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Scared Kid Writes Horror
The dark hides me. It’s safer here, hidden. My mother tells me this story later: she heard crying, a child, outside. She thought “That sounds like Jenny.” She goes outside and finds two-year-old me, outside, in the middle of the night, when I’m supposed to be in bed. This is the first recorded time of…
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Lost in the Corn Fields
When I was little, my greatest fear was getting lost. Yet, despite this being THE most terrifying circumstance I could imagine, I forced my mother to read a children’s book called Bambi Gets Lost. It was one of those Disney Kid book club books and it was my favorite. Strange selection, right? If your greatest…
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Sitting in (Non) Silence with Nosferatu
Ninety-nine years ago Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror was released, bringing the grotesque, lanky, crooked-fingernailed, figure of Max Schrek’s Count Orlok to life. Directed by F.W. Murnau, Nosferatu is now regarded as a groundbreaking piece of cinema. I’ve been meaning to watch it for a long time and this past Saturday night I finally watched…
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Movies as “Cliff’s Notes”
When Game of Thrones released on HBO, I watched it religiously. Like millions of others, I ate up season one. Gobbled it. So tasty. I loved, and still love, the characters (#TeamSansa), the style, the plot twists. And here is where I have to admit an unpopular thing. I’d started – or tried to start…
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“The Jogger”
Exciting news! My short story “The Jogger” is now up at All Worlds Wayfarer. Many moons ago, Ray Bradbury wrote a story where he explored the idea that the looky-loos at all accidents were actually the same people every time. Well, you know how it always seems like joggers find the bodies? (As one friend…
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Creepy, Beautiful Things
By now, we’ve all seen the incredible spider web video footage and photography coming out of Australia. If you haven’t, you can look at it here and then come back. I’ll wait. Severe flooding drove millions of spiders inland. Perhaps you remember earlier this year when news footage of spiders fleeing up trees and poles…
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Mare of Easttown: A Detective’s Defining Case
Like everyone else this weekend, I was watching the finale to the limited series Mare of Easttown. Having worshipped Kate Winslet from Heavenly Creatures onward, and seeing how much crime fiction/film/shows I consume, Mare feels like it was created just for me. I started watching seven weeks ago (Who releases a show one week at…
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“The Demon in the Gray Suit” Published
Yay! It’s publication day for my newest short story “The Demon in the Gray Suit.” I’m very excited for you to read it. This story came from a mash-up of inspirations, including Dante’s Inferno, the structure of Anton Chekov’s “The Huntsman,” and a dash of The Good Place’s sense of humor (with a focus on…
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The Joy of Books in Boxes
When I was in middle school, my mother subscribed to a Harlequin Romance book club. Every month, four new mass market titles would arrive in a plain cardboard box. And, even though the books were for my mom, she graciously allowed me to open that box every month. I got to be the first person…
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The Rejection Collection
My most recent short story rejection was a “personal” one. The one before that was a form rejection. As were the three before that. I am making progress on my rejection goal. 100 rejections for 2021. Why aim for so many rejections? Am I a masochist? Do I enjoy making myself feel bad? Do I…
Got any book recommendations?