Update: February 15, 2023

This might sound like a strange topic (especially since I’m writing and posting this on Valentine’s Day), but let’s talk about rejection. As a writer, my work is rejected constantly. In fact, this week I received four rejections in forty-five minutes. I’ve become so accustomed to my work being rejected that I no longer call it rejection. Instead, I call it selection. Sometimes my work is selected and other times it’s not. It’s all very subjective. It’s all about the person who is reading and selecting my work. What I know to be true is this: my work is not for everyone. And that’s okay. I’m sharing this because the focus is often on the successes. While I love celebrating those with you, it’s fair to say there were and are many rejections - I mean, selections - in between. And I learn from both. About myself and who I am (and want to be) as a writer. They’re both good for the soul. 

Today, my young adult supernatural romance novel Wonder Land is being set free into the world, where I hope it finds many readers who love this story as much as I loved writing it. I hope you get a chance to read it or share the book with a young reader in your life. Many years of hard work went into writing it. 

I’ve been fighting off a cold, so I’ve had more downtime than usual. Because of this I got to watch many wonderful films this week including the mind-blowing Everything Everywhere All at Once, the creepy horror film Ma starring the always-brilliant Octavia Spencer, the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, the classic comedy The Palm Beach Story starring Claudette Colbert (one of my favorite actresses), the quirky and funny Cate Blanchett film Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, and I re-watched one of my childhood favorites, Superman, starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. 

My music artist of the week is Jane Jensen. I first discovered Jane’s music when I was the host of a college radio show in Chicago. Her debut album Comic Book Whore had just been released and I fell in love with it (and her) on my first listen. Her second album, Burner, features one of my all-time favorite tunes called Fast Girl U.S.A.  It’s an awesome track. I’ve always dreamed of directing a music video for it. It’s a very cinematic song. I hope you get a chance to check out Jane’s fantastic music. 

Until next week…

Onward and upward. 

“I spin worlds where we could be together. I dream you. For me, imagination and desire are very close.”
- Jeanette Winterson