Rejected by Barefoot Books


Oh, the angst of rejection!

Barefoot books rejected me very politely in an email yesterday. Last Friday, I sent in my favorite of all the short stories I have written: Shelly the Brave and the Creature in her Closet.

It's a story about a twin girl (based on my twin, Carolyn) who is very headstrong and clever and is convinced that there is a monster in her closet. It has a lot of alliteration and fun words, and what I think is a nice pace. It's only been rejected 3 times so far- I supposed it is time to try again.

At least Barefoot Books let me know quickly and politely.

I have been teaching my students poetry...and it is very difficult. We have read examples of poetry, talked about the poems, analyzed them, etc, but yet I still have to say 25 times a day, "poetry does not have to rhyme!"

Asking them to actually write poetry is like pulling my own ears off. Some of them get the idea, but only about 1/3rd.


The boys will say, "I don't like that mushy stuff." I'll say, "it doesn't have to be mushy. It can be about violence or bloodshed or honor or power, or anything you want."

The difficult thing is that I love poetry. If I didn't love it, it would be easy to teach. When I love what I teach, it is difficult for me.

But...today is a new day. New opportunities for teaching, for writing, for publishing.

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