Category Archives: Novels

Introducing…

11 Thursday Sep 2025

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My very extreme horror novel In the Dollhouse We All Wait has been picked up by Crystal Lake’s Torrid Waters imprint, for publication in 2026. They previously published my other extreme horror novel Question Not My Salt.

A little Criminal Minds meets The Island of Dr. Moreau, the new live-in nanny to a grown-up girl meets her mansion-filling doll collection–including ones that aren’t really dolls.

I didn’t set out to write extreme horror, but the stories lend themselves for that direction sometimes. In the Dollhouse isn’t particularly pleasant and is even more extreme than Question Not, but both QNMS and ITDWAW are frogs-in-boiling-water horror, which I can’t imagine in any way reflects the present state of the world /s. This is not for the squeamish. It is for those who like the darker side of an already dark genre.

If it’s not your thing, that’s okay! I have other works coming out in the next few years that you can enjoy, like Masque in 2027, which is far more mainstream.

(The doll is Erin, and she was mine when I was little. She’s presently enjoying second life with my niblings when they visit.)

Broken and strewn: Friday Update

22 Friday Aug 2025

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News:

Stuff is happening, but nothing that I can share yet.

Works in Progress:

I wrote one short story. It was supposed to be flash, but it’s too long to cut it down that far. I set it aside in the trunk to wait for something more appropriate for it. I’ve started on another flash fiction piece, but because I had stuff I was doing Wednesday, I didn’t get as much done on it as I’d hoped, and I want to get it done before I start Never & Forever (Meridian Book 8).

It doesn’t help that my attention span is still suffering and I seem to be suffering a case of the writer yips. I’m nervous I won’t be able to write the novel that I promised, especially since the last time I tried to write a novel, it didn’t work at all.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan (finished)
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

Pop music playlist
Abyss/Ascent playlist
Wonderland soundtrack
The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection by Sarah Brightman
Beauty and the Beast live action soundtrack
The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne

Things I’m Watching:

Weapons
Will Trent series
CSI series
Private Practice series
9-1-1: Lone Star series
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
Hoarders series
The Rookie series
NCIS series

Poem of the Week: (throwback)

it’s important to really
probe at the issue
find the origins of the trauma
let’s really dig deep down
into the meat of things
with a serrated spoon
widen the incision
let the blood and lymph
and creamy pus out
carve your way to the
bottom of your behaviors
and figure out why on earth
you’d be in pain

Persist: Friday Update

15 Friday Aug 2025

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News:

On August 10, “Growing Things” was posted for this month’s Crystal Lake Shallow Waters contest theme Eco-Horror. It’s available to read for $5/month tiers and up. This is a solid month for entries and a generally popular theme. I’ve really enjoyed reading them so far.

Works in Progress:

I finished the proofreading edit of Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) and sent it back to my editor. As you can see above, it’s available for preorder at Totally Bound and Amazon, for general release October 28—just in time for Halloween. All about a young veteran hunter who learns the facts of life from a vampire and a werewolf. Getting back to my Sanctuary trilogy and Nocturnal Creatures trilogy roots, I guess.

I’m taking a short break to work on two flash pieces and hopefully finish up reading Langan’s The Fisherman. Then I’ll dive into Never & Forever (M8), the last Meridian novel. Hard to believe I’ll have two trilogies, a serial, and two series under my belt with my other name once that’s finished.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

Pop music playlist (I’m pretty much just biding my time until I feel comfortable turning on my Halloween/horror playlist, which will be immediately followed by my Christmas playlist after Thanksgiving or whenever I finish my next horror work)
Wonderland soundtrack

Things I’m Watching:

CSI series
Private Practice series
9-1-1: Lone Star series
Home Town: Takeover series (finished)
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
The Rookie series

Poem of the Week: (throwback)

lurking deep
in steaming trench
slumbering
in the womb
of earthen heat
waiting out the cold
tentacles drift
with venting exhalation
the quaking rumble
of its snores
may it continue
its sweet dreams
and never wish
to wake

Not too hot for cake: Friday Update

08 Friday Aug 2025

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Due to some problems in transit (now I know better how to transport this particular cake, which has unique issues in comparison to others), I had to buy a new cake for my customer, deliver it again (successfully this time), then take the one with significant icing damage home. So I had unpaid time to replace it and paid for the replacement out of pocket, but at least I got cake out of everything. Better than the last few shopping catastrophes.

It’s a tres leches cake, and it’s quite good. But man, I’m exhausted.

News:

My flash fiction “Growing Things” will be one of this month’s Eco-Horror finalists at the Crystal Lake Patreon for the Shallow Waters contest. It should post around August 11.

Works in Progress:

Got some reading done, but not as much as anticipated. My proofreading edit for Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) came in a few days ago, so I’m deep into that right now. I should finish next week, when I’ll write a few short things before tackling Never & Forever, the final book in the Meridian series.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

TTW playlist
Drift playlist
Vicious by Halestorm
When It’s All Over by RAIGN

Things I’m Watching:

CSI series
Found series (finished)
9-1-1 series (finished)
9-1-1: Lone Star series
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
The Rookie series

Poem of the Week: (throwback)

there’s nothing in the bathtub
nothing but bubbles to brim
steaming water and feet gray
needs more sun refraction
angle doesn’t hurt nor
the ankle despite the scab
or white of bone broken through
toenails yellow cracked and thick
nothing in the bathtub sink
beneath brim bubbles submerge

For what it’s worth: Friday Update

25 Friday Jul 2025

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News:

“Sins of the Asylum,” a deeply gothic lyric poem, appeared in Gathered Here Today from Graveside Press, an open casket anthology of poetry and illustrations. You can get it cheaper direct from the press.

All seventeen Mystical Listicles stories have been posted at Crystal Lake’s Patreon, and voting is open to $5/month tiers and above for another 20 hours or so. I think the theme was a big hit this month—in part because it was about form rather than content and lent itself to a greater variety in subject—and I reiterate how much fun I had putting together the finalists. I would love to do it again.

Works in Progress:

I finished Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) edits and sent them to my publisher. I should receive the proofreading edits next week. In the meantime, I’m tackling some short stories before the end of the month, some of them for calls and some of them just for the heck of it. I might even do that creative nonfiction piece I want to write about Mary Reilly, too. As soon as T&C(M7) is completely finished, I’m really nervous about doing Never & Forever (M8) because my attention span is still kind of shot, but I guess I’ll just take it a day at a time.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

Hannibal soundtracks
Fourth of July playlist
Emilie Autumn

Things I’m Watching:

The Amateur
Con Air
Found series
CSI series
9-1-1 series
The Amazing Race series
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Poem of the Week:

flowers someone else leaves
makes for a charming host
but i would never leave you
i miss you the most
i feast on your grave
raise a livelier toast
your headstone a pillow
i sleep with your ghost


Sweating bullets: Friday Update

18 Friday Jul 2025

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Seriously. So hot. Humid. No breeze.

News:

No news this week.

Works in Progress:

I took on the “Glory to God” edits for A Coup of Owls and turned it back in. Still so pleased with that grimy little story.

My publisher got the edits for Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) back to me faster than anticipated, so I’m working on that now. I hope to be three-fourths finished by the end of the day. I have a few extra days off of work, today and Monday, so I should be able to finish by the end of Monday. I’ll probably work on some short stories while I’m waiting for the final proofreading edit to come back. Then I’ll start writing the last Meridian novel, Never & Forever (Meridian Book 8). We’ll see if I’m capable of writing something long again.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score album
Hannibal TV show soundtracks
Synthesis by Evanescence
Taking Chances by Celine Dion

Things I’m Watching:

Predator 2
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
CSI: NY series
CSI series
9-1-1 series
The Amazing Race series
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Poem of the Week:

futility is concrete
blocks on my feet
looking for a lake
shuffling along
spark-ridden tarmac
burning skin with rubber
such a long way
left to go
till the water
swallows the heaviness
to steam

The horrors persist, but so do I: Friday Update

11 Friday Jul 2025

Posted by in A Few Thoughts, Novelettes/Novellas, Novels, Writing

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News:

So I shared yesterday that Masque has been acquired by Quill & Crow Publishing House, which is the most amazing news that I’ve been sitting on (for only a few days, fortunately). I’ve published with them before: poems in their Crow Call anthologies, short stories in their zine and anthologies. It’s been a hope of mine to get a novella or novel on their backlist. I didn’t write Masque for them, but I thought while I was writing it that it would be perfect for their particular brand, and I wanted it ready for the next time they opened submissions.

I’m really excited for what the future holds for the final manuscript, but we’ll have to be patient. It’s slated for publication in 2027, with the final draft completed by this time next year. My experience with Q&C editors has been excellent thus far; I’m looking forward to rigorous edits. I’ll keep you abreast of what’s going on as it develops.

Works in Progress:

I finished the fix and final edits on May Cooler Heads Prevail, so it’s ready for when I can build up enough savings for a professional edit (I’m already on her schedule for October). I’m simply incapable of determining what genre it is, which makes it very difficult to figure out where to try submitting it. But it’s a fun, relevant little novella, and I wanted something to drop before the end of the year. I already have a delightful cover for it from Don Noble of Rooster Republic Press.

I’m waiting on an acceptance or rejection of poems presently in A Nightmare for All Seasons, so it’s nice to have something more definite on the docket. And I’m still trying to figure out if I want to try to find my Dracula reimagining a home or self-publish. I’m also mulling over a short Halloween collection of short stories and a psychosexual gothic collection of novellas/novelettes that are too horror-y for my spicy name but too spicy for horror presses (it’s my curse), but that may be for next year.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score album
Songs from the Valley by Sandra McCracken
Storybook by Linda Eder
The Strange Case of… by Halestorm
Suicide Squad album
Svrcina by Svrcina

Things I’m Watching:

The Quiet Place: Day One
Copycat
Red Notice
The Last Witch Hunter
Van Helsing
CSI: NY series
Doctor Odyssey series (finished)
WandaVision series
9-1-1 series
Found series
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
Say Yes to the Dress series (finished)
America’s Got Talent series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Poem of the Week:

the parlor room stinks, stuffy and close.
the family lies in the living room
where blood dries tacky on the upholstery
and television blares reflections onto
wide unfocused eyes. have you heard
of the troubles? do they haunt you?

Introducing…

10 Thursday Jul 2025

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I’m incredibly thrilled to return to the Q&C fold, this time with my beautifully lush novel Masque—a bucket list story, with influences from historical romance, gothic fiction, noir, slashers, and body horror, and I can’t believe it’s going out into the world in 2027.

And, like Drift, it’s probably one of my more mainstream stories as well, accessible to a wider audience without as worrying of a warning before reading. I can’t wait for you to read it, but we’re both going to have to be patient.

Like ants in a hill-fire: Friday Update

27 Friday Jun 2025

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News:

My plague poem “Sacrificial” came out in The Cleansing Power of Fire from Infested Publishing on June 21.

“From Black Clouds” comes out today in Kosmos Obscura from Graveside Press. If you buy it directly from Graveside, it’s $1 cheaper, so if you have a yen for some cosmic horror, head here. Storm horror is my jam. It haunts my dreams, so it haunts my fiction.

We’re nearing the end of the opportunity to submit for next month’s Shallow Waters contest, under theme Mystical Listicles, with yours truly selecting the finalists. The sub call ends at the close of June 30.

Works in Progress:

I finally finished editing Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7), worked up the synopsis, and sent it in, but I’m kind of ashamed that I kept missing important emails from my publishers while I was struggling to get things done the last two months. I check that email regularly for a few weeks at a time, then stop for a while, and naturally, that’s when the emails were sent. So embarrassing and unprofessional of me—a tragedy of errors. I swear I’m not ignoring emails on purpose.

I’m supposed to work on May Cooler Heads Prevail next, which is a harder and harder story to handle as cooler heads continue to not prevail and actions continue to not have consequences. I can’t deal with this world at all. I don’t know how to function when things don’t at least sometimes work as they should. Maybe Cooler Heads will end up autobiographical if things keep making my brain short out.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Haunted Plano, Texas by Mary Jacobs

Things I’m Listening To:

The Blacklist playlist
Reputation by Taylor Swift
The Shadow Theory by Kamelot
Showtime, Storytime by Nightwish

Things I’m Watching:

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Jurassic World: Dominion
Nefarious
28 Weeks Later
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise
Ocean’s Thirteen
CSI: NY series
Doctor Odyssey series
America’s Got Talent series
Home Town series
Home Town Takeover series
Abbott Elementary series (finished)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Poem of the Week:

smoke on the horizon like clouds pluming to the atmosphere
into anvils with black underbellies with static electricity
smoke on the wind without the benefit of hickory breathe
in the poison particles piercing filters and penetrating cilia
smoke on my mind with a fire in the sky and poison in my blood
scattering in the cells like atmospheric ice released in rain

Breathe: Friday Update

20 Friday Jun 2025

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News:

My steamy little horror flash fiction, “Origami,” posted on the Crystal Lake Patreon for this month’s Shallow Waters theme of Satanic Panic. ($5/month tier and up)

Works in Progress:

I feel like I’ve been working on Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) forever, but I’m close to the end. I think I’m just tired. Once it’s done, I’ll probably write a few short stories before hitting May Cooler Heads Prevail, hopefully to prepare for self-publishing. I have a few short pieces I might put together as well, to hold until I can afford something more substantial.

I’m still waiting on an acceptance/rejection for some poetry before publishing A Nightmare for All Seasons. Sigh.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Haunted Plano, Texas by Mary Jacobs

Things I’m Listening To:

Silent Hill playlist
The Blacklist playlist
Reputation by Taylor Swift

Things I’m Watching:

Smile
Jurassic World
Jeopardy Masters series (finished)
CSI: NY series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series
The Equalizer series (finished)

Poem of the Week:

that thing in the field was once a tree
in a field of green it is surrounded by gray
darkening to the black of obsidian glass
where lightning has charred it a hundredfold strikes
into a stub of gnarled bark and twisted rings
above the tangle of roots as though it tried
to climb from underground to escape
and curls there now like the memories of corpses
in the excavated ashes of Pompeii