Welcome to 2025! 

I cut my social media usage way down last year. I still occasionally check Instagram, X, or Facebook (okay it's REALLY occasional with Facebook) but I keep it to a minimum. I just couldn't handle all the division and negativity last year, especially given that I am friends with all sorts of people with all sorts of beliefs. 

I haven't been writing my own updates very often and so one of my goals is to be more consistent about updating this blog. I also haven't had as much to say about my author journey as I've been working on the same novel for three to four years. I need one more round of micro-revisions to polish it up before I start querying literary agents so I'll be sure to post updates about that. Although all of my books are currently published independently, I want to pursue the traditional publishing route with this one first as it's general fiction as opposed to genre fiction (like fantasy or science fiction) and that tends to be a better path for those books.

I was recently updating some of my ebooks, and I was reading through my book of poems from 2021 called Slip Away. It's a book of poems about loss and the process of grief. I know that sounds like a bummer but by the end, I discovered loss is an illusion. It's real on the human level, but on a deeper, spiritual level, we can never lose anyone as we are all one. It was a good time for me to revisit this collection.

So as a gift for the new year, my box set ebook with three collections of poems--Coiled and Swallowed, Driving Downtown to the Show, and Slip Away--will be free from Monday, January 6th through Friday, January 10th. And you can read all three books for free indefinitely on Kindle Unlimited. 

Coiled and Swallowed is a collection of personal poems that weave together a collage of moments--from an ode to carpet to a fantastical friendship with a vampire to chronicles of a first love now broken. And Driving Downtown to the Show is an eclectic collection of poems that captures the essence of a young musician's life--from a pantoum about an overdose to odes to mix CDs to moments spent daydreaming at the coffee shop. Every poem in this collection features the name of a band that played in Atlanta venues in 2011, and a profound love of music is captured throughout.

Check out the free box set ebook here.

I also miss seeing the positive updates from everyone--whether it's friends from college or grad school, people who go to my Unity church, or even people I only met once or twice at a writing or music event. I miss seeing your wins, your successes. I miss seeing pictures of your pets or hearing about awards your kids have won. 

I don't really do New Year resolutions, but I would say I have “intentions” for the year (which are maybe just a different word for resolutions?). One intention that I have is to connect with more people beyond the comments and likes. So really if you want to reach out to me via email or DM on Facebook, Instagram, or X (I even made a Bluesky when that was trending a while ago though I'm already having to remind myself to update it!) and just send me a picture of your dog or share a random piece of news or just share your thoughts about that new album you love, I would honestly love that. Sometimes it might take me a minute to respond, but I always will eventually! 

So Happy New Year! Enjoy some poetry! (And I mean that for everyone, no matter who you voted for.)

Long time, no see right?

Ever since I started working for Unity World Headquarters about two years ago, I haven't been putting much effort into my artistic projects. Well, not marketing them anyway. I have been writing--although it has been slow going.

I'm still working on the novel I was talking about in 2021 on the Find Creative Expression podcast. Most of my previous novels have not taken me nearly as long, but I did completely rewrite the book. So it's almost like I wrote two books! 

I'm spending the rest of the year polishing it up, and then the plan is to start querying literary agents in January. I am an indie author, yes, but this is an adult contemporary novel that would just be shelved in the generic “fiction” section at the bookstore. So I want to pursue the traditional route with this book first. 

Hopefully, I will have more information about this one soon! It's about a Broadway performer who loses her balance due to spinocerebellar ataxia (a rare neurologic condition that I have) and has to move back in with her parents (who she hasn't spoken to in eight years) in Atlanta and find a new career. 

Don't worry, that's not the ACTUAL elevator pitch, but I just wanted to give y'all the update.

Anyway, I've been so deeply involved with my day job over the past two years, I haven't worked much on the artistic stuff. I absolutely love my job, and I'm so grateful to have a job helping to spread the message of Unity. I'm actually studying to become a Licensed Unity Teacher right now, and the classes I am taking for that have been so incredibly rewarding.

But I have missed all the artistic projects. I actually re-strung my guitar the other day and I've slowly been trying to get back into playing music (something I haven't done since my August 2020 acoustic show I livestreamed from my living room.) 

I also miss having an outlet to talk to other artists like with the Find Creative Expression podcast or even a place to talk about music, books, TV, and films I really love like on my YouTube Channel. So I may be starting the YouTube Channel back up soon. 

In such a divisive time where tensions seem to be so high, I really love talking about one thing we all have in common: the love of art/entertainment and creativity. I loved knowing that all the artists I used to talk to on my podcast had VASTLY different beliefs and opinions, but I connected with all of them regarding their creative process. It was such an inspirational and uplifting time for me! So I would love to make videos again talking about my own creative process, what albums or books I'm obsessing over, and maybe some tips for other creatives.

So I just wanted to give y'all the update and tell you about what's been going on with me. Feel free to check out my books, THE MUSE CHRONICLES, TIME AFTER TIME, and INTO THE SHADOWS. (My goal is to get back to the Shadow Vampires and put out book 2 sometime in 2025 by the way!) I also have a free writing craft book, THE 30-DAY WRITING CHALLENGE: BEGIN OR ENHANCE YOUR DAILY WRITING HABIT, and three books of poems, COILED AND SWALLOWED, DRIVING DOWNTOWN TO THE SHOW, and SLIP AWAY. 

And in case any of you are interested, here are some of my favorite articles I have written for Unity World Headquarters.

Thank you for staying up-to-date with what's going on with me! I hope to have some artistic news for you soon!

My poetry books are out today!

You can download Coiled and Swallowed, Driving Downtown to the Show, Slip Away, or a bundle of all three ebooks on all major retailers. (They may not be up on Apple yet but should be by the end of the day.) You can also download any of these here on the website. 

The print versions should also be available by the end of the week, and stay tuned for information about the audio versions!

Also, I will be doing a brief reading mainly featuring poems from my new collection, Slip Away, tonight at 7:00 PM EST on my Facebook page. I hope to see you there!

I'd like to announce that on March 23, 2021, I will be releasing Slip Away, my new book of poems.

At the same time, I will also be re-releasing my book of poems, Coiled and Swallowed (2010) as well as my book of poems, Driving Downtown to the Show (2012) with these new covers.

All three books will be available in ebook and print on all book retailers. I will also be recording audiobooks though those won't come out until later this year.

A few weeks ago, I had to put my cat, Frank, to sleep. I was devastated, and the only thing that helped was writing poetry. The idea for Slip Away was born. It is a collection of poems about loss. Actual loss through death, yes, but also the loss of relationships, the loss of childhood, the loss of dreams. 

I've been writing like crazy since then, and now I have a first draft of the entire collection. 

I know what you're thinking. "Wow, that sounds depressing, Sara." But actually, if you stick with me until the end of the collection, it has an uplifting message by the end. 

These poems are all very personal to me, and sharing them is giving everyone a peek into my soul, more so than my fiction or plays have.

For those of you wondering what's going on with my vampire trilogy, I've decided to shelf Until the Night Falls for the time being. I will definitely return to the trilogy at a later date, but my heart just isn't in it right now. Right now is not the time for me to write about vampires. 

The ebook versions of my poetry books will all be $1.99, or there will be a $2.99 bundle with all three books. (The print versions will be $4.99.) 

I am so excited to share these poems--both the old and the new--with you.