I’m so bad at keeping secrets. I guess that’s what makes me a good journalist. So I’m happy to tell the world a secret I’ve been keeping under my hat for a little while.
I’m moving to Shreveport, LA. That’s Louisiana for those that don’t remember their postal codes. I’ve taken a position with The Shreveport Times and I’m so excited. I’ll be closer to my mom, sister and friends and I’ll get to go back to reporting on education, a subject that I love.
I will miss Kansas and Wichita. As a writer I have been more productive here than I’ve been since my father died five years ago. Coming back from disaster is difficult and somehow, despite the pain, I have been able to continue. Part of that healing has been living on the plains.
But now it’s time to move on to a state that has been immortalized by so many writers. I always knew that sharing a birthday with Charles Dickens and an astrological sign with Edgar Allen Poe meant I had huge shoes to fill. But when I researched Louisiana writers, I nearly fell over. The list of writers who were either born, lived, taught or inspired by Louisiana is amazing. Just the tip of the iceberg: Truman Capote, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Katherine Anne Porter, Robert Penn Warren, and Robert Olen Butler.
Whew! Ain’t that something!
Well I’m excited to explore all the writing possibilities that Louisiana has to offer. And of course having authentic Cajun food available doesn’t hurt either.
Dear Reader 