Katie's Blog

Yay! I've been 'booked' for a book signing! Hah! I'll be reading at Barnes and Noble in McAllen (north 10th) at 7:00pm on Saturday May 8th. Am I excited? Yes. Even more though, I'm nervous as heck. How does one go about setting up a book signing? I haven't a clue!!! I used to work at Hastings way back in the day. I would work with authors to set up their book signings, but I remember always feeling horribly inadequete. I always found out like the day of the event, had no direction from my managers, and would feel guilty when author would chastise me for being so... incompetant. (Sigh) Now it's time for me to be on the other end of the frustration... maybe. Or maybe things will go smoothly. Who knows! Ok so Katie's a busy girl. Being a poetita is hard work. I don't have time to write anymore... :'( . On my to do list for the next few weeks: 1. Prepare portfolio for Form and Theory class (5 poems, done... pretty much) due tomorrow. 2. Write two new...

I'm officially all worded out. There we are... at the Poetry Pachanga! What an incredible weekend. I had such a great time participating in the Valley International Poetry Festival. Last night was the big finale at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. I sat at Amalia Ortiz's table for dinner! When am I going to get a chance to chat over a glass of wine with her?? Why... next year of course at VIPF 2011! LoL. No but seriously, great night, wonderful weekend. Last night I think the audience was really digging my poem! I read "The Common Denominator" and proclaimed that I AM A BORDER WOMAN! Yes, with my blond hair and blue eyes and guerita midwest accent, I am a border woman! :-P That's what my chapbook speaks to, anyway. The only disappointing thing about last night was that i didn't sell ANY of my chapbooks. Boohoo. LoL it was pretty funny though, because by the end of the night there was some pretty sweeping drunkenness. That's what happens when they have a bo...

Did I have a great time at Jitterz or what?! :-D Soooooooo many poets, soooooooo much support, and wayyyyyy too much coffee LoL! We raised over $100 for Tato Laviera (disabled and homeless poet who gave workshops with our university), and I even sold a few of my chapbooks!! I had the guts to get up and read TWICE, once as part of a student/faculty reading and again at the open mic. I think I did ok, poems didn't go over the best. I read "Breakfast with Fur" which is kind of a weird poem... I don't think the audience got it. Oh well. Oh! And I was a judge at both the youth and adult poetry slams B-) Boy did I feel important or what? All in all, it was a GREAT opportunity for me to meet fellow poets, share my work, promote my chapbook, and raise money for a good cause. And Bruno joined me! My lovie dovie poo poo! I know he probably felt uber uncomfortable with all the artsy strangeness going on, but he was there to support me and that means so much. I will work on hunt...

Boundless 2010 anthology looks absolutely GREAT! I was really impressed with the release reception last night :) Lots of great poets all in one room. Here's me, reading my poem "Original Sin". I look so professional with the McAllen Chamber of Commerce backdrop, yes? And here's a group picture of all anthologized poets! Bet you can spot me :D I stand out just a little bit... And here's another picture of me, just a little too excited to get this whole Valley International Poetry Festival thing started! LoL. Standing next to me is poet Kamala Platt! Anyway, the reception went great, the anthology is wonderful, and overall I'm pretty impressed. Tonight VIPF continues with a reading and poetry slam at Jitterz in Mission. I'll hit the stage at around 6. I'm also going to be raffling a signed copy of my new chapbook! This weekend is bound to be a great weekend. I can't wait until I get out of work!

Hah! Release day for my chapbook! ToDaY! It's out, available for purchase! Isn't the cover absolutely beautiful? Concept by Mike Warble. Check it out!!!! http://www.mouthfeelpress.com/ On the MFP website, the books is on the front page X-D Plus, if you poke around a bit, you'll find me under "Our Authors" with my sexy picture and facinating author bio. And you know what else? Post office (wonderful beautiful sexy post office) held my package of books. Yesterday's blunder will NOT ruin my thunder! Oh joyous wonderful day! :D :D :D :D For more on Mike Warble, visit http://www.artofwarble.com

Ok so this blonde moment definately takes the cake. Remember how I was expecting to have books waiting patiently on my doorstep this morning? My book? Among the Mariposas, ready to sell for tomorrow's reception? Well that was the best laid plan, anyway. I get home, nothing, nada, ziltch. So I send a guilt inducing email to editor, about how my amateur poetic self is sooo crushed to be bookless at upcoming wine and cheese reception (McAllen chamber of commerce! if you're interested in stoppin by!). So she feels bad when she reads said email, and calls me apologizing, angry, upset, confused. It was supposed to be there! Stupid USPS GUARANTEED IT! So she opens up email history, just to verify everything. What's your address? 4612 C Street.... ok ok... wait a minute... she sent it to 4216 c street! I automatically assume editor is at fault, not perfect poeta. But.... alas it was my fault. My nimble fingers sure do type fast, but their accuracy isn't the best. I'm so fre...

Ok so over the next few days I'll be reading/hopefully selling books at the following venues X-D Thursday, April 22nd - McAllen Chamber of Commerce 7-9pm Part of an anthology release reception for Boundless 2010... oh and my book too, Among the Mariposas! Ok So I'm making the second part up but whatever. Friday April 23rd - Jitters Coffee Shop in Mission - 6-10pm I'll be reading early though as part of a UTPA faculty/student reading. Oh, and I'm selling my books too. Oh! And I'm raffling a signed copy too with procedes going to the Tato Laviera fund to help him find a home :) Saturday April 24th - McAllen Chamber of Commerce 8-10pm Poetry Pachanga! Tons of great poets will be there (including myself of course) Below is the official program for VIPF. It'll be a good time for sure. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Please check www.vipf.org for updates on schedule or call (956) 358-7211. Poets listed are scheduled to appear, but may not be available as listed.) Free Admission *...

Reading Wislawa Szymborska's nobel prize lecture... and came across a quote that I think pretty much sums it all up: "The moment always came when poets had to close the doors behind them, strip off their mantelsm fripperies, and other poetic paraphernaila, and contront - silently, patiently waiting their own selves - the still white sheet of paper. For finally this is what really counts." So...umm... Katie? Why aren't you writing? The still white sheet of paper awaits you. Good point. :)

So this is going to be my official author photo... why did my editor choose the one photo with my bra strap showing? Because I'm a damn sexy author that's why B-) LoL sure. Anyway I'm psyched. Book will be in hands next week. Festival begins next week. Giving a workshop next week. Doing tons of readings and book signings next week. Oh, and the following week going to San Antonio conference to talk about book. And and and and and... ok I'll settle down now.

Ok so today I open my email, uber excited because the subject reads : Among the Mariposas, cover. Woohoo! It looks absolutely wonderful. Beautiful! Words cannot describe... wait a second... what's that? Margaret Hoerth?! LoL, I was so excited to show off my cover and it has the WRONG author name on it. Ah well... easy fix right? That's about as exciting as my life gets for today. I feel a poem brewing. I see other poets putting clever lines in their facebook statuses and suddenly I feel jealous and want to write. But nothing's come... yet!

Well I had the awards reception today. It was fancy foo foo and really nice. I love getting all dressed up. The only down side was that I didn't get to go on stage to accept the award. Booo!! So there weren't really any good photo-ops. I was really looking forward to adding some new pics to my 'Katie the Poet' album. Anyway, I'll call it a success. Enjoyed a sangria with the university president, my boss saw me looking all snazzy, and I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of ass kissing. Yep yep... all in all a good day. Now if only this headache would go away...

My book Among the Mariposas will be out and in my hands by April 22nd. Just in time for the Valley International Poetry Festival. What a great opportunity to promote the book. I'm excited, can't wait! Oh, and my professor decided to have class over at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce during the Boundless Anthology reception because a classmate and I will be reading. Yay! I can go after all. Being a poet is starting to interfere with my social life. LoL. But you know what? I think I'd rather have my poems than friends. KIDDING!

to add to my schedule. This Sunday I'm accepting my Outstanding Achievement Award :D Woohooooooooooo! So my busy Poetry Month begins. Aye.

What's new in the world of Katie?? Hmmmm... Well I'm getting a little bit nervous. To me, it seems like everything is running together lately, like I'm double booking myself all over the map. Ah! I need to organize myself Upcoming Events: The Valley International Poetry Festival - April 22-25: Boundless Anthology reading: 7-9 at McAllen Chamber of Commerce And somewhere in all this mess I'm giving a workshop on putting together a chapbook. When, where, why? No idea. Wild Tongues Conference in San Antonio - May 1st, but I will be in San Antonio having a romantic getaway for the whole weekend. Maybe book a B&B on the river walk? Definately visiting La Villita, and will sip wine and have long sappy conversations with my BruBru. Ah I'm looking forward to it. Um, what else? Still waiting on a release date for Among the Mariposas. I would like to do a book signing when it comes out, but maybe the release will coincide with VIPF which would be GREAT X-D And I'm ver...

Hehe... Ok so here's the frame around my little comment for today. Last night I was feeling particularly angry with myself. I do it quite often, you know. I didn't make it to the gym, I didn't consume a single vegetable. I rushed through an assignment I'm working on so that I could move on with my productive evening of drinking two beers and playing Monopoly. I sound like a serious loser, right? (Not that there's anything inherently wrong with playing Monopoly, but there's nothing productive about it) So I was angry. Stupid Katie, why aren't you working harder at becoming the person you need to be?! GrRr! In order to cure my humdrum feelings toward myself, I decided that this morning it would be a good time to update my CV. "My CV says I'm not a loser, therefore, I am not a loser" Hah! My quote for the day. I sure do look interesting on paper, now if only I actually was.... I'm working on it!

Here I come! I'm marking my calendar for May 1st, where I'll be presenting at UTSA's Downtown campus at the Wild Tongues Conference on Gloria Anzaldua. I'm so excited. Being a poet is... umm... wonderful! LoL. Hopefully I can meet with some smart people and promote my book. Maybe? Maybe? Oh, and of course I'm making it into a romantic weekend with my love. Excited!!!!

Ok yeah yeah yeah I know only amatuers use cats in their author pictures. But you know what? I AM an amatuer! LoL! Oh, oh oh, and was Jack Kerouac an amateur? I don't think sooo! (His author picture featured feline arm candy too). So anyway, they look professional enough, right? My lovely Bruno took them. It helps a lot to have a photographer/web programmer in the family. Hehehe! He agreed to do a website for me as well, so once that's up I'll look like the real deal. Which, to be honest, I think I'm sort of becoming. I'm really excited that 'things' are all happening so fast for me. I'm 23!! But I'm an author. It's amazing. Oh, did I mention about my Outstanding Achievement award with the university? I'm accepting it this Sunday, and spent the weekend shopping for a dress to go to the ceremony. Woohoo!! So seriously now it's time for me to get back to work.

By the way! I forgot to mention that my poems are not available for reading on the Clean Sheets website. Check them out! http://www.cleansheets.com I'm under poetry :-) You can read "How Do Clams Make Love" and "The Perfect Sestina" if you're so inclined. Also, check back next week for my poem "My Shadow"!!! By the way, adults only. It's an erotic writing website (but a very good one I might add). Happy reading!!

That's something I'm REALLY not good at. Ok so I'm WAITING FOR My book to come out... any day now?! Acceptance/rejection from the San Antonio graduate synopsism Acceptance/rejection from the Boundless anthology More info on the workshop I'm supposed to be giving at VIPF Acceptance/rejection from Bordersenses Acceptance/rejection from Blackbird (I know this one I'm going to have to wait a longggggggggggggggggggggggg time for) And what else? I think that's it. I'm not very good at waiting. I'm much better at writing. Maybe that's what I should be doing instead? Ok enough said I'm getting to work (after lunch break of course...heh.)