Last Friday we took the train to New York – I had a poetry reading in Brooklyn and we decided to make it a weekend: wander around, catch a show, read some poetry, hang out with friends.

Friday night we arrived, checked into our hotel, and headed out for drinks. Our hotel, The Renwick, was the most-me hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Literary references abounded – from the quote on our bedroom wall:

To the quote on the plotter on the writing desk:

Saturday started with wandering through the New York Public Library, always a book nerd, I loved walking through this beautiful library and checking out the Walt Whitman and Stonewall 50 exhibits.

That evening we went to Book of Mormon, which was hilarious, as predicted. After getting out of the show we started walking back to our hotel but stopped at Rockefellar Plaza – they had outdoor seating so we decided to grab a bite to eat. Once seated I checked my phone and saw an email from a press where I’d submitted my full length poetry manuscript. I sighed silently, expecting another rejection. Instead, this email greeted me:

I read it a second time. And then a third time. And then I looked up at Jay, disbelief still racing through me. “My manuscript just got accepted for publication!” Had we not been sitting at an outdoor restaurant I would have screamed in delight! Instead, I proceeded to order Prosecco so I could celebrate!

The next day I had my poetry reading in Brooklyn and I was still a bit dumbfounded. Okay, I was a lot dumbfounded. But also ecstatic and excited and overwhelmed and so very, very happy.

My book, Beautiful & Full of Monsters, will be published by Vegetarian Alcoholic Press in March 2020. I can’t wait to share this book with you.