This week kicks off a busy summer of writing and teaching. I’m currently preparing lesson plans and writing lessons for two summer workshops. There are only two spots left in my science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing workshop online for the Writers Studio. I’m grateful for the interest! And there’s still room in my face-to-face Writers Studio Tucson workshop, but there are already enough students signed up to hold it this summer.

This weekend, I’m participating in the first round of NYC Midnight’s annual Flash Fiction Challenge. There’s still time to register before the first round challenge begins 11:59 PM EDT this Friday. These challenges are useful because the prompts lead to new stories that can later be submitted to journals and magazines. I’m still revising my entry I wrote for the Short Story Challenge earlier this year, but I’ll start sending it out soon to potential markets.

I’m also looking forward to the start of the summer session of the Writers Studio Tucson Master Workshop next week, which I’ve been attending as a student for almost two years now. I have several new and revised poems to share with the class. I always receive such encouraging support and feedback from my instructor and classmates. Meanwhile, I sent off a genre short story to my fellow Critters at critters.org for more feedback. It’s in the queue and should go out to everyone on July 31st.

It’s going to be a busy summer. I’m struggling with balancing and prioritizing all my writing, reading, and teaching, but who could ask for better opportunities? This will be a summer to remember!