Friday Notes

The last week of 2011 has been a blur of work (both day job and clearing my desk of personal projects) and fighting off a bad cold. I still owe Robert Lee Brewer an essay for his blog (working on it now...swear!) and I just sent Lori Hettler a little write-up on my three favorite books of the year (two novels and one book of poetry) for The Next Best Book Blog. I'll post a link to both when they go live.

Friend and fellow poet Megan Volpert is seeking poetry submissions for the anthology This assignment is so gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching, which will be published by Sibling Rivalry Press in 2013. Submission period is open January 1 through June 1, 2012. For  guidelines visit, www.thisassignmentissogay.com.

Dec. 31 (tomorrow) is the last day to download a free copy of my debut novel, Conquering Venus, from the Indie Book Review. What's better than free?  If you enjoy Venus, I hope you will buy Remain In Light in either eBook format or the upcoming paperback release.

While I was recovering from my cold and enjoying my "vacation," I managed to watch the first series of Downton Abbey streaming on my Kindle Fire (which I still love). Dame Maggie Smith is truly a treasure. The second series begins on PBS Jan. 8.

The #poetparty on Twitter returns New Year's Day at 9 p.m. ET. We'll be discussing new year's resolutions and more. Just follow the hashtag and join us!

I still can't tell you my big news. Soon, though.