Dear Internet,

Well, shit. It’s been nearly four months since I dropped a LWALOS update.

Here is what I’ve published since then:

• “Unbreakable: A Message of Strength, Hope and Survival” / International Bipolar Foundation / March 2025

• “You Don’t Have to Leave Your Couch to Visit the Library” / EveryLibrary / February 2025

• “I Surveyed My Friends About My Bipolar Disorder” / International Bipolar Foundation / January 2025

• “Living Happily Without Strict Resolutions“ / International Bipolar Foundation / January 2025

• “Interlibrary Loan: What Is It and Why Does It Rock?” / EveryLibrary / January 2025

I’ve got a graphic novel review coming out in the next few weeks. Despite this productivity, I’m behind on my IBF and EL stories for April. The IBF piece is on bipolar disorder and comorbidity, and the EL is on health and wellness in the library.

As for personal writing, I’ve been attending virtual write-ins a couple of times a week, one of which I run. I’ve been working steadily on two anthology pieces, but I didn’t turn those in on time for consideration. It's my own fault for not actually scheduling more time for writing.

Harlequin’s yearly “Romance Includes You” contest opens tomorrow (May 1) and runs until the end of May. They are looking for stories with marginalized characters such as LGTBQ+, BIPOC2S, neurodivergence, and physical and mental disabilities (apologies if I missed anyone!). Last year, I submitted the first chapter or two of a book I’m working on but did not place it. This year, I’ve fleshed out a story that I can incorporate neurodivergence or a mental illness into the main female character. I really need (and want) to read romances with characters like me. While books where the lead female character has depression, ASD, or anxiety are coming to bookstores (I hate to say more serious, but…) but those more serious disorders like bipolar, schizophrenic, or more are not represented. It’s disheartening because we’re just as capable of getting our HEA as someone who is “normal.”

I kept pushing off my submission to my editor even though we created a schedule to get my piece edited at least twice before submission. But it'll be a tight turnaround at the rate I’m going. (I just emailed my editor to get her time frame so I can plan accordingly.)

If you read me on the reg, you know general life has been pretty busy. I hustle at three libraries and I’ve got my side gig. One of the library jobs is a permanent schedule, while the other two are on an as-needed basis. I’m severely underemployed. The side hustle is when I can pick up more clients. The point of this ramble is that time is not my own, and even with the new ADHD drugs, I’m struggling to stay focused. I also have to consider Mr. Lisa and I drove 515 miles from N. Michigan to Louisville on Sunday and reversed the drive on Tuesday. Next week Wednesday, I’m flying to Iowa to do silly shit with Erika for a very long weekend. Time is precious.

Because of this crazy schedule, I’ve been having panic thoughts: Is the anthology I was in last year all I have? My chapbook is too specialized for a wider audience, so should I stop making chapbooks? Do I continue to pursue online lit mags or work on my novels and novellas? My mind is a race car; vroom vroom.

On a 180, April 10, 2025, was the 100-year anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. My copy is from the Toronto Public Library, which I checked out in high school and never returned. I wonder if they are fine-free now.

My obsession with Fitzgerald dates back to that time, and while I haven’t been as obsessive as I was in recent years, I have many works by him and by his wife, Zelda.

I’m mentioning this because Anita Loos and Ursula Parrott, two of Fitzgerald’s contemporaries, also have anniversaries but we don’t hear enough about them. Loos Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (yes, the basis of the movie by the same name staring Marilyn Monroe) also came out in 1925 and there is not, that I can find, any mention of celebrating her this year. This pisses me off to no end because Loos writing is a lot better than Fitzgerald’s and could be read today while Fitzgerald’s not so much. Parrott’s Ex-Wife came out in 1929 and was re-released in 2023 which I read in 2024. I have the biography of Parrott that also came out in 2023 that I’m excited to read.

Loos only came out with two books, the second being But Men Marry Brunettes which came out in 1927 and I read earlier this year. I found a 1960s edition of Parrott’s Strangers May Kiss, which I grabbed last year but haven’t read. I could not find her other books. Parrott published until the 1940s, so the majority of her books are not in the public domain.

(Least we forget Mary MacLane, whose first book, The Story of Mary MacLane, came out in 1902. She is the mother of the first personal narrative in non-fiction. My minty brother, Michael, is a MacLane scholar who published Mary MacLane Herself: A Biography, in February 2025. Michael sent me a copy when it came out, and I’ve been dipping into her story. God, she’s amazing.)

Fuck, this 180 did have a mind of its own.

Anywho need more time. Need to concentrate on my fiction. Need Vyvanse to work its magic.

Until next time,

lisa x