When Laysan albatross chicks fledge, they head to sea and don’t touch land again for three to five years. Not all of them survive. When I see those who do survive return to land, it’s like a reunion with a long lost friend, and it’s always a thrill.

In the early days of the pandemic, I posted here for 72 days in a row. Then, basically, I disappeared. You could say, I went to sea. I hope you’re happy to see me return.

I didn’t stop writing. But my writing changed. I added fiction to the mix. I wrote personal essays, some memoir. I even dabbled in—wait for it—poetry! I submitted pieces to literary journals and, lo, some got published. Today, an essay I wrote about an experience of mine with a female-female pair of Laysan albatross published in the Atticus Review. It’s more personal than my usual journalism fare. A few months ago, a short short story about sea turtles published in Hawaii Pacific Review. After the first of the year, another short short story—this one with a Hawaiian monk seal in it—will publish in The Dodge. But I also wrote about Wisdom the albatross for National Geographic and the extinction of Hawaii’s native forests birds for Audubon. So, even though the form and venues may have changed, I’m still writing about Hawaii’s native wildlife. 

Here are links to stories that have published since I last posted here:

Nonfiction:

Atticus Review: At Sea and Soaring.

Wild Roof Journal: My Old Friend, Wonder.

Fiction:

Ellipsis Zine: The Stuff of Stars

The Centifictionist: Family Photo 

Interview with The Centifictionist

Emerge Literary Journal: Mango Madness

Hawaii Pacific Review: Question of Survival

Flash Flood Journal: How to Change the Oil on the Car

Bending Genres: We Hadn’t the Best of Relationships

Journalism:

Audubon: Wave of Hawaiian Bird Extinctions Stresses the Islands’ Conservation Crisis.

National Geographic: The World’s Oldest Known Wild Bird Just Turned 70–Why She’s So Special.