall Cosplay Contest Award Winner” ribbons for our cosplay. It was the first time either of us has ever received an award for our costumes, and we were thrilled!

Two women in KN95 masks dressed as the angel Aziraphale, with a blong wig and tartan bow tie, and the demon Crowley, in a black blazer, red wig, and round black sunglasses, hold up purple award ribbons printed with the words

That’s it for the big news for now. School is in full swing here already, and I will be back into my routine of writing and sewing while I have the house to myself. It’s been a year of mostly rejections, so I’m hoping I can find a groove and get more short stories out into the world soon. I may have news on that front yet, so stay tuned!

As your reward for getting through this long update, have a doggo pic.