I’m working on some projects that have taken time away from blogging, but I want to make sure to draw attention to items of note. (Those who follow me on Twitter probably already saw these.)

• Long-time blogger friend Pat Prescott read On the Other Side of the River by Noah Goats and She Who Comes Forth by Audrey Driscoll, and he enjoyed them both. Pat links back to my reviews, but make no mistake: Pat’s word is worth more than mine. As my earliest reader, his comments on my work have been invaluable.

• Also via Pat, Russ Sype has a very amusing application for White House Chief-of-Staff on his blog.

• Mark Paxson has a suggestion for struggling writers: write poetry. I think he’s dead-on. I wrote poetry for years before finally working up the guts to try prose fiction.

• I don’t normally go for memes, but I loved this one:
  

  The loyalty among the fellowship is strong pic.twitter.com/P19DZGAWkN

  — Chelsea Kramer (@fiction_octopus) December 15, 2018

   

•  Finally, Katie Dawn posted a picture that really put me in the holiday spirit–I can almost taste the cookies.
  

  The great 2018 intergalactic cookie bake off has ended. Sprinkles and sparkles inside and out when baking with good company. #nofilter pic.twitter.com/BKuucz2DDv

  — Katie Dawn (@KatieDawn3) December 17, 2018