Hello sweeties. Hope you don’t have the winter blues and that you are getting enough vitamin D.
On January 16 there was a story on NPR by Jason Comely about embracing rejection (“By Making a Game out of Rejection, A Man Conquers Fear”). For a while there I was going to write a post about it, how writers have to embrace rejection. I was trying to think of it in terms of the Pareto principle, the mathematical principle known as the 80-20 rule, but I couldn’t get it straight in my head. Turns out on The Review Review Katherine West addresses the NPR story and applies it to writing in her essay “Three Cheers for Rejections! Welcoming Your Writing Back Home.” Thanks for doing what I could not.
Karen Craigo has a new blog about writing called Better View of the Moon; her February 10 post is “In Praise of Rejection.”
In my writing group we are all excited about publication, specifically the new book Principles of Navigation by Lynn Sloan and just out from Fomite. The launch will be at Women and Children First bookstore, which, btw, is being remodeled. 
I recently subscribed to an international literary magazine out of Ireland called The Moth and whom should I find in the issue? E. Michael Desilets that’s who and his poem “Filial Piety.”
Laura Rodley has a poem “This Past Full Moon” up at The New Verse News; it’s was posted February 4.
The New Verse News presents politically progressive poetry on current events and topical issues. To submit: Send previously unpublished poems in the body of an email (attach not!) to nvneditor at gmail.com. Use “Verse News Submission” as the subject line. Send a brief bio. No payment. Authors retain all rights after 1st-time appearance there.
Susan Mahan has a poem “Grim Perspective” up at Silver Birch as part of the Where I Live Poetry & Photography Series. I love Silver Birch.
Michael Constantine McConnell has work forthcoming in a new literary magazine out of Dubai called The Fable, which seeks submissions of creative short fiction; it will debut in March and I’ll try to follow up then.
If you’re surfng with no place to go, don’t forget Kathleen Kirk always provides a good read. She picks out poetry for Escape in Life and she has her own blog, Wait! I Have a Blog?! Also, RHINO just nominated a poem by Kathleen for a 2015 Illinois Arts Council Literary Award; the poem is “Cassandra is Overcome by Beauty.”
And just so you know, I’ll never reject you.
Peace, love, and solace
Thank you for the shout out about PRINCIPLES OF NAVIGATION and my book launch at Women & Children First. Big thank you. Seeing this mention in your piece on rejection is very apt. My novel had its share of rejection. Rejection is what happens when a writer tries to get her work into the world. Once I realized that rejections are normal, essential, and nothing to embrace in my heart, I relaxed. Death, taxes, and rejection: only the first two have to hurt.
It’ll be great!