I can relate to that woman in the picture. In the past year-and-a-half, the world has shifted 180º around me, making my hair stand on end, the blood rush to my head, and bringing everything I’d taken for granted crashing to the floor.

The resulting clutter has forced a colossal life re-evaluation and clean-up—not all of which was desired or pleasant, but necessary, as well as a total reordering of priorities. The good thing, is that being upside-down has also brought life and work into focus in a way they haven’t been in years.

Creatively, from that odd vantage point, I finally figured out how to organize material that stubbornly resisted organization. I saw the common threads in that work, and pulled my author site down so I could present it in a way that made sense, and felt right. Thus, the dark tales I mentioned in an earlier post, which I had tagged, “Suburban Gothic,” are being regrouped under a new title: Tales from Willow Bend. Since I’m planning to publish these stories as a collection, I’ll only be posting excerpts. But, I hope they’ll be enough to tempt you when the collection is released. As for Shadows and Ghosts, I realized it needed some serious rehabbing, a realization that came fortuitously as the book was about to go out of print. So, I will be taking this opportunity to issue the novel in a new and revised edition, hopefully before the end of the year. I will always be a fan of Serving House Books, though, and am looking forward to giving well-deserved shout-outs to some of their new releases in the coming days and months. I want to see their wonderful authors thrive.

Finally, there is a new Willow Bend novel in progress, The Scent of Grief, which I will tease you with, as it takes shape.

As for Twists and Turns, it will continue as the place for my flash fiction and poetry—always posted in full, nostalgic digressions, and observations. I hope you’ll stick with me. There’s a lot more to come….

Blessings to all.

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