Fact is, I'm a can of ham, and while most folks dread public speaking, I actually enjoy the whole poetry reading experience: picking out the most crowd-pleasing poems, getting dolled up in my boho best, and being (God, I hope) highly entertaining. Okay, so I do tremble a little while I'm doing it, and I'm always relieved when the thing's over, but I'm not going to lie and say I don't like standing there in front of the mic.
Plus, Tiki Bar. And my husband's driving. So rum it is--after I read!
Carmine Street Metrics are a cool bunch of folks, too. I'll be sharing the bill with Midge Goldberg and Bob Crawford, terrific poets both. I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and new at the shindig, and I'll have books to autograph. The East Village is not a tough place to park on Sunday afternoons, usually. If you're even a little local and you're reading this, I hope you'll join Midge, Bob, and me.
In other poetry news, I still haven't gotten into Rattle's Poets Respond (one of these days, dammit). Got a few packets out here and there, though. Stay tuned. Did place a poem called "I Was Awakened By A Nearby Lighting Strike" in a new and good little online 'zine called The Lark. And the gorgeous Peacock Journal is back in action and was good enough to take three more of mine.
I'm about halfway through the first draft of a yet-unnamed spin-off from The Bean Books. I'm really loving writing it. It's a time traveling departure: first person and contemporary. But there are characters from the original trilogy, now grownup...so yes, you will get to see Bean and Zak again. And Amp. My main character is a refugee from the Cuban Missile Crisis who time traveled in the wrong direction and ends up in 2018, effectively going from duck and cover to active shooter drills in school. Which sounds a lot darker than the book actually is. This one is a bit of a tear-jerker in places, though. It has younger characters: high school 9th and 10th graders, and could easily be read by tweens. More on it as it develops.
Anyway, you can get a copy of Unforgetting at Amazon, Kelsay Books, or autographed one directly from me by messaging me on Facebook or using the Store page on this blog.
So that's what's up in the haunted house by the creek lately. Hope your autumn is crisp and golden and that you're bearing up under the onslaught of depressing news by eating well, reading well, and taking sun-dappled walks in the October woods.