Army (ret.) spouse and romance author Christine Roberts has had an extraordinary year, blending her passion for storytelling with her commitment to connecting with readers across the Southeast. Here’s a glimpse into what she’s been doing over the last year. 

These last two years have been a giant learning curve, with tons of mistakes  made along the way. With my second book being published later this fall and  several promising ventures ahead, I’m grateful to have given myself grace in the  missteps and for the confidence I’ve gained from the mistakes.

When you’re not “from” anywhere, how do you ever find a place where you truly “belong”? 

I ended up dragging all my art supplies up from the basement and sorting them.  I wrote a long but deeply satisfying journal entry listing each pursuit—and honestly exploring what was attractive about it as well as what caused me to lose interest.  As I wrote, I suddenly saw how I’d been craving something non-messy that involved pleasing color and texture but that didn’t strain my hands, eyes, or budget…

… I suppose you could say, I have always been a writer. But my first novel was written more as an exercise to stave off loneliness while my husband was deployed. I have always loved reading — especially a good romance. But I wanted more than just the happily ever after. I wanted some action and adventure, too. So I started writing one drawing from my experiences as an Army wife…

I've been secretly writing a book since last December, and recently started a Blog on my website to document the progress. My first post - Embrace in Place (Coming Soon) - was just added and I’d love for you to follow and share! I am self publishing and that is in itself an adventure!

As writer/Navy Spouse Lynessa Layne shares, life can certainly lead us into unexpected directions, but those strange paths often take us exactly where we need to be.

There is always more to learn and explore, especially when life sends us down unexpected journeys. Milspouse/writer/teacher/caregiver Lee Anne Galloway-Mitchell shares how PCSing, parenthood, Covid, and all sorts of life events can sometimes put a project on hold, but can also bring about new creative adventures.

Although the pandemic sent my writing into a dry spell, I’ve been productive in other ways. I continue to volunteer with MilspoFAN, which has been wonderful because I love feeling connected to other mil-spouse artists. I also continue to serve as a poetry editor with Inklette Magazine. Not generating new poems gave me ample time to revise and organize previously written poems. I compiled three manuscripts: Forces was published by Middle West Press in the fall of 2021, and the other two manuscripts are looking for homes.

This month, meet Air Force spouse CJ Yeats whose interests involve both hemispheres of the brain: research, neuroscience, copy editing, graphic design, and writing. Catherine shares how they have been busy creating comic books that merge science and fantasy while celebrating the wonder of the unknown.

Although these last nearly two years have provided little inspiration or motivation to create new poems, the not-writing has given me ample time for editing and organizing what I’d written before.

Writer and military spouse Kimberlee Bethany Bonura, Ph.D., MFA, E-RYT, CYT, knew at a young age that she was meant to write. She also learned from her mother that achieving goals in adulthood often requires going against the odds. We, too, can create and thrive in "the shadows of military service," with a whole heck of a lot of determination.

Love is in the air at MilspoFAN. Mil-spouse and romance writer Siera London offers a peek at the allure and escape of a nom de plume, provides intimate craft details for writing romantic literature, and shares secrets to a successful writing process.

Since checking in a year ago, I did finish a poetry manuscript before the pandemic hit. Some of the individual poems have been published in journals, some of them quite recently. One of those poems, “Pursuit,” won first place in the military family member category for Line of Advance’s Col. Darron L. Wright Award, and my poem will join all past and current winners in an anthology – Our Best War Stories – that will be published this month. Other than an honorable mention, I’ve never won an award before. To say the least, I was excited.

Well, a lot has happened since MilspoFAN interviewed me two years ago. I’ve had two new books come out: American Samizdat (Diode, 2019), a collection of poetry about our current political moment, and through smoke (New Rivers Press, 2019), a book-length essay about how I came to fall in love with perfume. I also have another collection of poems, Simple Machines, which won the Richard Wilbur Poetry Award and will be published this year by the University of Evansville Press.

I began 2019 by staying in line with my daily poem (or at least editing some poems). I like to keep a steady routine because my mind feels more open and the ideas looser. When I know I’ll be writing, something gets put on the page. Sometimes it’s a keeper; sometimes it goes to the poetry graveyard.

In April, I published my second collection of poetry: Permanent Change of Station (Middle West Press). The poems revolve around the move that brought us from California to North Carolina. My daughter was two, and all of the changes of environment, coupled with all of the changes associated with coming into her toddlerhood, was quite traumatic for her.

My dear MilspoFANs, our Artist Interview this month is with Jehanne Dubrow, an award-winning poet, an academic, and a Navy spouse.

In this month’s MilspoFAN Artist Interview, Lisa tells us all about her work - how she became a poet, what her poetry means to her and her family, how she nurtures her creative work, and how she stays actively involved in poetry communities despite regular moves. In her poetry collection, Uniform (Aldrich Press 2016), Lisa unwraps her military spouse experience with a steadfast dedication to authenticity.