February 2026
General Musings
A splash. It’s that moment in a movie after the character dives into a body of water. They remain underwater, invisible from the viewer, for an achingly long time. You wonder, checking your watch after a minute of gurgling bubbles: are they going to come back up? The ripples in the water begin to calm. Did they find what they dove in for? Everything is still. That lost heirloom, their sinking best friend, the merman with a riddle that will open up the next phase of the adventure. Did they find it? Wind rustles through leaves off screen, then the silence deepens. You’re about to go grab some more popcorn or a tea refill, but then, just as it seems there’s no hope for our sopping protagonist, they burst out of the water. Gasping. They drag themselves and whatever it is they inevitably found–wait, is that just a tub of Red Vines? I would have thought something like that would float. In any case, they toss the tub to safety and lay sputtering on the shore, finally having surfaced. Having emerged from the isolated, silent depths.
Anyway…fall was BUSY. December, January, a touch of February were gray, quiet, and disconnected. It’s winter and the dopamine is low. But the coffee is flowing. and inch by inch, I’m getting back onto the shore.
Why so busy this fall? Why so hibernation-bear this winter? What could possibly have caused this brain-wide power outage? In December, I submitted and defended my thesis, and ultimately, finished my Master of Arts degree from Emerson College. Yay! I also wrapped up a quarter of teaching five courses. Also yay! Since then, I’ve been hopscotching my way through flus and colds, and also enjoying some time to disconnect. In essence, slowing down, sleeping, eating, and settling back into being a person.
This newsletter is, for me, that first gasp of air after breaking through the water’s surface. It’s great to get some words on a page.
Announcements
My first and long-due announcement (though these are all long-due, let’s be real) is that I recently had a short story published in the anthology Breaking the Genre: A Nat 1 Anthology of Strange and Experimental Fiction. It was a story to explore an internal or psychological mystery, and it was so much fun to work within a different structural frame than I’ve played with in the past.
Touched on a little bit earlier, my second announcement is that I’ve earned my MFA in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing! I had the honor of working with two incredible artists and teachers. Margot Douaihy was my advisor throughout the semester, and Raquel Pidal was my reader. I cannot imagine a team with more wisdom, energy, and care. They graciously agreed to a celebratory Zoom photo after my defense and gave me permission to publish it in the newsletter. I couldn’t be more grateful for such a supportive team!
Enjoy this visual representation of me these lat couple months.