What's Notable, A New Year
So long 2021
Happy New Year !
Finally! My Dinner with Steve is here for your viewing pleasure.
We've made the rounds at film festivals and now I'm delighted to finally be able to share with you our quirky little film, directed by Eugenie Bondurant (most recently of The Conjuring III, The Devil Made Me Do It), written by and starring me alongside the incredible Todd Sheeler (as Steve) and Beth Allison (our saucy minx of a waiter).
Remembering
Many thanks to those of you who have reached out with memories and condolences already. My heart is heavy, in part because it is so full.
Robert Louis Kirchner
10-14-36 to 12-28-21
My dad was a devoted husband and father, known in his home town for decades as the man behind the Holiday Health & Racquet Club. A graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, he was also a reservist in the Marine Corps. He spent the first half of his career overseeing steel foundries before launching his gym, a business he ran with his beloved wife of 50 years, Mary, who preceded him in death.
We'll celebrate his life with a Zoom service at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16 (https://bit.ly/RLKmemorial). Please join us if you have memories to share and celebrate his life.
In lieu of cards or flowers, the family requests contributions in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Some recent pieces
When I saw my dad tied to his hospital bed, I didn’t know what to do.
Published in The Illumination, this story is part of something longer that I have yet to process.
Are we bringing the same beauty standards to aging that made the first half of life hellish?
Spoiler alert, I wasn't a fan of this show the first time around. Now? I have questions...
A 2021 recap(ish)
This past year has been, well... exhausting.
There’s nothing like a death to remind me of all the ways it’s impossible to capture a life. This past year I felt so constricted, and yet, when I looked back over the photos from the year, I was astonished at all that I’d done. So by exhausted, I mean that in a good way. Well, all the ways. But I mention in because it’s a reminder of something my mentor Eileen taught me. I’d been complaining about all the things I had to do, overwhelm, etc., and she stopped me and said, “You could think about all that you get to do, right?” Right.
Accepted into 16 film festivals
Took top honors in 3!
Finished a pilot script
Finished my first draft of FLORIDA GIRLS, the historical nonfiction book I can’t stop thinking about
Signed (and unsigned) a publishing contract for my memoir, BLISSFUL THINKING
Penned a distribution deal for MY DINNER WITH STEVE
Spent a month lakeside editing the memoir
Was invited to join the Medium Creator's fellowship (Are you following me there?? You can click here to check it out, 8x top writer so far.)
Started a new newsletter (this one!)
Revamped my website (Paid subscribers, you can see it now. Keep scrolling! For the rest of y’all, it’s coming soon!)
Quick hits:
A few of the essays and stories that caught my attention since the last issue of Notable.
Social media & book sales, by Jane Friedman
An interesting follow up to the NYT piece about social media and book sales, whether you’re traditionally published or not!
Big social media followings don't sell books
ICYMI, here's the original article from the New York Times.
The Natural Order of Things by Diane Forman
An award-winning essay on breasts, aging, and self-acceptance.
Idealising the Predator, an essay by Lily Dun
How did certain French intellectuals get away with preying upon young girls, shamelessly, in public and over decades?
L.L. Kirchner
We're in this together. I value your time, and you'll see that in what I share. Please reply with comments/concerns/questions/or better yet, your own inspo,
Thanks for being on the ride with me, here on the front lines of creative life.
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