Dear Noctules:
avoidance coping: any strategy for managing a stressful situation in which a person does not address the problem directly but instead disengages from the situation and averts attention from it.
Eight months have come and gone since the most recent issue of Novel Noctule was released. Though I've been aware that two more issues were promised before our hiatus, the wider the gap following #16 grew, the harder it became for me to approach this project. I couldn't figure out why the stakes kept getting higher with each day that passed or why I became anxious every time that I dared to think about it. When I finally broke through that anxiety fog and got to work in late November, it took me less than a week to finish Issue #17, and I realized that the answer was simple, and it had been there all along: For eight long months, I had been hiding away, afraid to face the disappointment of those who treasure this magazine. Those who had been waiting: writers, readers, and patrons alike. I was never able to fully relax or start a new project knowing that you and I have unfinished business. Still, I expected to find frustrated emails flooding my inbox, and the thought of witnessing your loss of faith in NN was a little too much for me to deal with. So, my anxiety chose not to deal with it at all. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the only things I've found since returning to work on these "pre-hiatus" issues are the things I've been receiving from this community all along: kindness, patience, and an abundance of understanding. A few small, but encouraging comments that I've received or seen in that short time...
Hope to see Novel Noctule back online soon. hope [Issues #17 and #18] aren't the last. I think the lit world is better for having Novel Noctule in it.
Thank you, as always. I hope that you enjoy May's installment, Issue #17. It explores some of the existential and social themes that have been running through my experience lately, and it's been a long time coming.
Warm wishes, J.D.