Writing Flows At Last

That's me from David Belisle's Mormon Fag photo exhibit.  David is a rad local photographer, we used to work together at Cyclops Cafe and Pony.  He and Michael Stipe worked together on a book about R. E. M. (David used to tour with the band).  We did this photo project when I first returned to Mormonism.  We had these larger than life photos of me in drag, in vivid color -- and then we had one of me looking very LDS in black and white.  I miss David and working at the Pony, one of our most notorious local queer bars.

But being home-bound as my mother's live-in caregiver gives me the wonderful opportunity to write full-time, since I don't pay rent.  It's great now, because the writing has really returned and new work is flowing from me fingers to me keyboard.  Been writing a number of prose-poems and vignettes.  One of what I feel is the best of my prose-poems has just been published in this month's issue of the Lovecraft eZine, and it has also been read by MorganScorpion on her YouTube channel.  I've been working on a number of wee things that, when completed, will form a 20,000 word sequence of prose-poems, all of which will be inspir'd by Lovecraft's weird fiction and the entries in his commonplace book.  The completed work will be entitled "Unhallowed Places" and form the nucleus of ye revised/expanded edition of Dreams of Lovecraftian Horror to be published by Mythos Books.

And I have just completed an opening proem for The Strange Dark One -- Tales of Nyarlathotep, to be publish'd this Oktobyr by Miskatonic River Press.  My editor there, Scott, wanted opening and closing poems for the book.  This opening proem is in the style of HPL's "The Ancient Track," and the closing poem will be a new sonnet that I thought I was gonna write tonight but I'm feeling too lazy and distracted.

Yesterday was a great day for art.  Got one of the new illustrations from Jeffrey Thomas for my Nyarlathotep book, and it is amazing.  Then Larry Roberts sent me the two interior art pieces by Matthew Jaffe for Some Unknown Gulf of Night, and they are magnificent.

& before ye week hath expir'd I hope to have a good amount of work done on ye rough of my first fictive collaboration with Jeffrey Thomas -- we are writing a book of connected tales featuring a sinister New England artist, whom I think I want to name Enoch Blake.  I initially suggested the idea to Stanley Sargent, as a book for him to write on his own, of an artist fascinated by ye supernatural and who investigates aspects of it as a way of inspiring new paintings.  I thought such a series should be written by an author who also has artistic abilities, and Stan has painted some amazing works.  Since Stan lives in San Francisco, I thought that city would prove an excellent backdrop for such a series of tales.  But gloom-&-doom Stan thought the idea sucked, and that pissed me off so I mumbled to myself, "Man, if I knew anything about artwork I'd write such a book myself."  Then I thought, "Honey, just get a co-author who is also an artist!"  And then I knew I'd want to set such a series of tales in mine beloved New England, whut I was able to finally visit in 2007.  And then I thought of Jeffrey Thomas, who lives in New England and has written cool Lovecraftian fiction and is an artist.  So I propos'd ye project to him and he said "hell yes."

So, I'm lost in a sea of endless projects.  That makes me one happy old queen.