Happy New Year!!!

2024 was a tough year — both of my parents died (Mom in March, Dad in November), which swallowed up a very great amount of my world. But I had a lot of help and support from my fantastic friends and family, which made a huge difference.

I wrote very little short fiction last year. I had one new story released (“From the Bowl of the Gods,” which appeared the William Hodgson tribute anthology Where the Silent Ones Watch), which I actually wrote in 2023. I wrote a story about a werewolf that is forthcoming this year (hopefully).

I did finish one novel, which is currently waiting to be revised, and drafted another. I hope to get both books out on submission this year — keep your fingers crossed for me.

My novel Girl in the Creek was pushed back to release in mid-July this year, but luckily people are still excited about reading it. It made Goodreads’ Readers’ Most Anticipated Horror Novels for 2025 list! If you’re over there, go ahead and the book to your “want to read” shelf today.

Other delightful events in 2024 include a nice backpacking trip, seeing the northern lights, and finishing my first ultramarathon. I hope to do more of both in 2025, and I’m looking forward to getting to more fun author events — I’m already scheduled to present at Emerald City Comic Con, Crypticon Seattle, and Cascade Writers summer workshop!

Sending you all wishes for good health and happy reading in 2025! I hope we run into each other.

2023 Roundup

This year has had its challenges! My parents have had a tremendous number of health issues, which has occupied a great deal of my attention. Amazon destroyed its Kindle Periodicals program, through which the majority of my magazine’s subscribers got their copies. The implosion of Twitter meant it became much harder to connect with readers and potential Patreon supporters. And AI has consistently threatened writers and artists across the spectrum, raising tension throughout the creative world.

But it’s also been a fantastic year on many fronts! My first-ever screenplay won first place at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival. I was nominated for a Locus award for Best Editor, and stories in Nightmare were nominated for the Locus, Shirley Jackson, and Nebula awards. I also had a short story nominated for a Shirley Jackson award — my first fiction award nomination. I had a few short stories come out, and my recent SF short “An Infestation of Blue,” had made it to the Nebula Recommended Reading List. I sold a couple of short stories, and I finished the first draft of a novel. I enjoyed working with several great coaching clients, and I didn’t miss a single post for my Patreon supporters. I went on a tremendous road trip with my family (more than 2800 miles!), brought my mom to live with me, and ran a tough trail half marathon where I didn’t even finish in last place. 2023 might not have been my most productive year, but I kept on soldiering along.

Like many others, I’ve turned to Canva to make a cute shareable eligibility image, which is shown below. For more details about the work, check my bibliography page. I have three stories that are eligible for the Nebulas and Hugos, and two horror stories to consider for the Bram Stokers. I’m also extremely proud of my editorial work again this year — both Nightmare and Lightspeed have released terrific work!

I hope you all have had good experiences in 2023 and that you join me in looking to 2024 for good news, great time outdoors, and all the creative energy we could ask for. Let’s make it a terrific year!

2021 in review (and awards eligibility)

Is it really December already? Much like it has for everyone, 2021 has been an absolute whirlwind for me. There was some bad stuff (like it hitting nearly 120 degrees in my neighborhood) and some good stuff (my husband taught the dog to sit!), but on a professional level, this was a VERY exciting year.

Here’s a list of everything I published this year and what it’s eligible for, award-wise:

• “The Suburbs Are Delicious,” 99 Tiny Terrors, edited by Jennifer Brozek (October 2021). This was my only piece of short fiction!
It’s a fun flash piece, so I don’t think it’s eligible for anything. But if you know anybody who’s really scared of spiders, they should avoid this one.

• “Telling Stories of Ghosts,” Apex Magazine. (Spring 2021) This little piece of nonfiction is eligible for the Bram Stoker award, Short Nonfiction category.
It’s about way American practices about death can deeply scar children.

The Deer Kings, JournalStone Press (August 2021). This horror novel is eligible for the Bram Stoker award, Novel category.
If you like books that pit children against terrible evil or about communities secretly sheltering evil cults, this one is for you!

The Secret Skin, Neon Hemlock (October 2021). This gothic novella with dark fantasy elements is eligible for the Bram Stoker award, Long Fiction category. It’s also eligible for the Nebula award, Novella category, and the Hugo award, Novella category!

I also have a super-gloomy essay about cemeteries coming out in the December issue of The Deadlands, but it’s not out yet.

Editorial stuff:

I started editing Nightmare Magazine this February, and it’s been a great experience! We’ve published a terrific mix of horror and dark fantasy. All of those stories are eligible for the Bram Stoker fiction awards. We published a few novelettes that qualify for the Long Fiction award: “Darkness Metastatic,” by Sam J. Miller, “Rotten Little Town: An Oral History (Abridged),” by Adam-Troy Castro, and “We, the Girls Who Did Not Make It,” by E.A. Petricone, but the rest are all Short Fiction. All of our H Word columns are eligible for the Bram Stoker award for Short Nonfiction, too!

Because Nightmare contains a mix of horror and fantasy content–and because I’m also the Senior Editor at Lightspeed–I think I’m probably eligible for the Hugo Award, Short Form Editor.

Other awesome stuff:

It’s been a terrific year for the horror genre! It’s been so wonderful to see up-and-coming indie writers like Hailey Piper and Eric LaRocca get so much critical recognition, and I was so happy to see Zin E. Rocklyn‘s novella Flowers for the Sea make so many year’s best lists. These three writers are really pushing the genre needle into weird and wonderful places, so I hope you get a chance to check them out!

Thanks to everyone who made 2021 such a terrific year–and here’s hoping next year is filled with joy!

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