This past February was one of the coldest on record, and even now, the first week in March, the world remains covered with ice and snow that hasn’t had the chance to melt. Yes, the newspapers are right, snow is general all over Ohio. And the freeze is working its way into all of us huddled alone watching the Travel Channel to see sunny places we’ll never visit. Until the weather turns for the better, that cold growing slowness will stall us all.

Last month I started my new novel and got around 35,000 words into the first draft before I had set it aside to focus on revising an earlier work. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s good to see how my book was received and to hear so many encouraging comments. It’s also beneficial to learn what needs to be done for the book to work for a larger audience, and to have the resources to revise it. With that in mind, my attention is now focused on making it the best in can be to meet the expectation of publishers. My new novel will be there when I’m done.

The only reprieve from the cold I got came during my whirlwind trip to Seattle for the AWP. For whatever reason, the closer I got to the Canadian border the brighter the sky and the higher the sun. After months of sub-zero temperatures walking along Puget Sound in the 50s felt like pacing barefoot along the equator. Even though I had to fly fourteen hours each way to spend a day with my writer kin it was worth it. My only regret is that I didn’t get to meet more of them in real life due to my need to escape yet another winter storm barreling through the Midwest.

My short story collection Romance for Delinquents has some more press coming up, and I’ll keep you posted. Pre-orders for my novella Roller Girls Love Bobby Knight will open soon, and when they do I’ll mention that as well. I have some interviews and readings coming up, but for now I can only hope that the sun comes back soon and that days without a coat follow. I’m not built to huddle and sit still. I need to move.