SUBMISSION UPDATE

Let's get the rejections out of the way first: Rattle and Indiana Review. Sigh. I sent them my best work and still, I'm just not there yet. WILL TRY AGAIN.

Also, I was super-excited about a picture book manuscript I had been working on, so I sent it to my agent for her feedback. Apparently I am not there yet on this, either. Her comment was that it was still too message driven and that I should concentrate on character development and figure out how old my main character is.

And you know, when she said all that, I was like, yes, EXACTLY. She nailed all those concerns I was too enmeshed with the manuscript to verbalize.

On top of that, I realized the whole focus on the picture book manuscript was just my brain creating an amazing decoy to distract me from what I really need to be working on, which is the next draft of ESCAPE FROM FIRE MOUNTAIN (midgrade historical fiction set during the eruption of Mt. Pelee in Martinique, 1902).

I don't know why I've been avoiding it so heartily. Probably has something to do with feedback I received from Carolyn Yoder way back in June. See, she was right on target too. But fixing a novel is so much heavier than fixing a picture book. It's like almost drowning, the way it grips you from the inside.

Now for the happy-making news: Glass: A Journal of Poetry accepted two of my poems -- "The house on Baltimore Street was not built for battle" and "In my mother's dream." Many thanks to editors Holly and Anthony! Word is they will appear in the December 1 issue. I'll keep you posted.

Interestingly, I had trouble finding a title for each of these poems, so I just used the first line of the poem for the title. (Something to think about if you're struggling with titles.)

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

- Anais Nin