Monday, August 12, 2019

Dried Leaves and Walking Trails


Went out for a walk along one of the trails on the east side of our small town at the start of the month, and noticed that some of the poplar leaves are starting to yellow and fall. When I was still in school, it always struck me when I saw the leaves starting to slowly make their way to the ground near the end of July that the return to school was imminent.

No more school for me, not full-time anyway (although the fall invariably spurs me to do a search of online courses that might be of interest), but the leaves remain a reminder of how quickly time passes. Before we know it, this summer’s high daytime temperatures and strength-sapping humidity will be things of the past. In a way, that suits me. I find it easier to carve time out of the day to sit in front of the laptop once summer is over.

Until then, I’ll have to sandwich writing time between watering the garden, replenishing the bird bath, and all the other little tasks that seem to compete for attention during the summer months.

Recent Publications
My poem “Into the Net” appeared in Eye to the Telescope Issue 33, with the theme of “Infection”. You can find a link to the issue here:


I also had two poems, “When They Stopped” and “Fireflies?” published in the July 2019 edition of Outposts of Beyond.

My review of Mike Resnick’s The Master of Dreams was published on The Future Fire August 1. You can find the link here:


What I'm Working On
Still refining my review of The War Beneath, a near-future (2129) science fiction novel by Timothy S. Johnston depicting intrigue under the seas right here on Earth, and have started making review notes for Jack Campbell’s military science fiction novel Ascendant.

Also on the non-fiction front, I’ll be working on a piece to submit to Small Farm Canada, as well as some Chicken Soup for the Soul callouts.

Coming Soon
Poems and short stories accepted for various publications, including Scifaikuest, New Myths, and Bards and Sages Quarterly, will appear in the August to November time frame. Now, back to work with writing and reviewing!