I’ve been seriously avoiding this substack. I couldn’t even really tell you why. Laziness? Maybe. Fear or not being good enough? Probably. Been really busy? Most definitely.
So what have I been up to the past year?
Well the biggest life event I have had since I last posted is that I had gastric sleeve weight loss surgery. It’s been a whirlwind of figuring how how to eat food again and finally starting to lose weight. It’s been wild, y’all. I had the surgery on the second of January and I just crossed the 50 lbs mark in weight loss. I’m getting better and better about being open about my struggles and my progress, but it’s a steep learning curve. And now none of my pants fits properly.
I’m still working on my MFA in Creative Writing. I believe I have one more semester before I start earnest work on my thesis, which I am greatly looking forward to. I’ve been writing quite a bit (although not as much as I’d like) and really honing my craft. I’ve also been submitting poetry and fiction to different publications for publication. I’ve got my short story Rocket Holler being published in an anthology this summer and a poem being published by not-gonna-tell-you-yet this summer or fall.
One downside to seeking publication is that I can’t publish pieces on this substack if I want to seek to publish them professionally. Most places don’t want pieces that have been published even on personal blogs. So you’ll have to take my word for it that they are awesome. And hopefully I’ll be able to share further publication news with you!