New essay to be published - HOW I LEARNED ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF WOMEN

The Grande Dame Literary Journal will publish my essay "How I Learned About the Economics of Women" in Feb. 2022.

Poem "To James, My Brother" published fall 2021

 Poem "To James, My Brother" published Dec. 1st, 2021 by Cathexis Northwest Press.

Poem "New Jersey Jazz" to be published in March 2022

Jerry Jazz Musician magazine will publish "New Jersey Jazz" in a spring collection of jazz poetry, March 2022.

New collection of 27 short stories published: SMALL ACTS OF MAGIC

 My new short collection of 27 stories titled "Small Acts of Magic" is published by Finishing Line Press - stories of love, revenge, theft, and magic!  

THE COUNT - new short story

 How does the eccentric, elderly Russian patron of a San Francisco cafe affect the other coffee servers and drinkers?

THE TWINS - new short story

 About a murder between neighbors - or is it?

A SMOKER - new short story

 A reclusive math teacher has a premonition of her own death.

New short essay published - ON HEARING AARON COPLAND'S MUSIC

 As a young woman I lost my sweet and ardent mother, but discovered the grandeur of the music of Aaron Copland.

Published by Jerry Jazz Musician...you can read it here:  https://jerryjazzmusician.com/2021/05/on-hearing-aaron-coplands-music-an-essay-by-martha-patterson/

New essay - ON QUITTING THE HABIT

 New essay on the pleasures of smoking and the difficult process of trying to quit.

Monologue to be produced in NYC, spring 2021 - THE VALUE OF THE DADO

Why would a woman deserve a statue in her honor?  This monologue explains why the novelist Edith Wharton (Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth) might want one.  To be produced in New York City by Arts That Matter in spring 2021.

Short story published October 2021 - A WELCOME PROPOSAL

 Published by Reedsy Prompts, Oct. 2021:

A brief gothic romance in the vein of the Bronte sisters.

Read it here: https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/64/submissions/39046/

New monologue produced in New York - THE HELL OF A GLUTTON

Produced by New Deal's "March Minute Monologue Challenge," New York, March 2021: 

SYNOPSIS: Bob tells a female friend about his struggle to lose weight after a nasty divorce.

Essay - HOW I LEARNED ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF WOMEN

A brief essay on female economy. 

New "noir" play - A WOMAN IN NEED

 Written for a competition.  To be produced by Scribe Stages' "Crime Plays," Los Angeles, in winter 2021.

SYNOPSIS: On the patio of a bar in New Orleans, a detective confronts a suspicious-looking woman.

New monologue - A SMALL REQUEST

Written for a competition.  To be produced in the U.K. by Loud Voices Silent Streets in winter 2021.

SYNOPSIS: A rather selfish young woman asks an aging aunt to remember her in her will.