Midweek Notes from a Practicing Writer

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Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay

Three quick things:

1. Author Photo Update

This past Monday was the day of the shoot for the author photo for my forthcoming poetry collection (Birthright). Although I was anxious ahead of time, both the photographer and the makeup artist really put me at ease.

Next up: reviewing the photos and selecting a couple of “finalist” options.

2. Latest Publication

Also on Monday, the 929 site turned its attention to Judges 11. Included among the explorations of that chapter: my piece titled “Eight Weeks with Jephthah’s Daughter.”

3. Mentorship and Memories

One of my “unofficial” current activities these days involves serving as a mentor for a high-school senior’s independent project on short-story writing. The senior is question is my “nephew” Alex (my cousin’s son), and this week brought a list of interview questions, which Aunt Erika duly answered.

Especially since I haven’t written a short story for quite some time myself (a fact that I made clear before I accepted the mentorship request), it was really something to spend time thinking back to core elements of craft. (In response to one of his questions, I pointed him to this essay on “Pushing the Limits of ‘Writing What You Know.'”) Thank you for the trip down Craft-Memory Lane, Alex, sweetheart!