Phew. Harbored inside from the frigid blizzard that has just struck Chicago, it has hit that it has been since last summer, a warmer, yet equally surreal, period of time that there has last been an update here. No need to rehash why. We all know; and I sincerely hope everyone reading this is safe, warm and trying to keep our collectively puzzled brains from fragmenting apart (unless for creative reasons).
To say the least it has been oddly busy. For those who do not know (as most do not as day work has rarely been shared here) I work in hoteling in between my life as a growing indie author. There’s a strange dichotomy of humans in the world right now who truly do not fathom world events the same way ‘essential workers’ do and it shows. Holidays become less celebration than catering and everyday labor becomes exhausting simply because of the will it takes to work around these folk.
Yet, we persevere. I am grateful for the work and enjoy it, but it is not without its toll. On that note, I am grateful more than ever for the deeper dives into furthering my creative life and honing the writing craft, as well as expanding my knowledge of the community through bonding and building. Now THAT’S a time and so enjoyable. As a horror writer and fan, there are so many valuable voices existing in the world and nothing like this past year has opened the floodgates to burn our spooky pride loud and proud (yeah, I’m gay too, so make it flamboyant).
One such tiny tome, ‘Lucid Quarantining,’ was written past April just as the endless dreamscape of current times was truly unfolding and was a the brainchild of my actual experiences with lucid dreaming and their terrifying, absurd but wrenching possibilities. It is with terrific joy to announce that this piece has been selected to appear in the upcoming Issue 9 of Chicago-based Sobotka Literary Magazine!
Their fierce pages host a bevy of talented writers, poets and artists. I am proud to be joining this roster in a magazine whose Polish moniker translates to ‘bonfire,’ words that light afire the soul. I am proud to light readers’ fires if only to illuminate a corner of our dark hearts and souls that yearn to find truth in the horror.
Follow them at their website and stay tuned for more: https://sobotkalitmag.wordpress.com/about/https://sobotkalitmag.wordpress.com/about/
Paradigm Shift Productions 