Oh, yeah, I'm still a writer!

Just thought I would write a bit about what I did last year in terms of writing. I did make a substantial dent in The Strega's Story. I also had a poetry acceptance to Oyez Review; they actually Fed-Exed me an acceptance letter (I'd neglected to put my email address on my submission, and feel really bad that they had to spend fourteen bucks to get ahold of me--I hope to remedy that by subscribing to the magazine). I had several of the litmags that had rejected include a handwritten note, asking me to send more. I have to admit that I was, up until Summer 2006, very lax about sending any work out. I've remedied that, and my submission process is much more streamlined, though I still never make simultaneous submissions. I don't think it's a bad thing, just not for disorganized me. I have had a lot of rejection slips this year, and simply toss them and keep going.

As to why I haven't posted about a search for an agent, I have a deep, not-so-dark secret about that which I can't talk about just yet. I am sorry not to be able to talk further about it, but a couple of folks have gotten my hopes up by offering promises to send my book to their agents (and then reneging on that with no explanation, something I vow now and forever NEVER to do to anyone), or other things surrounding the book that didn't pan out, that I have decided to be quiet about what is happening now. Besides, being a great-granddaughter of a strega, I can be a bit mysterious now and then.

It's very hard in a time of conflict, war, and craziness for me to focus on creativity. There is "war within and without," since my family of origin is having a great deal of conflict, too, which makes me want to run for the hills or go take an extended vacation in the Himalayas. In these times, I feel that my writing is just fluff, like pink hot chocolate or cotton candy, and why should I concentrate on it when people on both sides of an insane war are dying? And yet it has to be important somehow that I should. I think that creativity has some sort of alchemical effect in the unseen world, that what we do as writers and artists, musicians, dancers, actors, whatever, has value beyond what we can see or name, and so I just tell myself to keep going. Sometimes just the "keeping going" is its own reward.

I wish all my readers a wonderful 2007. May you and your loved ones know peace, good health, prosperity, an end to worries, and many, many blessings as this brand new year is born. I appreciate all who come here to read my words; it means a great deal to me and I thank you all most sincerely.