At the time of this writing, I’m enjoying my first day fully recovered from a devastating flu and the weather is so unseasonably warm that I’m excited to take a walk in the park on my lunch break (update: at the time of the scheduling of this post, it’s snowing again...). I also have new poems in Sheila-Na-Gig and 3 Moon, so I’m cautiously optimistic about this month. Like I said in my last post, January was a hell month that never seemed to end (and it didn’t help that the last week was spent sick in bed!), so if anything, I expect February to feel a bit shorter.

In just a few weeks, I’ll be attending my first AWP conference since 2013! I feel more prepared compared to back then, so I hope that I take more away from it than a few good books and a literary magazine shot glass—though that glass remains one of my favorites to use. 🙂

After a big submission spree early this winter, I’m slowing down to focus on editing and organizing a chapbook. I worry that I’ve been rushing many of my submissions before they’re fully cooked, something that I’m only starting to realize now that I’m part of two writing groups. Even when I take long breaks between writing and editing, I still find that I miss things. In particular, I tend to utilize images and logic routes that are intuitive to me but probably not to my readers. Seeking beta readers for my work is intimidating but I also think that it’s necessary and a fear that I have to overcome.

• Current drink: UFO Passionfruit hefeweizen
• Current book: Because What Else Could I Do by Martha Collins
• Current audio/e-book: none
• Current music: Marie Davidson – “Work It (Soulwax Remix)”