Hi !

I don’t know about you, but the start of 2019 has been a bit of a doozy for me.

In our house we kicked off the year with some preschooler germs knocking all three of us out, a leaky roof, and some unexpected travel into the East Coast tundra.

Here I am trying to stay warm and cheerful:

As February gets going I’m hoping for some much needed low key energy this month (say a little prayer for me).

As stressful as last month was on the personal end, my Writing Life was the silver lining I needed.

My first publications of the year went live on Raising Mothers, an online literary journal for mothers of color.

And the Write Your 2019 Into Existence Challenge (the week-long online challenge I facilitated) was a huge success!

141 women and nonbinary writers participated, and 48 of them worked through the challenge together in our private Facebook group. Together we dedicated time to our writing lives, reflected on our 2018, got clear on what we wanted and why for 2019, and charted our courses for the year. 

In case you missed or couldn't complete the challenge, but are curious about what we did, I'm gifting you one of the most popular worksheets from the week:

(While the worksheet is designed primarily for writers, it can help you gain clarity about your biggest desires and motivators for various parts of your life--regardless of your vocation).

Think of this as an early gift in honor of El Día del Amor y La Amistad (the day of Love and Friendship aka Valentine's Day)! 

And please hit reply and share your insights with me after you complete the worksheet. I love hearing about what new and sometimes surprising realizations come through after some guided writing.

Finally, I’m excited to share I’ll be signing copies of Words or Water at AWP in March, and I’m presenting my workshop: “You Need A Website!” at events this weekend (2/9) in LA and again on April 6 in Boston (more details below). I’d love to connect if you make it to any of these events!

Below you’ll find blog updates and event details. Happy reading and I hope to see some of you in the coming months!

• Busy Book Nerds: It’s Time to Embrace Audiobooks!
  “I'm done hating on audiobooks. Hating on them is elitist AF. And it's counterproductive if my goal is to enjoy and learn from what others are writing.”

• Mamihood, Writing, and Money: Moving Beyond My Money Shame & Crafting a Creative Life I Love
  “2018 was a year of beginning to shift my money mindset (an ongoing project if there ever was one), and learning about the many ways I could translate my talents into income generating activities within the context of my life as a stay-at-home writer mom with a toddler.”

• Publications Update: "Waiting for Cosmos," "I Imagine Him Small," and "Mammals" published in Raising Mothers
  In this blog post I have links to each of the poems, and a brief discussion of my writing process for them: “Keeping up a regular writing practice helped me stay in touch with my Writer Self even as my life was turned upside down by becoming a Mami for the first time.”
  

• February 9, 2019 @ 10:00-11:00am in Los Angeles
  Women Who Submit Workshop & New Member Orientation
  “You Need A Website: A Practical Guide to the What, Why, and How of Building (or Strategically Updating) Your Author Website”
  (My workshop is followed by breakout sessions and submission party 11:00am-2:00pm)
  Exposition Park Regional Library
  3900 S Western Ave
  Los Angeles, CA 90062
  
  
• March 28-30 @ AWP: Books Signing Details TBD
  Portland, OR

• Saturday, April 6 @ 1:00-2:30pm in Boston
  The Muse & the Marketplace
  “You Need A Website: A Practical Guide to the What, Why, and How of Building Your First Author Website”
  Park Plaza Hotel
  50 Park Plaza
  Boston, MA 02116