A writing update

A year has passed since the publication of Leaving Paris, the final book in The Venus Trilogy. Because of my health crisis (now resolved and I'm 77 pounds lighter), work obligations and other personal issues, I didn't get to promote the book like I wanted to. I would have been out on the road more, pursued more feature stories and reviews, but I had the Jeb Bush low energy blues for a good portion of last year. Bryan and Seth at Sibling Rivalry Press have kept my spirits up about the trilogy, which continues to sell, but I still can't help but feel opportunities were lost. I still hope that the books will be discovered by HBO, Showtime or a filmmaker who wants to bring them to the screen. Conquering Venus began as a screenplay and I wrote all three novels with the film of them playing in my head. If anyone reading this has some connections, get in touch.

I have turned my attention back to poetry and have written new work that I'm quite pleased with. One of those new poems made its way into The Cortland Review and another is coming in Foglifter. I've been submitting new work again and I'm thinking about reviving my New Poetry Project in the autumn to post new work here at Modern Confessional. 

I've also been tinkering with a chapbook of my London poems. They all hang together nicely, so we'll see what happens with that. I had thought the London poems would be the main arc of my next full-length collection, but now I think a chapbook dedicated to them is the way to go. 

With the current political climate, I have found myself more and more turning inward. I have been avoiding the news and social media, and returning to books, film and music to get me through the dark days. I hope you are doing whatever you need to do to find solace and I encourage you to write whatever you need to write, whether it's for publication or private expression. Keep telling your stories, do not be silent. Writing is one of the greatest forms of resistance.