Edith Hope Bishop

Hello loves, I haven’t posted here since March. I’ve been away from this space primarily because, for most of the pandemic, I wasn’t writing at all. I was, like most of us, figuring things out, taking care of myself and my family, trying to find new ways to connect with friends, trying to make sense of, well, all of it. I attended protests and zoom meetings and sent angry letters. I voted. I slept poorly. I have a few friends who’ve been able to be creative and productive during this difficult time, but for me, writing slipped away as I focused on other means of survival. I’ll be honest and say that this lack of writing took its toll. There were other, much deeper and personal losses too, but I think it was mid-November when I realized that I needed to start writing again because I’d lost touch with a sacred part of myself. I want to acknowledge many loving people in my life who helped me recognize this. Sirens, a conference on gender and speculative fiction (this year on Zoom) helped

Hello Loves,  Little did I know that my last blog post in January would apply to life in March. I wrote then about feelings of loneliness and isolation  and how it helps to remember that we can hold each other in spirit if not in person. And now, here we are, in a whole new world of social distancing and quarantine under the terrifying shadow of a deadly pandemic. So yeah.  Others have already written brilliantly about the mass grief we're experiencing and how this era is changing all our lives and society. This post is just my two cents on the matter.  First of all, I'm so grateful to the medical professionals, researchers, farmers, grocery workers, pharmacists, and countless more who are doing everything they can to keep us alive and afloat during this crisis. And I'm also grateful to the artists and bored folks at home who are entertaining us and keeping us as lighthearted as possible.  I'm doing ok and I hope you are too. This isn't easy

Hello friends,  I hope the new year has found you well and that these first few weeks of 2020 have been kind and generous to you and yours. It probably won't surprise you to learn that I've been up to my usual tricks: traveling to see family and loved ones, hosting celebrations, working on revisions, parenting my kids, practicing yoga at home, walking on the beach whenever possible, volunteering, and on occasion, staying up too late and enjoying myself a little too much. January is a month of deep darkness and dreary cold in Seattle and it's done its best to break my spirits. But I'm happy to report that I've mostly managed to stay positive and focused on my goals and plans. I celebrated my 42nd birthday this week and that helped tremendously. I'm incredibly lucky to have so many kind, fun, and loving people in my life.  Despite holidays and celebrations, winter can still be an isolating time for some. Life circumstances can, whatever the se