Big news of the writing kind!

Meow meow, friends and readers of Just Eat The Cat!! It's good to be back. I have so much great news for you, let's jump right in and break it down, shall we?

1. The first issue of Silver Living, the new zine created, edited, and published by yours truly, will be out this month! The title comes from my outlook on life: dark clouds always spur me to whip out my silver eyeliner and start painting! Thus each issue will be anchored by an essay or story that includes the writer or a character -- somehow, some way -- making lemonade with life's lemons. It's a theme I've discovered runs through my own writing. I was too old to attend Hillary Frank's teen book discussion, so I spent the day pretending to be a teenager and writing about it (see the first serial on this site). My first year as a teacher was as rough as rough gets, so I grinned, beared it, took notes, and wrote a book. The list goes on. Anyway, the Silver Living zine will be available at indie bookstores such as Quimby's in Chicago as well as through this site (stay tuned). The zine will also include fun shorts like book and music reviews, poems, cartoons, etc. I welcome your contributions. Just comment or send me a message about what you'd like to write!

2. Speaking of what you'd like to write, I have also founded the new Silver Lining Writers Group here in Chicago. About 10 of us will meet the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m. on the patio at Pontiac Cafe on Damen Avenue in Wicker Park. We will share our own writing, give each other feedback and support, and discuss any books or writing we've loved lately. New members are welcome at our next meeting, and it's OK if you think of yourself as an "aspiring writer" (guess what: you're already a writer, I promise, so drop the 'aspiring'!). If you're interested in joining us, comment or send me a message.

3. My writing is ready to go from the page to your ears! Now that I'm settled in Chicago, it's time to explore the city's thriving scene for open mics and readings. My goal is to attend a minimum of one a week, reading my own work when possible. This week's definite pick is Reading Under the Influence tomorrow night at Sheffields. Come on out, and make sure you say hi when you see me (go to my personal blog for visual clues)!

4. If you don't live in Chicago (and even if you do), there are several other ways to check out my work coming up. Of course, you already know Just Eat The Cat!, and I'm looking forward to providing the next installment of Mania in the Mountains for you on Thursday. But there's more! Keep an eye on the personal essay site Fresh Yarn, which will soon have an essay of mine about learning to ride a bike at the age of 19 (!!!) on its main page (and in an anthology, if all goes well). Also, look out for the next issue of Love, Chicago magazine, which will include a feature profile I wrote for its special tattoo issue. Oh, and on the off chance you live in Montana or know someone who does, I just wrote an entire section of The Billings Gazette newspaper. It will be out this month, and when you see page after page of features on doctors and medical procedures, you can say "I know who wrote that!"

5. Bravo! Bravo! Lastly, there is some excitement because the fabulous Bravo TV network recently bought Fametracker, the web site for which I'm a regular contributor of pop culture/satire essays. The bad news is it means all of my essays are currently off the site (so links in my previous posts won't work). This is because legal issues on freelance work are still being ironed out. This means people are taking notice of all our efforts over in the land of fametracking. And that can only be good news! (You see how I'm all about the silver lining?)

So, folks, thanks as always for your readership and enthusiasm! Hope to hear from you about my various projects, and I especially hope some of you will jump in and get involved!

LOVE & LEMONADE,
Erin