When Writing Seeds Sprout

I have so much on my plate for 2017 but it’s all exciting and you will see many changes. Look for my new novel, Unforgivable Love, from William Morrow. The publication date is September 26, 2017. The cover design is underway and I’m thrilled to share it with you because I’ve been writing about the book here for a few years now. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to see this historical fiction, a retelling of Dangerous Liaisons set in 1940s Harlem, come to life!

To celebrate the book I’ll launch a new website featuring a new blog and of course I’ll be traveling! I’m already scheduled to teach at the Frederick Buechner Writers Workshop in Princeton and Pasadena, the Writing for Your Life Workshop in Nashville, and the Hobart Book Village Festival of Women Writers in the Catskills. Next week I’m headed to Washington D.C. for the conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) where on February 11 I’ll speak on a panel, “Writing White Characters,” with fellow faculty members from the Regis University Mile-High MFA.

Also coming up: My essay collection Love’s Long Line Alone has been acquired by Ohio State University Press for its 21st Century Essays series to be published on its Mad River Books imprint. And I’m hard at work on a spiritual memoir about raising a child of faith in a secular world. Paraclete Press is publishing it and I’ll let you know when it and the essay collection have their publication dates. This fall you’ll be able to read more of my spiritual writing in Forward Day by Day, a publication of daily meditations produced by the Episcopal Church. I wrote the daily meditations for all of September 2017. You’ll want to get it, either online or at a church near you. I’m honored to share, hopefully in a helpful way, with the more than a half million readers worldwide who use Forward Day by Day as a resource for daily prayer and Bible study.

I’m still writing regular posts for the blog at Ruminate Magazine. In fact, one of my pieces, “The Importance of Non-Writing Writing” was Ruminate Magazine‘s most read blog post of 2016! You can read it by using this link. I’m happy to continue creating for one of my favorite literary journals.

I feel as though all of the writing seeds I’ve been planting for the past five years, starting with my work earning my MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts, are finally beginning to sprout. Of course there’s more work to do and I’m on it. But I believe in taking the time to express gratitude for the beautiful garden of words I see coming up around me. I hope you’ll stay with me as we see how it all grows.

In the meantime, please enjoy this fun interview I recorded recently for Word After Word: A Podcast On Writing.  Paul Matthew Carr, David Hicks, and I talk about my writing habits and the genesis of Unforgivable Love. You can listen in at this link. More soon so stay tuned. I’m glad you’re here.

Yours,

Sophfronia