Went to Nashville today to visit with a friend, and she took me to McKay’s bookstore. I thought I’d buy 1-2 books, but I wound up with all these, plus a blank journal not pictured here. Money well-spent! ❤️❤️❤️

Writer, Teacher
Went to Nashville today to visit with a friend, and she took me to McKay’s bookstore. I thought I’d buy 1-2 books, but I wound up with all these, plus a blank journal not pictured here. Money well-spent! ❤️❤️❤️

This year’s installment of Women Speak is almost out, and here’s the cover. So proud to be included alongside so many wonderful women writers. Yay!

West TN PBS | Tennessee Writes
— Read on www.westtnpbs.org/tv-schedule/tennessee-writes/
Proud to have been interviewed about my book Daughters of Muscadine on the local PBS station in Jackson, TN. Shout out to Peter Noll and Baily Luther for inviting me! ❤️
I’m listening to the audiobook of New Nigeria County by Clare Brown. It’s a satire I found on Audible.com about a Black woman who calls 911 on a White youth in her neighborhood. She assumes he’s a gang member because he’s wearing cargo shorts. Whites are marginalized in the community. For instance, Blacks tell them their names are difficult to pronounce, and Europe and European culture are disparaged. The book plays off of race-based stereotypes, and to some degree, gender-based stereotypes too. The things I like best about it so far are the writing and the readers/actors. Inflections in the voices of the actors made me chuckle, and several clever jokes stood out. Try it if you like satire.

Recently, I was on a panel for a podcast called Story Works. Our topic was “What Makes Writing Objectively Good?” Big thanks to Alida Winternheimer for inviting me, and a shout out to all my other co-panelists: Mark, Daniel, Miriam, Liz, and Kathryn. Here’s the link to the episode:
Guess who’s going to Sewanee Writers’ Conference this summer as a Walter E. Dakin Fellow?!

Y’all, I’m the proud winner of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival Contest in the poetry category. The prize is $1,000 and it’s the most I’ve ever received for a single poem. I’m also invited to read at the festival on March 30th. Congrats to all finalists, and thanks to the judges and the festival committee. Yay! 🍾🎉🎈🎊
Here’s a link to the poem in French Quarter Journal.


The newest Women Speak anthology is out. I’m proud to have three poems in it. The anthology focuses on women writers in Appalachia. In this issue, Volume 10, you will find work by Sheila Carter-Jones, Natalie Sypolt, Linda Parsons, Chrissie Anderson Peters, Lisa Kwong, and so many others! It’s edited by Ohio poet laureate, Kari Gunter-Seymour. Buy it here:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=VFPMU4FHXUN9L