Big news: The Grief Committee Minutes has found a home!

I’m delighted to share that my debut full-length book of poems is coming soon from Saint Julian Press! After three years of circulating my manuscript, three editors, three finalist designations (is there something about the number three?) — The Grief Committee Minutes has finally found a publisher. Saint Julian Press, based in Houston, will be […]
Kestrel Celebration: A special event, a smashing success

I’m still smiling at the amazing experience I had at Fairmont State University from 3/21-24 for the Kestrel Celebration of Issue #50.
Upcoming! Kestrel Celebration, March 22-23, 2024

I was thrilled to be invited to Fairmont State University to join the Kestrel team for a full weekend & celebration of Issue #50, to which I’m a contributor. It’ll be my first-ever trip to West Virginia, and I’ll be reading Friday night at the Gabor Folklife Center. There’ll be panel discussions, lots of time […]
TGC finals for Wandering Aengus Book Award

Bring it, 2024! A sweet highlight of 2023 came toward the end of it, and I’m hoping portends more good news in the months to come. My full-length collection made the finalist list in the Wandering Aengus Book Award competition. This acknowledgement was one more form of validation for the work, which amassed some very special […]
Third Place: ASP Bulletin Poetry Contest

I haven’t written a lot of new poems lately, choosing to concentrating instead on submitting poems within my book manuscript that have yet to find a home. So when I read on Blue Sky that the ASP Bulletin — a publication of Alan Squire Publishing — was holding its inaugural poetry contest, I thought, why […]
Join us! River Heron Review reading on Zoom April 5

I am just back from an incredible visit to Seattle, where I attended my second-ever AWP (Associated Writers and Writing Programs) conference. So much activity, so little time! I enjoyed a few precious days surrounded by other writers, books, and infectious energy, and am still processing it all: the meaningful conversations I had with old […]
Viburnum springs forth, and with it, memories

During my morning walk with the dog today, I took notice of a viburnum shrub exploding in full flower. While I’ve no doubt passed this shrub for at least a few days without paying much attention to it, for some reason the white clusters struck a chord with me today. Unbidden, a memory arrived from […]
Special commission: UF College of Pharmacy dean send-off, July 2022

I had the pleasure of reading and writing a poem as part of a farewell celebration for Dr. Julie Johnson, a distinguished UF leader.
Finalist honors: 2022 River Heron Poetry Prize

I learned this week that a poem of mine made it into the top five in the contest.
New book review out in Salamander

Amy Roma’s real-life accounts of Central American refugees seeking sanctuary was a sobering read.