I realize I have appeared to be in hibernation, or possibly to have emigrated to another planet. I'm very sorry I haven't acknowlefged a slew of birthdays of folks I have friended here. I hope they were delightful celebrations ( Read more... )

My virgin essay (never seen by anyone else before), "The Vampire Cult of Eternal Youth," was accepted for a non-fic anthology, Out of the Coffin and Into the Classroom: Essays on Teaching the Vampire, edited by Lisa Nevarez, Ph.D., head of the English Department of Siena College in Loudonville, New York State.

There is no publisher yet, but the ( Read more... )

I've had so much conflicting news lately that I'm not sure whether I'm freezing or boiling. No way can recent events in my exciting life be contained in one post ( Read more... )

OMG. Jeeze Louise.

I had a talk with the head of the English Department today, & she explained why so many semi-literate students arrive in mandatory first-year university English classes.  Apparently some local high schools have a no-fail policy. No failing grades ever given. And if an English-as-second-language student graduates from high school ( Read more... )

My new winter class, Sympathy for the Devil (for a full description, go here:
http://jean-roberta.livejournal.com/135493.html), which starts on January 5, 2011, has been full for several weeks now. Several students have asked me if there's any possible way for them to register, even though the quota of 40 students has been reached.

If my class were ( Read more... )

As usual, I am concerned about the number of students I have who can't seem to understand instructions ( Read more... )

No news yet on whether Sympathy for the Devil, my proposed new course (inc. Leatherdykeuk's novel, An Unholy Child, which everyone here should read, if possible), is a go.

Heather, the member of the relevant committee who has contacted me about my syllabi, said the committee is due to meet to discuss future (winter 2011 & beyond) courses in October ( Read more... )

I spent much of today sorting out books & papers in my messy office at school. My lovely Teaching Assistant is coming to join me tomorrow, and I promised her space in my lair. (It's only fair - I have 2 chairs, 3 desks, several file cabinets & drawers, all full.)

I wish some of you lived closer to me and could bring wheelbarrows to carry away piles ( Read more... )

S.O. dropped me off at the university in pouring rain so I could compose a schedule of my fall semester. EVERY class period is now accounted for. I hope the committee will be thrilled ( Read more... )

Soldiering on, catching up on reviews I promised. I've now finished writing a slew of reviews (mostly of Cleis anthologies) for the Erotic Readers and Writers Association site, here: www.erotica-readers.com.
I'm now booked up there until October.

I need to write some brief summaries of stories in an anthology from Xcite Books a.s.a.p.

The committee ( Read more... )