being an artist

2022 is a fucking mess

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i’ve had a tough couple of years. my marriage ended. understandably, i’ve been sad and my writing erratic, but i’ve been reading a lot. reading’s a life saving activity if ever there was one. throughout this process, i’ve limped along rewriting my MS, and i’ve taken to writing out prompts. recently, i wrote a good … Read more

2021

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dear imaginary readers of this blog. well, here we are. surviving. i wrote this year, in fits and starts, and have new pages to show for it. for fun, i started a mystery novel in november (my own version of nanowrimo) and threw 11, 000 words onto the page. it felt great, TBH. there are … Read more

forgotten girls

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i’m 55 years old, and a writer, and my teenage years have been over for a long time. it’s hard to remember. i sit in front of my computer and stare through my words, and watch Val sink into the mud of a shotgun wedding, and Brenda step into a locked stairwell in a psychiatric … Read more

the narrator squawks

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i dreamt i was narrator of a play. it was impromptu and you were allowed to bring your script on stage. the lights were low and i could barely see my pages. when the lights came up, i was stuck in a ditch beside the road. and the extras were streaming past like prisoners along a … Read more

betty

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if you could read my mind, I’d tell you a thing or two about pink turtlenecks and regrets. listen up, you little shits wearing black-and-blue. life’s too short for a bruised beat. besides, that’s what you get from loving. listen up, will you? I’m so tired from writing it all down. listen up, don’t make … Read more

the trouble with writing

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you never where to start. or end. the interruptions of daily life are difficult to manage, even when you need them. telling a story is one thing; finding the meaning in it is another. reading good books is extremely important because you need good sentences that linger inside your head. jealousy is problematic, both yours … Read more