Alison Joan Frances

While thinking about hurricanes swirling around loved ones elsewhere, a bunch of writers got together at the Fiction Fest conference in Norwalk, Connecticut. I am back home, exhausted, and so glad to have been a part of this! The writers are awesome and inspiring and so willing to give advice and tips to anyone who asks. They are wells of helpful information. I wonder how they can do it all—work, family, taking care of the everyday house and cooking and health and cleaning, and still have time to watch television (while my Netflix account sits neglected like a withered and forgotten houseplant). I met some great people, took some great notes, and am leaving the weekend as a better writer. 

Special shout-out to the three authors who signed books for me this weekend: Kristan Higgans, Heather Graham, and Jamie Pope!

In other news, I won a playwright award—the 2017 Clan na Gael Playwright Competition! My one-act play, Michael’s Wedding, will be given a featured reading in the coming months.

Of course, this with teaching and editing a film and taking care of the oodles of animals is keeping me busy, but I do have some plans and goals for writing, too. As we cling on to the last official days of summer and face the start of fall, we all must prioritize and prepare for the change that comes. Let’s just make sure we keep books and pumpkin coffee in the game plan. Oh, and chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, long story, but let's just say, when a line is long, one should always raid the dessert table first.