A new year, a new beginning, and a sentimental little meditation to welcome both:
Milky Way…
what it means
to mean the world
"Milky Way," copyright 2021 Amelia Cotter (first published in Full of Moonlight: Haiku Society of America 2016 Members' Anthology, 2016)
Author, Poet & Storyteller
Friday, January 1, 2021
Monday, December 7, 2020
Newsletter #9: December 2020
Hello friends! I hope you're well. It's been quite a year, but you've made it. I've made it. We journey onward. I've spent a lot of time this year reflecting on (and acting upon) gratitude, integrity, kindness, resilience, and stewardship. I've spent much of this year doing what I did the last time I found myself at home with extra time on my hands, when I had cancer (Hodgkin lymphoma) at age 22: writing, learning, and discerning how I can best spend my time here with however much time I have.
I've viewed the events of this year as a critical time to rise to the occasion, remain alert, be there for others, and give my best. I'm hoping that 2021 will bring justice and relief to folks. I feel we're at the doorstep, maybe in the Preface, of change, if we can all agree to keep doing, or start doing, our part. With humility, I can say this has turned out to be a successful year for me and my writing career. With awe, I can say that I've seen activism and creativity thriving around me in the lives, hobbies, and careers of my coworkers and friends.
With all of that in mind, I have much to share. Here is what I have accomplished since my last Newsletter in June, and what lies ahead:
Recent Awards/Publications
Gold Winner, Best Paranormal Book, Higgypop 2020 Paranormal Entertainment Awards, This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost
November 2020
"old loves," Frogpond 43.3
Autumn 2020
"her first," The Helping Hand Haiku Anthology: (Including Senryu, Tanka, and Haiga) (first published in Four Hundred and Two Snails: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2018, September 2018 and Now This: Contemporary Poems of Beginnings, Renewals, and Firsts, July 2013)
October 2020
"Binary Star," cattails October 2020 Edition (pg. 113)
October 2020
"stuck," Bundled Wildflowers: Haiku Society of America 2020 Members' Anthology
October 2020
Breakfast with Bigfoot third edition from Haunted Road Media
September 2020
"shrunken tumors" (pg. 5), 2019 Turtle Light Press Haiku Contest Favorites (first published in The Signature Haiku Anthology: Including Senryu and Tanka, May 2020 and Acorn: a journal of contemporary haiku #26, Spring 2011)
July 2020
Highland Park Poetry's 2020 Public Art Poetry Contest (and Chapbook), "Jackson Square at Night, New Orleans"
June 2020
Upcoming Publications
On November 30, I submitted the completed manuscript for Where the Party Never Ended: Ghosts of the Old Baraboo Inn to my publisher, Mike Ricksecker at Haunted Road Media. The goal date for publication is April 2021, and I'm hoping to be able to celebrate in person with a launch party at the Old Baraboo Inn. Stay tuned! I'm also awaiting further news and plans for my poetry chapbook, apparitions, which was accepted by a small press earlier this year for publication in June 2021. And finally, believe it or not, the anthology about the lives and experiences of children detained at the U.S.-Mexico border has at last been scheduled for publication in 2021.
Recent Appearances
Most of my spring events were cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus, but as the year wore on and we acclimated to the new ways of Zoom and other virtual event platforms, I ended up with a fairly robust lineup of appearances. In television news, The R.I.P. Files has been available on Vudu, and I made a few storytelling appearances on local Maryland television station Montgomery Municipal Cable (MMC-TV)! I also did some more consulting with Travel Channel this summer and fall for Season 3 of Haunted Hospitals, and an upcoming show called My Paranormal Evidence. Last but not at all least, all five episodes of Snakenanigans and Stories, my October Facebook Live series and follow-up to Spooky Story Tuesdays, are now uploaded to my YouTube channel. Here are the highlights below:
Montgomery Municipal Cable (MMC-TV), Ep. "UFOs in the Skies of Wheaton Maryland"
October 30, 2020
Montgomery Municipal Cable (MMC-TV), Ep. "What Does Bigfoot Eat for Breakfast?"
October 28, 2020
Montgomery Municipal Cable (MMC-TV), Ep. "Binary Star by Amelia Cotter"
October 16, 2020
Chat and Spin Radio (starting at 24:35)
October 5, 2020
Snakenanigans and Stories
October 1-29, 2020
October 1-29, 2020
Real Ghost Chatter, Ep. 24, "Author, Poet, and Storyteller Amelia Cotter Returns and Shares More Supernatural Stories & Encounters"
September 25, 2020
A Haunting Good Time Radio Show, Ep. "Amelia Cotter: Breakfast with Bigfoot"
September 23, 2020
Breakfast with Bigfoot third edition Virtual Launch Party
September 15, 2020
Real Ghost Chatter, Ep. 20, "A Chat About the Supernatural with Author, Poet, and Storyteller Amelia Cotter"
September 11, 2020
A Haunting Good Time Radio Show, Ep. "Talking Paranormal with Amelia Cotter!"
July 2, 2020
July 2, 2020
Upcoming Appearances
This fall I was asked by the Society of Midland Authors to judge the Children's Fiction Award of the 2020-2021 Midland Authors Awards. I'm so honored, and what a great way to round out a year in which I (re)published a YA and a children's book. If you're an author with a Midwest connection who published a new book this year, please check out the competition! And hopefully the annual awards banquet can be held in person in May. The rest of the events below are also tentative as we move forward in these uncertain times. In the meantime, I now have a small online Store where you can purchase signed copies of my books, with more items coming soon! Needless to say, if and when these in-person events do happen, I really look forward to seeing everyone and reconnecting with friends and fans!:
January 11, 2021 at 8 p.m. | 7 p.m. CST
February 9, 2021 at 8 p.m. | 7 p.m. CST
Revenant Con at Ashmore Estates in Ashmore, Illinois
May 7-9, 2021
The X Zone Radio Show
October 11, 2021
As always, thank you all for sharing in this journey with me. Everyone please continue to be safe and well as we journey into 2021. Wishing you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, and, of course, Happy Hauntings!
~Amelia
Monday, November 30, 2020
Update: Amelia is a Higgypop 2020 Paranormal Entertainment Awards WINNER for Best Paranormal Book!
Hello friends, announcement time again! …This House: The True Story of a Girl and a Ghost is the Higgypop 2020 Paranormal Entertainment Awards Gold Winner in the Best Paranormal Book category!
Over 75,000 votes were counted, with 500 nominations across 15 categories. This little book that could has had a very good year. My writing career has had a very good year. And this would not have been possible without the support of all of you—my readers, fans, supporters, and friends. My heart is filled with joy and gratitude.
You can view the ceremony, including my acceptance speech (shot at Waterdog Studios and starting around 7:20), here, and read more about the win here. Thank you all again so much, and thank you for sharing in this journey with me! Happy Hauntings!
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| This House for the win in the Higgypop 2020 Paranormal Entertainment Awards! |
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