Catching Up

This has been an amazingly stressful week and I've been unable to post anything beyond the sad news about Shannon Leigh that didn't seem trivial. A memorial service for Shannon will be held next Wednesday in Austin and I believe some events are in the works here. 

A big change happened at my day job this week. I am now in charge of the magazine's editorial department (just to clarify for those who thought I was running the whole thing). The executive editor position was eliminated, so I will be setting the tone and vision. It's a big responsibility, but I'm excited to take the reigns. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel, but there will be some changes, streamlining and refocusing to give us a more community and arts feel. 

Sunday was the Georgia Author Book Bash at the Margaret Mitchell House. I wasn't sure what to expect -- no one was sure, really -- but with nearly 300 people in attendance, I call that a success. It was good to see old friend and former doctor Ferrol Sams, Thomas Lux, Chelsea Rathburn, Khadijah Queen and Natasha Trethewey. I had a chat with David Bottoms, Georgia's Poet Laureate, who I've heard numerous times, but never had the chance to speak to at length. He was very complimentary of my work  and quite gracious and funny. Hats off to Julie Bookman and Melanie Eisenhart for all the hard to make GABB a big hit. 

My BFF Joy came up on Saturday evening and we went to dinner at The Colonnade, one of ATL's oldest restaurants. They serve up southern comfort food like nowhere else and it's a favorite of the "gays and grays" scene. The homemade rolls and cornbread are so decadent you could make a meal off them, but we had turkey and dressing (me) and tilapia (Joy), plus tasty fresh veggies. Afterwards, we opted for some mindless entertainment and went to see the Angelina Jolie/James McAvoy movie, Wanted. It was totally ridiculous in every way, but the special effects were brilliant and McAvoy is super hot. 

The galley of After the Poison went back to Finishing Line Press on Monday. Hallelujah!