Steel Garden is the name of my debut collection of short stories and poetry. For me, it was a way to work through daily life and also to escape it through fiction and poems. I guess that’s why I decided to name this online world after it.

Steel garden is the foundation, the unchanging part, of the beautiful mess of every day life. It’s the hardscape we’ve created, but it can be changed every season by what we put into it, whatever growth we allow to stay or renew.

Why a newsletter? Because social media is getting messy, and I want to create a more personal way to reach out. I don’t want to cross my fingers and hope we get to interact. I hope that this will be a way to create an online community like the one I have in “real life.”

With your free subscription, you’ll get:

• Topic of the Week, where I break down what was most talked about at The Bench Salon (no names, of course—I’ll save those talks for the podcast!)

• Updates on events, both live and online

• Once a month, you’ll get poetry, flash fiction, or sneak peeks of my upcoming books

If you’re able to, paying unlocks:

• Bonus posts of new poetry, flash fiction, pix of my art, and art therapy exercises

• Short Story Club, where I send you a link to a favorite story (not one of mine), and we discuss

• Chances to win art and signed copies of my books

• Behind the scenes and blooper reels from my podcast and YouTube channel

• My deep appreciation for supporting my creativity

Other places you can find me: Instagram, YouTube, my podcast, and Boise, Idaho (where I tend to be chatting with clients or doing creative things).