Yes, I’m pretty stoked, I’ll admit that. My wee chapbook Our Wolves is on the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize (grand as in a $5,000 check to the big winner) SHORT LIST alongside the big books. Yesterday, Kathleen Cassen Mickelson coincidentally interviewed me about Our Wolves. She provides a great idea of what the collection is all about. CONVERSATION WITH A POET: LUANNE CASTLE Want to pick up a copy of this pretty lil canis lupus baby? https://www.amazon.com/Our-Wolves-Luanne-Castle/dp/B0BTKNP31D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15JK239FCHVGE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ALQ-Ljk1njzWJQDlkD5jY6QtxZx6XGZg9YtrClN0btrHuj ..read more

Kathleen Cassen Mickelson graciously interviewed me about my poetry collection Our Wolves. I hope you enjoy the exchange. If you would like to comment, please do so at One Minnesota Crone to keep Kathleen in the loop! Thanks for reading :). CONVERSATION WITH A POET: LUANNE CASTLE Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com ..read more

What a lovely surprise this morning. The fabulous EIC of MacQueen’s Quinterly, Clare MacQueen, has published three of my stories in the new journal issue. This is one of my favorite lit mags because Clare has a very eclectic taste, so the magazine offers so much variety, including funny stories and syllabic poetry. Here are links to my stories: Very micro humor story: http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ23/Castle-New-One.aspx Surreal flash story: http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ23/Castle-Mountain-Painting.aspx Creative nonfiction/memoir childhood story: http://www.macqueensquinterly.co ..read more

Yesterday when I started on my walk, before I even left my driveway, I encountered several critters. First, a very light green plump lizard with smooth skin ran into the bougainvillea. I can’t find him on Google, so I don’t know what kind he is. Then a male and a female quail ran across the drive down into the wash. At the end of the driveway, on the little pony wall, a mourning dove took off in flight. It could be the mother who has a nest in the hanging pot outside my house. My son took this pic of one of the babies with the mother. Here’s a pic on my walk of a cactus in bloom and the brill ..read more

I’m writing this blog post on Sunday, although I don’t intend to publish it until early Monday morning. I want to write about my walk this morning while it’s fresh, but I have stuff going on after I write it. Now that it’s warmer in Phoenix, it’s more refreshing to walk in the morning, so I went out at ten, wearing a sundress and brimmed hat. It’s already getting too warm for long pants, and I don’t wear shorts. The temperature, slight breeze, and all-around perfection made me feel so grateful to be living in this climate at this time of year. Nothing more beautiful than April and October in P ..read more

Poetry Treasure 4: In Touch with Nature, Blog Tour, Day 2 ..read more

Welcome to the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature” Book Blog Tour I’m blessed to have poetry and a few photos in this delightful collection, alongside these other wonderful poets ..read more

Four years ago the gardener and I visited Costa Rica. The pandemic started while we were there. In our hotel room, someone who cleaned our room left a small bottle of sanitizer. I remember being so grateful as I cleaned our airplane trays, etc., on the way home. While in Costa Rica, I heard some stories that have inspired my own writing. One of my stories, a 50 word dribble called “Aftermath of a Childhood Accident,” was published in 50 Give or Take (hint: it has howler monkeys in it): https://preview.mailerlite.com/l6x1f4e6p3/2432770394009115561/n3s1/?fbclid=IwAR0L4NZHoQy1TRHvXEWTOFmNj7R5U69K ..read more

Editor Jeff Harvey at the brand new really hot lit journal Gooseberry Pie published one of my stories. The journal only publishes six sentence stories. Try to write one if you haven’t. They are really fun. And You Thought it Was Just a Headache Another thing going on is that Mad Swirl journal has published their annual anthology, and along with many stories and poems, they have featured the work of four artists. One of those is me, if you can believe it. Two of my collages. The anthology is available on Amazon. It sounds like I’m busy, and I am, but mostly with taking care of my baby grands ..read more

Editor Barbara Harris Leonhard has published my Remedios Varo inspired flash fiction story, “The Past Holds No Reality for Me,” at Masticadores USA. More surreal fun!!! “The Past Holds No Reality for Me” by Luanne Castle I would love it if you comment over there, if you have time. Turning off comments here. Hope you are having your best kind of weekend ..read more