My poem “Stepmother” is in the new issue of Eye to the Telescope. I am delighted to be included in the issue, especially as it contains several pieces that I love, my favorite of all being John C. Mannone’s “Emancipation,” which is beautifully written, specific in its details, and universal in its theme.

I have several upcoming author appearances: I will be at MidAmericon II (the 74th Worldcon) in August and will be on the “Mars Needs Poets” panel at 11 am on Thursday the 18th and the “Beta Readers” panel at 1 pm on Friday the 19th. I am particularly glad that both Mary Turzillo and Jo Walton will be on the poetry panel: Mary Turzillo because I already know her and she will be a friendly face, and Jo Walton because her novel “Among Others” is one of my favorite books.

And I will be at Confluence (the annual Pittsburgh SF/F/H conference) in two weeks. I’m scheduled for 5 panels, plus a Kaffeeklatsch on dragons with Andi O’Connor, an autograph session, and a reading with Timons Esaias at 1 pm on Sunday.

Lastly, in 5 days time, on Tuesday 7/19/2016 at 8 pm, I will be reading at the Hemingway’s Poetry Series in Pittsburgh, a summer poetry series that has been running for over 40 years. Coincidentally I will again be reading with Timons Esaias (plus Charlie Brice, Jay Carson, Ann Curran, and Judith Robinson).

My King Xau poem Why the King Wept is in today’s edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 🙂 Yay 🙂 The poem was first published earlier this year in Uppagus.

My poem “Arrow” has been accepted by Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. “Arrow” is a King Xau poem that introduces a new character into the epic, and I am rather fond of it.

I am happy to report that my poem “Stepmother” has been accepted by Eye to the Telescope. I wrote the poem as part of the King Xau epic, but am unsure whether I’ll keep it there. (It has a different tone than most of the poems.)

Today I received $75 payment and the contract from Fantasy & Science Fiction for my poem “Kingship” 🙂 For those of you who are not poets, $75 is a very good payment for a poem. I think I’ve only twice received more (one of those two happy occasions being last week when I won the Poetry Nook contest).

My poem The Horse Lord won the 84th weekly contest at poetrynook.com 🙂 I note that this seems an excellent place to send previously-published poems. They charge no entry fee and award a $100 weekly prize. However, all entries are posted online (and therefore published), so this is NOT a place to send work for which you are still hoping to sell first rights. (“The Horse Lord” is a King Xau poem that first appeared in Ideomancer.)

Thinking of the dead, the injured, their friends and families in Orlando:

Incomprehensible

In ruin’s wake,
we search for signs,
a meaning writ
where there is nothing
but grief.

I am delighted to report that my poem “Kingship” has been accepted by Fantasy & Science Fiction. Back when I was writing short stories, I had several published in Fantasy & Science Fiction, but this is the first time I’ve sold them a poem. “Kingship” is, unsurprisingly, about King Xau.

It was a good day: I also had a mainstream poem accepted. “Legacy” will appear in After Happy Hour Review 🙂 And in addition I had a King Xau poem, Homecoming, published in Songs of Eretz Poetry Review 🙂

My poems “Solstice” and “Eighty” have both been accepted by Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. The former is from the King Xau epic, but is about his sister Mei; the latter is about my father.