ACHIEVEMENTS
THE LATEST | Yay! A short story in my new collection has been accepted for publication. I’ll tell you more as the time for release nears. The working title of the collection it comes from is “Aftermaths,” as all the stories pivot on the aftermath of a storm. A topic I know too much about… *** Good News: I will be co-facilitating a Contemplative Writing workshop on August 26 for the School of Contemplative Writing. During this Saturday morning workshop, we’ll be focusing on using contemplative tools to expand our writing and using writing to enliven our contemplative practice. In person and zoom (hopefully!) Stay tuned for the flyer with details. ps. this contemplative approach to writing is ACTIVE! I love it, and hope you will too. *** Second Saturdays continue through the summer at the 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis. The storied location is the perfect venue to pump up your creativity and learn new writing skills. Come one month, come every month. From 10am to 1pm, we enjoy three hours of instruction and guided writing. All are welcome–established writers and those just starting their writing journey. And it’s free! *** Wednesday evening April 19th at 5:30, I’ll be talking about creativity at the Coastal chapter of the Mississippi Writers Guild. The meetings are free and open to the public.The group meets at Gulfport Arts Center – 1300 24th Avenue in Gulfport. If you want more info, use the Contact page to send me a message. *** I’ll be leading a mini-writing experience at Arts Alive! in Bay St. Louis Saturday April 15. You can read more about it at the Arts Alive website (which I can’t seem to link here!) *** I’ve been named the Writer-in-Residence at 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis, and it’s so much fun. We have Saturday morning writing sessions where I give mini-instruction and share excerpts illustrating the writing point. We then write together for two thirty-minute sessions and share if we want. So nice to be back in the writing group saddle. You can read more about the famous Hall here. * One of my essays, I Never Saw the System, is up at The Admissions Project, a site dedicated to race and education. The stories include segregation academy stories and public school stories. My story falls into the latter, but with a twist. Go here to read it. Take the time to read several–a great conversation going on over there. *** Y’all, IN THE NAME OF MISSISSIPPI won an Honorable Mention in the 2022 William Faulkner Literary Competition. The contest awards 1st place and the HM, so that’s like 2nd place (and the winner has published 4 novels with great houses.) I was so pleased. *** If you have a chance to attend The Glen Workshop, take it. Hosted by Image Journal, it’s fantastic. And, at least for the near future, it’s taking place in Asheville, NC., easy to get to in this part of the world. Like the journal, it combines art and religion, great combination. *** Another excerpt from my novel manuscript The Bone Trench has been published in EAP in 2022. If you’re counting (I am), that makes 4 excerpts from the novel published in literary journals. Read it here. Perhaps an agent will read it and…. *** I was thrilled to be able to participate in the Community of Writers Fiction Workshop held this summer in the Virtual Valley (COVID, y’all). The 7 day conference was a wonderful learning experience where I worked with some of the best writing participants I’ve ever had the pleasure of workshopping. The improvement in my manuscript, IN THE NAME OF MISSISSIPPI, was extraordinary. *** This summer I led 4 weekly Righting Group workshops at Annunciation Episcopal Church during Adult Formation Hour. Use the Contact form today if you’d like for me to lead a Righting Group workshop for your organization or speak on the power of Righting Groups to form community. *** Two more short story excerpts from my novel manuscript “The Bone Trench” have been published in 2019, one in Exterminating Angel Press and one in Connotation Press. That makes 3 excerpts from the novel that have seen the light of day—Yay! I also had a personal essay published in Literary Orphans (so proud) earlier this year. You can read “Atomirotica” here. |
I’VE BEEN PUBLISHED, AN ESSENTIAL FOUNDATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT | Making Crosses: A Creative Connection to God (Paraclete Press, 2009); Cain’t Do Nothing with Love, CIPA EVVY AUDIO BOOK AWARD (2014); Tracking Happiness: A Southern Chicken Adventure (2018); Model for Deception (2019); The Hart Women (2019); We R Righting Group: A Pocket Guide to Writing in Groups…and Righting the World (2019); “Tetanus, You Understand?” included in Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir by Sue Silverman (University of Georgia Press, 2009) + oodles of literary journals |
I’VE BEEN A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS | Contributor, Radio Commentaries West TN and MS NPR affiliates 2000-2007 (PRNDI Award, 2nd Place, Commentary/Essay 2000); Contributor, Strut! Magazine (2004-2008); Contributor, Church Health Reader |
MY WORK HAS BEEN IN LITERARY JOURNALS | Including Hotel Amerika (one of the prettiest journals I’ve been in), Alimentum, (the only piece I’ve ever written about food) Brevity, Southern Women’s Review, Literary Orphans, Connotation Press, Tertulia Magazine, StorySouth,The Rambler, KWG Anthology, North Dakota Quarterly, Alaska Quarterly Review (two of my “frozen tundra” publications), Barrelhouse (which gives me street cred), Texas Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, New Madrid, Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression, Arkansas Review, Southern Hum, Image: A Journal of Art and Religion, Gulf Coast Literary Journal, Eureka Literary Magazine, Hurricane Review (my husband’s favorite), The Pinch |
I’VE WON AWARDS, A HAPPY OCCURRENCE |
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I’VE BEEN RECOGNIZED FOR MY WRITING |
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MY NOVELS HAVE PLACED IN CONTESTS |
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