2025 News

It has, so far, been a year of daunting challenges & loss, yet there have been several glimmers of Good News, too:

  • I presented an except from an unfinished manuscript at this year’s Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference and received a MOST encouraging critique from an Editor;

  • In a moment of high fever (no doubt), I agreed to have my name included on a nomination slate and soon found myself elected as President of the New Orleans Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association;

  • I’ve decided to add to my Things To Do list, the task of editing/ghost writing the endings to an anthology of short stories penned by my son before his death. A most difficult assignment, but one that has potential.

2024 NEWS

So far, the year 2024 has held some nice steps forward in my writing journey. Very pleased to post them, here:

MAY: Our local chapter of the Dickens fellowship (an international book club that studies the works of Charles Dickens) held a competition to select the best ending for Dickens’ last -and unfinished- novel THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. I submitted my work, which was the only one not already published (and some of those authors are very well known). To my delight, the chapter selected MY version as the winner! Now, exploring ways to get my version to a wider audience.

JUNE: My participation in this year’s Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference, earned me the “Most Promising (unpublished) Author” Award for several of my manuscripts. My manuscripts were described as “rich, bold, soulful and important”. What more encouragement does one need!

JULY: My submission to the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (in the unfinished novel category) was tapped as a semi-finalist. Armed with this nod, I’m now diligently working to bring this YA sci-fi novel to completion.