FORTHCOMING: The Lost Chronicles of Slue Foot Sue

So it's official(ish!) 

My next manuscript, The Lost Chronicles of Slue Foot Sue, has been accepted for publication by Lamar University Literary Press and is slated for release in early 2017. 

Commence the happy dancing!

I'm incredibly proud of of this manuscript. Truly. 

The book revisions tales from Texas folklore from a contemporary feminist perspective and provides some much needed context to the women of legend in the state. I know I've been yapping on and on about the book over here on the blog as it's gone from little idea to full fledged manuscript and all spaces in between, but it really has been an incredible, educational, and downright enjoyable journey for me. I'm confident in this book, and I'm excited to see what the world thinks of it.

I last left off at the point of restructuring the order of my poems, which I spent a couple of days doing. The result was a four chapter piece, each chapter concentrating on a separate legend. The new structure, I think, is easier to follow. Instead of readers having to navigate these numerous different threads, we follow one to completion then begin another. Narrative. It's all about the narrative, creating that narrative of women. 

A few weeks ago, I was finally happy with how it looked and felt. I sent it off to Publisher and held my breath, momentarily doubting myself my writing. What if I just got lucky with Goddess? What if Publisher thinks this manuscript is too feminist? What if he hates it, and by proxy, me? I'm learning that as a writer, this voice, this fear, never really goes away.

But of course, those fears were unfounded. Actually, within TWO FREAKIN' HOURS, Publisher writes back saying that he loves it, he wants it, and that he doesn't often get poems as good as these. Yes. He said that. I read the email five times, then showed it to B and asked him, "does it really say what I think it says?" 

We celebrated with a few beers that night. I was (and still am) on cloud 9. 

Now comes the arduous task of waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Good thing I have plenty of projects to occupy my time, like planning my friend's book release party, a collaborative writing project with a local artist (more deets later!), and of course, getting ready for the upcoming semester (I was assigned a last minute creative writing class! Whoopie!). 

Anyway, it's been a lovely summer so far. I still have a few weeks left of it, so let's see what I can make of it!