A New Book Is Coming...

I genuinely didn't know if this would happen, but it's happening and I'm thrilled. It's still very much a work in progress, and I can't say exactly when it will be ready for publication, but it's far enough along that I'm confident I'll finish and publish it eventually.

Here's what I can share about the book so far:

-It's a poetry book, and sort of a cross between The Sense of Non-Cents and Drifter Sister. It has the thematic coherence of Sister, but it's a compilation of short poems like Non-Cents was.

-The working title is The Ill Maid Knight. Bonus points if you know what mythological figure this is referencing.

-This book has a unique twist to separate it from my first two-- it's going to include a couple short stories alongside the poems.

-Its chief theme is love, and the poems explore all of the joy, pain, tension, beauty, and confusion that can come along with love.

-As with my other poetry, if you are debating between multiple possible interpretations of a poem, the answer is probably "Yes."

And finally, here is a sneak peek of a poem to be included in the book!

Out of the Depths

The sound of a splash

Led me to wade through the reeds that scratched my bare legs

And find the pool set ablaze by sunlight

As though its surface was a million-faceted diamond.

Enthralled,

I looked closer

And found turquoise edges

Running into a center of otherworldly blue,

Down, down,

Deeper still

Until finally, the bottom…

No. Not yet.

I was the more deceived.

Here are profound depths

At which those outside can only vainly grasp

And never fathom.

How I long to dive

Sink forever

Leaving ripples that never end.

Too afraid,

I stare instead,

Mesmerized.

Is it the pool indeed I love,

Or what I think I see in it?