Happy Holidays: Solstice and Christmas Traditions, Flare, Corona Full Cover Reveal, New Kittens, Winter Storms, and Planning for 2023 Already!

One of my fave Curly Girl Holiday Cards

Happy Holidays! Winter Storms and More

Happy Solstice, Hannukah, Christmas, and Yule time to all! How are you all doing? I’ve been waiting out a winter storm for three days in my house, with the latest being an ice storm that makes my metal ramp too treacherous to traverse safely. I hope to report on more holiday lights next week, when I’ll be able to safely leave the house!

Snow and cold we’ve about had enough of for the whole winter—we had a coldest day in ten years on the first day of Winter! I know the rest of the country will be facing this soon. For all those traveling—be safe. Stay safe and warm you all! Keep yourself warm with hot chocolate and tinsel, as suggested by the card at left.
In the meantime, here are a few holidayish scenes – snow in Woodinville, Woodinville holiday lights, and Molbak’s Nutcracker-inspired scene.

Photo by Anastasiya Dobrovolskaya

Solstice, Christmas, and Other Holiday Traditions

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about where the traditions for this time of year come from. Many we practice are far older than Christmas—exchanging gifts, having a feast, and setting intentions for the new year were practiced in many cultures as part of the solstice. Bringing in greenery, lighting candles. For practical reasons, we gathered together and shared what we had – probably to keep us earlier humans from starving or dying from cold or sadness! It’s different this year, with illnesses packing the hospitals, showing us maybe we shouldn’t do be doing big family and friend get-togethers just yet. But maybe we can incorporate some older traditions to bring us joy instead.

I listened to a beautiful carol which I found out was a Christina Rossetti poem, “In the Bleak Midwinter” that brought this idea home. On the Solstice, we had duck and potatoes and carrots (very winter appropriate), Glenn and I lit candles, thought about what we wanted to leave behind and embrace in the new year, and listened to the old prom themes we could remember late into the night. It was really nice! So anyway, in America there’s a weird idea someone is trying to steal Christmas, when in actuality, Christmas borrowed a lot of its stuff from other older religious and cultural traditions—and early Americans, like the Pilgrims, considered celebrating Christmas sinful! It’s also worth noting historians think Jesus was actually born in April! (My birthday month! Just a coincidence. Celebrating Easter and Christmas together would be a lot, I suppose.) And it does seem like we need to celebrate this time of year, to ward off SAD (as we call it now), to practice kindness (always in short supply but especially needed this time of year), and to try to find joy in the things we can.

Speaking of which, I have a few things to celebrate in this post!

Full Cover Reveal of Flare, Corona! Hot Pink!

I’m proud to reveal the full cover design of Flare, Corona, which should be coming out in just a few months! Look at that back cover, with the hot pinks and the fractal neurons! I love it. And I’m really loving my blurbs and blurb-ers. It seems things are moving fast already in the book direction—people are already writing about dates for readings! Eek! How is my calendar going to be full through May! Starting at AWP, this is the most social events I will have had in over three years! I hope I remember how to dress, socialize, speak correctly, and navigate crowds with my cane!

P.S. You can pre-order your own copy of Flare, Corona from BOA Editions here..

Me with Christmas kitten Charlotte

New Kitten!

You didn’t think I would forget this part of our year-end celebrating, did you? We are welcoming home Charlotte (her mother was named Jane Austen—this name is from Charlotte Bronte, as well as Elizabeth’s best friend in Pride and Prejudice and also my dear Aunt Charlotte who passed away a few years ago, who was a very fancy (and kind) lady. Charlotte is a little too small to breed so she joins our latest in a series of very cute ragdoll cats who were in some way not exactly perfect in the cat/human eye, perhaps, but perfect for us. (Remember Sylvia was re-homed for behavioral problems, such as fighting with dogs and breaking plates? We had no dogs and no plates in kitten-reach, so easy choice.) I love animals and, in my opinion, the more the better. Did you know I studied Zoology at the Cincinnati Zoo, thinking that might be a good career for me? Then I found out they made $26,000 a year, and a female zoo worker at the Cincinnati Zoo had her arm bitten off by a polar bear. So that’s why I don’t work with red pandas and otters for a living. What do you think? It could have been a better career for me! Anyway, we are celebrating our holiday with our new baby, and so far she’s gotten along okay with Sylvia, so now we have a pair of literary kittens again!

Another photo by Anastasiya, this time with a new year symbol: baby fox!

Planning for 2023

So, what are you throwing out from 2022 and embracing for 2023? Personally, I am hoping for better health, more energy, more friends, and less fear, less insecurity, and maybe some other good things too, specifically around the new book. Hey, I can dream!

Have you started making plans yet, as I find myself doing? Can I book a birthday party/book launch the same day? How many readings can I realistically do in a three-month period? Am I looking forward to seeing other writers again but also am nervous?

As I look back on the past year, at first I felt as if I didn’t get as much accomplished as I wanted to—as I could say of all the pandemic years—and was weighted down with too many doctor’s appointments and not enough fun stuff. But productivity is only one way—and a narrow one—to measure a year. I made new friends at a beautiful new farm in Woodinville – where I spent a lot of time wondering through lavender fields – and started a book club at a winery—where I hope to make more local friends. I got to go to La Conner for the Tulip Festival AND the Poetry Festival, and caught up with old friends, and did my first live reading at Hugo House since the pandemic with wonderful poets. I did podcasts for Writer’s Digest and Rattle. And of course, I worked this year with BOA Editions for the first time, on copyedits, covers, blurbs, and putting together all kinds of information. So in some ways I accomplished important things. So I guess I’m hoping for more time in flower fields, more time with friends, and more time away from doctor’s offices.

Wishing you a Happy Holiday, whatever tradition you celebrate, and a Merry Christmas to those who celebrate what turns out to be a pretty strangely ancient tradition. And if you don’t stop by the blog next week, have a happy and healthy New Year!

Holiday Happenings and Lights, New Book (and New Kitten), and the Big 50 on the Horizon…

Glenn and I with Carillon Point Holiday tree

Holiday Happenings and Lights

Still struggling to get out of the hole the MS mini-flare of last week put me in, but starting to feel more normal and ready to catch up on all the things I’m behind on (Manuscript reading? Holiday cards? AWP outline I’m supposed to turn in early January? Book promotion? Probably other things I’ve forgotten?)

This week, I got out a little bit to enjoy a little bit of holiday spirit, like these pictures on a rare sunny day in Kirkland, WA, where we got to watch the sunset. I’m missing my family, but I’ve gotten good phone visits in. I’m hoping to see some friends before the end of the year and do some holiday celebrating. I even got a nice poetry acceptance—possibly the last of the year.

Which leads me to the new things that are ahead….

New Book, New Kitten, and the Big 5-0 on the Horizon

See this post from BOA on Instagram? A reminder my new book, Flare, Corona is going to launch in just a few months! So, excitement is on the horizon, along with Seattle’s AWP, where I’ll be doing readings, signings, and two panels—hopefully not too much! But I am so looking forward to hanging out with writers again. I miss them! I am a social animal that’s been in isolation way too long. And speaking of animals…

Another new thing to look forward to? We’ve decided to adopt a new kitten. Since Shakespeare’s death, my husband and my other cat Sylvia have been a little mopey, and maybe me too. So we are going to introduce a new member to the family. I haven’t met her yet but I’m looking forward to it. Would you like a sneak peek? I won’t name her until I meet her, because personality always plays a part, you know? She’s supposed to come home with us Christmas Eve. Here she is:

New kitten

And, I have to admit, turning 50 at the end of April is weighing on me a bit too. Do I look old? Do I feel old? 50 seems like such a significant number, but my mother got her PhD after 50, and my middle brother got married for the first time after 50, so maybe it really is just the beginning of new things. I get the midlife crisis thing though; I have the urge to change things—move to Paris, become a blonde, or through caution to the wind and have a big party. (I probably will have a birthday party! Hopefully the triple-demic will be over by end of April…)

It’s Solstice season, and I’m thinking harder about my life, what I want to keep and what I want to let go, about my relationships too, with my family, with Glenn, with my friends, what I want n my life as a writer, how I can help my health, both mental and physical…envisioning what’s been problematic in the last few years (besides the pandemic), and how to envision a better, more satisfying life. I had a dream in which Santa (yep, that Santa) told me “You always plan for the worst. Why not plan for the best?” And for a minute, this familiar positivity mantra made sense to this admitted skeptic. I’m hoping that the year ahead will have positive things in it to surprise me, rather than negative things, but I have to admit it’s hard to be optimistic right now, especially after the last couple of weeks which have been pretty challenging physically and emotionally. I’m even trying to write different poetry, in a new voice, with a new energy than I’ve been working with the last few years. Wishing you as happy and bright a Solstice and Holiday season as possible.

AI Self-Portraits and When Robots Take Creative Jobs; When Things Aren’t Merry and Bright at the Holidays: MS Flares and More

AI Self-Portraits and Are the Robots Taking Creative Jobs?

Sure, they say robots are taking all the good jobs. I know I don’t want them taking over poetry. Now there are programs that take pictures of you and turn them into surreal portraiture, often with elements of the bizarre and disturbing. I still recommend buying your art from humans. But this was a fun way to spend an hour or two while I was sick in bed this week…Me as warrior elf, cosmic self, anime self, and flower fairy. I’ve only ever had one artist attempt to do a portrait of me, and it was better than the AI. I also worry about feeding your face to some nameless AI program, and now the TSA wants face scans too? In most of the AI pics, they seem to get my ethnicity wrong (can you guess how?), and I end up pretty unrecognizable—just like my fingerprints (which the TSA couldn’t read despite repeat tries when I got my TSA Precheck in a moment of optimism some years ago.) Maybe I am actually an AI-thwarting ghost. Anyway, an interesting experiment, and as someone who’s been talking to AI programs since she was a kid (hi, ELIZA!) I’m interested in how they’re getting smarter, and also not any smarter. (Still: #payrealhumanartistsfortheirwork)

Downy woodpecker in cherry

When Things Aren’t Merry and Bright at the Holidays

Hello my friends! Usually, we sing and talk about an idealized holiday season, but it’s not always great, especially not the last few years. I know lots of friends struggling with families full of flu, another round of covid, relatives in the hospital, or dealing with seasonal depression and anxiety. It’s been colder than usual here and wet so it hasn’t seemed bright in the Northwest at all. No full moons, no stars, not even driving around to see the lights, as is our usual custom this time of year.

As for me, I’ve been struck with the first bad MS flare I’ve had in a long time. I’ve barely been able to get out of bed, slammed with fatigue, vertigo when I try to move, nausea, and nerve pain. I had to cancel everything this week (and this weekend) and just stay in bed (doctor’s literal orders). I’ve been prescribed meds, and now just have to wait for the spinning, weakness and fatigue to subside. There’s really nothing else you can do. I know a lot of people are in the same situation as me, feeling frustrated than things aren’t as merry and bright as we think they should be.

I’d been planning to get Christmas cards written, gifts bought, manuscripts read (for the manuscript contest I’m reading for this year), and trying to get an AWP panel outline ready. Unfortunately, none of those things happened. Writing and submitting? No. And sometimes, you have to let that be okay.

I have friends who are struggling, and I struggle to give them the encouragement and cheer they need. Charities need more money as layoffs proliferate in our area. If you believe in the original Christmas story, it was really about two poor kids who couldn’t find food and shelter during a winter in a strange town, a baby born among people who didn’t care enough to make sure he was born safely, who had nothing. It’s a reminder to take care of each other in a world than can seem cruel, cold, and uncaring, especially to the unhomed, the unwealthy, the unpowerful.

So if your holiday isn’t going exactly as you planned, you’re not alone. Be kind to yourself. Not everything is within our control, and the holidays can bring up extra family stress and expectations that can’t possibly be met. Do the things that feel important to you, like watching your favorite holiday movies (whether that’s the extended Lord of the Rings series or Shop Around the Corner or the Holiday), maybe eating the way you want for a change, and cancelling the things that aren’t really actually necessary. “Christmas magic” often falls disproportionately on women’s – often mothers’ – shoulders. But maybe it’s okay to have a little less magic, and a little more mental health.

Sometimes family can have unrealistic expectations for those of us with disabilities and chronic illness. We’re not able to fly out across country during a plague or visit when others are sick. When siblings/parents/extended family/friends ask why we didn’t make the trip, they don’t really care to know the answer, or the difficulties of living with food allergies, disabilities AND a crap immune system (insert your own things here). You should not accept any guilt trips of this kind, especially when you’re struggling just to stay alive and awake, barely able to do the bare minimum of showering, eating, or even reading a book. That’s the privilege of ableism; people who don’t have these problems don’t have to think about them, and definitely don’t think about how other people with these problems have to navigate a world that’s not built for wheelchairs, chronic illness, or the burden of ten doctors’ appointments a week. Stress can and does make people with immune system problems sick; the best thing you can do for yourself is not let yourself get stressed out about the expectations of others. (And if you’re lucky enough to be abled? Please don’t hassle people who aren’t, especially this time of year.)

This season, a season we do try to celebrate in the darkest coldest part of the year, is also a season we need to survive the best we can. And cut others a break as well—they could probably use it and some extra kindness too.  So, maybe this isn’t yet the best year for a big family reunion or extra big party with friends, with so many hospitals overtaxed with the pandemic, a terrible flu year, and worse RSV than usual too. Maybe it’s okay to be quiet this time of year, to sleep an extra amount, to take the time you need to heal and recover from whatever it is you have to real and recover from. Like I said, it’s been a tough few years, and though I’m optimistic things will get better, no scientist or specialist has been able to give me a timetable for when exactly that will be. As an SNL skit said last night, “Covid never left, and also it’s back?”

I just want to send those of you struggling a hug of understanding and support. I’m a type-A control freak who wants to overperform but whose body sometimes throws a few curves in the way of plans. But you know what? Sometimes we have to let go and be okay with not being okay. And those of you having a great time? Just remember that those around might need a little extra love. Wishing you a happy holiday season (but it’s also okay if you’re not.)

First Snow (with Power Outages, Haircuts and Holiday Things), Pushcart Nominations, Notes from a Manuscript Reader

Male Great Northern Flicker in snowy flower box

First Snow in Seattle (with Power Outages, Haircuts and Holiday Things)

Well, Seattle had a series of snowstorms, below freezing temperatures, and a bunch of power outages this week—early winter after a late fall. After the first snow, we lost power at our house for seven hours, and I know people who had it out longer. So, the romance of the first snow, and the inconvenience and stress (and cold!) of the power outage go hand in hand. We tried to keep our wild birds alive (you’ll see a lot of bird pictures this week). The snow prevented me from attending several medical appointments downtown, but you know what? I was sick of doctor appointments anyway. I’m taking a break…at least until next week.

Because of the Evusheld shots I had a few weeks ago, I felt a little more courageous about going out in public than I might have otherwise. Of course, it doesn’t protect me and my weak immune system from flu and RSV and even some covid variants, but it’s better than nothing, so I did a couple of holiday traditions—Glenn and I both got haircuts, we checked out Redmond’s night of lights, and went to Willows Lodge to see their holiday decorations, listen to live music and have boozy coffees and cocktails. When you think about it, for those of us with immune problems, this is really our third holiday season with covid. I thought this thing would last max two years—and I keep saying it’s got to be almost over. I don’t know how stressful going to AWP will be. Maybe by then things will be better?

Anna’s hummingbird on twinkle lights

Pushcart Nominations (May the Odds Be Ever in Our Favor)

After a week of rejection last week, this week I had two poems nominated for the Pushcart Prize—Bourgeon nominated “A Woman Turns Fifty with Cherry Blossoms” and Jet Fuel Review nominated “In a Plague Year, I Find Foxes.” The odds of actually getting in the Pushcart anthology in any year—no matter how many times I’ve been nominated—are very small, but it’s still a nice nod from the editors.

Here’s a look at one of the poems itself, from Jet Fuel Review’s Spring issue (It will also appear in my upcoming book, Flare, Corona):

From Jet Fuel Review

Red finch on cherry branch

Notes from a Manuscript Reader

As it is poetry manuscript contest season, and I’m once again finding myself reading manuscripts, I thought I’d offer some “notes from a manuscript reader.” These are all just my opinions, and your mileage may vary.

1. If you’ve never heard this before, make sure your first five poems are doing a lot of heavy lifting for the book—and then the last final poems. Because you know what? Tired and (mostly) unpaid readers are probably not going to sift through every single poem unless you’ve already hooked them.
2. This is for contests that allow acknowledgements (some do not, so just ignore this if that is the case.) Do acknowledgements matter? Well, if you have none, it might. I think if you haven’t done the work of submitting individual poems for publication, you’re probably not ready for the work of publishing and publicizing a book. I don’t really pay attention to number or the names of the publications, but having none or only one or two acknowledgements kind of puts you in the danger zone. Now, if I still loved the poetry, I might still put it through. Just know that getting individual poems published shows you’re trying, you’re part of the literary world, and you’re trying to build an audience—all things I’d care about as a publisher, and as an extension, a reader.
3. For books leaning heavily on one historical period or incident—this can work for or against you. I’ve read terrific books done in this way, but also a lot of boring ones. If you choose this route, make sure you vary voices, styles, and forms to keep the reader’s interest.
4. There is a weird sameness of tone in the manuscripts I’ve read this year—and granted, it’s just a portion of submissions from one publisher—but there’s a monotone in the manuscripts. They’re not poorly written, but they lack emotion, power, passion. I wonder if this is possibly the effect of pandemic fatigue—it’s flattened out our voices, our writing? Anyway, don’t be afraid to be a little weird, out there, or show you care about something or someone. It’ll likely jolt the readers – which is usually a good thing.
5. Good titles never hurt you. Once again, don’t be afraid to be a little weird.

I hope this was helpful! (And not too cranky! Anyway, as I said, this is just one person’s opinion.)

To leave you, this picture of Sylvia in her holiday tree cat bed, with snowy background. Wishing you as happy, safe, and healthy a December as possible.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend, Family Visits, A New Poem in Prairie Schooner “The Girl Detective,” and Doctor’s Orders to Relax

Glenn, me, my brother Mike and his wife Loree with our Christmas tree

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving Long Weekend, Quirky Reads and Family Visits

Did you have a good Thanksgiving weekend? I hope so. We stayed pretty low-key, decorated the house for Christmas, and saw my little brother and his wife for a holiday visit and a winery tour. So we took them to Chateau St Michelle to see the lights and J. Bookwalters for a wine tasting (where my book club meets.) We still have leftovers somehow, though the pumpkin flan and duck with pomegranate disappeared. We had an early present exchange since they’re going to Ohio for Christmas to see the larger family. Glenn and I still aren’t traveling due to covid (and everything else goin around right now) plus my torn MCL keeps me from trucking around much, so it was nice to see some family on the weekend. We also zoomed with our parents and talked to all our brothers. Lots of flu, covid, and other ick going around in the family, so probably best we’re staying home.

I read a lovely new book of poetry from a poet I’d never heard of, Adrienne Raphel’s Our Dark Academia. Raphel has a great resume – MFA from Iowa, a lectureship at Princeton, published in Paris Review, Poetry, all the big names – but this was a fairly small press, Rescue Press. One reason could be some of the poems were a bit untraditional – one was in the form of a Wikipedia entry, another in the form of a crossword puzzle, another was paper dolls – but I found myself enjoying the poetry and the quirky forms. The reason to shop at in-person bookstores is to find little treasures like these on the shelves. This one was thanks to my visit to Open Books last week.

Sylvia poses with the new issue of Prairie Schooner

A New Poem in the new issue of Prairie Schooner – “The Girl Detective”

A happy surprise in the mail Friday were my contributor’s copies of the new issue of Prairie Schooner – listed as “Winter 2021” despite the fact that in fact it is Winter 2022 – and my poem “The Girl Detective” is in good company with poets like Ellen Bass, Alicia Ostriker, and Denise Duhamel. This poem isn’t in Flare, Corona, but belongs to another book, Fireproof, that I’m working on.

A sneak peek at the poem below. I hope you enjoy it!

Glenn and I on Thanksgiving with our Christmas tree

Doctor’s Orders to Relax – and How That’s Going

So, I was literally told by my MS doctor after a very stressful month that involved injuries, MS symptom flare-ups, losing a beloved kitty, and eighteen separate doctor appointments – that stress, anxiety and the lack of sleep that go with them are the enemies of MS. They can make neurological pain and symptoms like tremor and swallowing problems and vertigo worse. So I was told to find some time and make it a priority to relax. Easy to say, not so easy to do, is it?

Nevertheless, I followed instructions given by my therapist – watch funny movies (The Holiday, The Thin Man, Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special – check,) listen to music you like, and read (see above.) I spent a little time with Glenn walking around Woodinville – we walked around apple trees in the cold and visited Chateau St Michelle to pick up a bottle of Thanksgiving wine and admire their lights. I tried breathing and meditation apps, birdwatching, and observing a few sunsets. But it’s tough to unwind yourself from a period of intense stress, isn’t it? It’s not enough to say “well, I won’t stress out about anything” – because rarely does life give you a stress-free day, even. It may give you welcome sunlight in a week of rain, or a beautiful November sunset, or even just a moment to kick leaves around or watch a candle burn. If you have any more advice on how to lower stress and anxiety, I’m open to more suggestions! I have a stressful dental appointment, a downtown cancer center blood draw, and more painful PT on my knee this upcoming week, so I’ll probably need it. I’ll check in with you all next week – and who knows if Twitter will even be there?