BACK IN BUSINESS

Hola and holla, kids! (Because it sounds very natural for 50-year-old ultra-WASPs to yell "holla!" But still...)

I am back from the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival with a new attitude. About writing, and maybe about myself as a contributing member to the varied body of gay literature. That's a lot more than I had planned to come home with.

One issue I had hoped to resolve in my head -- but didn't -- is what comes next. I sorta kinda maybe think I know, but I also sorta kinda maybe have to think a bit more.

But what a weekend! What great people!

Some quick mental snapshots:

David Puterbaugh's Airplane Story

Marika's Rendition of "The Lonely Goatherd"...
in a Goat Voice.

Watching David, Jeff Ricker, and 'Nathan Burgoine
Read for the First Time

Waiting for "George Glass"

Sitting on a Panel with Betsy Becky Cochrane, Greg Herren,
Jess Wells, and Marty Hyatt

Meeting and Drinking with Michael
Thomas Ford and Andrew Beierle

And this:



If Jesus was a gay writer, you just know the Last Supper would have been at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in New Orleans, right?

There were too many good times to recount, and too many fun and fascinating people to list without forgetting someone. Trust me: you should have been there.

I was one of the few people without a camera. Which is good for the people whose heads would have otherwise been cut off. But in the next day or two I'll try to link to most of the photo collections from the weekend.

Beyond the fun, though, was some priceless education and -- most importantly -- the kick in the ass I've needed for a quite a while to get back to work. Because writing isn't a hobby you should pick up or drop based on your whim of the day. It is rewarding work, but it is work... and I need to start punching the clock again.

Stay tuned.