It’s been a while since I last wrote a blog post. Sorry for the delay. Lots of writing, revising, and editing have taken priority in my life. I’ve also been coaching writing clients and teaching qi gong, an ancient Chinese martial art, to senior citizens in our local park. So, as you can see, I’ve been busy.

What’s taken up most of my time has been rewriting and editing my latest full-length sapphic novel, Blended Lives. For the past five years, I’ve done four major rehauls on the manuscript after consulting with an editor and recruiting the help of six sensitivity readers.

In 2017, I began writing my third novel, featuring two female dancers who fall in love. I’d written most of the story, which takes place in San Francisco, before I realized I hadn’t included dance in the book. None. How could I forget that essential detail? So, I figured I’d do some dance research, firsthand, and somehow insert it in my manuscript.

Not an easy feat, given my history with dance.

This summer, one of my coming-out stories (actually, a closeted story) was published in the fantastic LGBTQIA+ anthology, “The Whole Alphabet: The Light and the Dark.”

My story’s called Cookies at Lisa’s. It’s about how…   

Wait, I don’t want to spoil it for you. Let’s just say this was my first real experience getting goosebumps over another woman. And it’s a true story.

In preparation for the Bold Strokes Books UK Festival on 6 June in Nottingham (online again this year), today’s blog post addresses which kinds of books I’m most interested in.

Like many authors, I prefer to write the kinds of books I like to read: literary ones, with unsuspecting plots, diverse and/or quirky characters, thoughtful prose, and a dash of humor.

Since I read and write in both English and French, I love well-written stories set in other countries, peppered with foreign words and customs that transport readers to exciting locations.

We made it! After painful months of scheduling, packing, selling, donating, and stressing about last-minute travel complications, my partner and I and our kitty finally relocated back to Brussels last month.

After ten days in strict quarantine, we ventured outside at last. So cold and rainy! What a radical change from our warm, California weather… But we’re so glad to be back in Belgium amongst our family and friends, even though we can’t physically see them right now due to the current health restrictions over here.

I thought I’d write about change, since we’ve all been going through so much of it this past year. Who would’ve imagined a global pandemic would surface and disrupt our lives in such a severe way? I certainly didn’t. My life was chugging along quite smoothly until it hit. Then everything changed.

So here’s some news: I hadn’t planned to move back to Brussels, Belgium, but that’s where my partner and I and our kitty are headed in the New Year. We’ll be leaving behind sunny California, with its white, sandy beaches, palm trees, and laidback lifestyle. Hard to believe, right?

I’m writing you from sunny California while watching palm trees sway in the breeze outside my window. Sorry to make you feel bad if it’s raining over there in the UK. I don’t mean to rub it in… like the sunscreen I have to slather on my limbs each time I leave my apartment, even if it’s only to jog across the parking lot to get my mail. At least you’re spared that cumbersome, sticky chore.

Anyway, here’s my update. We’ve been hit hard by the pandemic here, like in most places around the world, and I’ve spent the past eight months holed up in our tiny duplex. What has inspired me the most during this challenging time is knowing that we’ll get through this.

You might have heard the news: California hasn't been sunny lately. We were hit with a cold, soggy storm with high winds, just in time for my recent research trip to San Francisco during our Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The clouds unleashed so much rain on the City that I kept waking up in our hotel convinced that I was back in Brussels.

It’s been an exciting few weeks to start off the summer. Both book events in Brussels, where I presented my latest novel, Broad Awakening, the sequel to Underwater Vibes (at Cook & Book on June 14^th, and at Waterstones Brussels, with interracial romance author Janae Keyes on June 16^th) drew sizeable crowds. We had stimulating conversations about “romance outside the lines” and LGBTQ inclusion in Europe, the creative writing process, etc. 

Since I’ve only published two blog posts in two years, I figured it might be a good idea to write more frequent posts, like most people who have blogs, right? Once a year probably isn’t enough to keep readers informed of what’s going on in the entertaining and fast-paced world of writing, publishing, public speaking, etc. 

So here goes: I’m in Europe now, recovering after presenting on very exciting panels at the 2019 Bold Strokes Books UK Festival in Nottingham, England. This year was as fun as ever, with a nice group of authors from Bold Strokes Books, as well as some friendly independent authors and extremely enthusiastic readers. 

I’m excited to be participating in the 2019 Bold Strokes Books UK Festival this June in Nottingham, England. Last year was a blast! I hadn’t been to England since I was in college, many moons ago, and England had certainly changed—to my liking!

First of all, it wasn’t raining cats and dogs, like it was in those days, when I’d lugged my heavy backpack toward cheap youth hostels tucked away in tiny towns on cobblestoned streets. At last year’s festival in Nottingham we had three solid days of fun and sunshine—the kind warranting sunglasses, floppy hats, and sun lotion. 

I stopped at my local drugstore yesterday to pick up a three-pronged converter for my electronic devices for my upcoming trip overseas. As I waited in line to pay (in the queue, in British English), I was wondering if I’d selected the correct one for the United Kingdom. 

There were many three-pronged converters available and it could’ve been any one of them. Just then, I heard a woman’s voice behind me say, “I’m from England.” I thought she had overheard my thoughts. Perhaps I had wondered out loud?