Category Archives: Series

With the undertow: Friday Update

18 Friday Apr 2025

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News:

My cat story “Turning Tail” has been posted on Crystal Lake’s Patreon as a finalist for this month’s Shallow Waters theme of Old School (Creature Feature). These stories are available to read and vote on if you’re in the $5/month tiers or higher.

Works in Progress:

I finished the final edits for Tattered & Torn (Meridian Book 6) and the final edits of the first chapter of Tooth & Claw (M7) that will be included as a teaser at the end of T&T, so that’s done and dusted and sent off to my publisher with a sigh of relief. Tattered & Torn is already available for preorder, if you’re interested in a story about a fallen angel with empathic powers.

I had trouble getting started on a flash piece yesterday, but I’ve tackled a lot of it today. I don’t know if I can finish tonight, but I’ll try for end of tomorrow morning at the latest. I want to do another piece of flash for the month, but meeting my self-imposed editing deadlines might be hard enough to accomplish.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Playlist of the Damned edited by Willow Dawn Becker and Jess Landry
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin

Things I’m Listening To:

Evanescence
Emilie Autumn
Rossini’s Stabat Mater by the Wiener Philharmoniker
Resist (Instrumentals) by Within Temptation
Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Broadway My Way by Linda Eder
Church of Scars by Bishop Briggs
dont smile at me by Billie Eilish
Evita movie soundtrack
Falling into You by Celine Dion
Fear & Fable by Fleurie
The Fifty Shades movie soundtracks
For the Throne album (music inspired by Game of Thrones)
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLachlan

Things I’m Watching:

Geostorm
Smile 2
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Watson series
Elsbeth series
The Hunting Party series (finished)
CSI series
Slasher: Guilty Party series
S.W.A.T. series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series
The Bondsman series

As the world keeps burning: Friday Update

11 Friday Apr 2025

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News:

None to share this week.

Works in Progress:

I edited the first chapter of Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) and sent it in, and I got the final edits of Tattered & Torn (Meridian Book 6) back, so I’m working on that now. It’s moving quickly, but I had some car issues yesterday that means I didn’t get to do any edits at all. As soon as I finish with T&T, I’ll write some quick flash, then go back to working on T&C, shooting for sending it in by the end of the month.

Because Quill & Crow Publishing put up their novel submission call for this year, and it opens next month and closes June 1, which means I now have a hard deadline for getting dark alt-history Masque edited and submitted. I’ve trained for this.

Gig economy is exhausting and basically minimum wage after travel costs, but it’s still more than I reliably make writing, so it continues to be worth my time as a stop gap until I can finally get a steadier job (what a time to be looking). I am not looking forward to working in a Texas summer. I’m already melting like candle wax in the afternoons, my car A/C works but struggles, and we haven’t even cracked 90. I hate sweating.

But for now I still have free mornings (barring car troubles that send me to the mechanic), and I’m making sure to take a day off every week for my sanity and to get ahead on my writing. Trying to be more efficient with the time I have, but politics continue to make that difficult.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (finished)
Playlist of the Damned edited by Willow Dawn Becker and Jess Landry

Things I’m Listening To:

The Mist soundtrack
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark soundtrack
Knowing soundtrack
The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne
Brave Enough by Sara Bareilles

Things I’m Watching:

Reacher series (finished)
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Abbott Elementary series
Ghosts (US) series
Watson series
Elsbeth series
The Hunting Party series
Criminal Minds series
S.W.A.T. series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series
The Bondsman series

Since the troubles started: Friday Update

04 Friday Apr 2025

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News:

My flash piece “Turning Tail” is one of the twenty finalists for this month’s Shallow Waters flash fiction contest, theme Old School (creature features), at Crystal Lake’s Patreon ($5/month and up tiers). If everything goes the way it should, it’ll be posted on April 19.

My sweet-and-sour clown story “Exile” is out today in Undertaker Books’ Carnival of Horror. You can purchase it here. There have been a few reviews so far, and “Exile” is reviewing well so far.

I started in the gig economy earlier this week. The first day did not go well. The second day went better. I have things I really do not like about it and things I really do. What is clear is that it’s not a viable long-term option, so I’m continuing to send out resumes. But it should cover health care costs, at least. And the things I do like about it make it worth the while for now.

Works in Progress:

I finished the first publisher’s edit of Tattered & Torn (Meridian Book 6) and sent it in. I’m working on the Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) edits now, but they’re going to be even slower now that I’m gigging. I’ve got to be more efficient with my available time.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Playlist of the Damned edited by Willow Dawn Becker and Jess Landry

Things I’m Listening To:

Abyss/Ascent playlist
Knowing soundtrack
Top 40 radio

Things I’m Watching:

Wicked
Mystery Island: Winner Takes All
Meltdown: Three Mile Island series (finished)
The Residence series (finished, highly recommended)
The Irrational series (finished)
Reacher series
Watson series
Elsbeth series
Criminal Minds series
S.W.A.T. series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series
Kitchen Nightmares series

All boys, except one, grow up: Friday Update

28 Friday Mar 2025

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News:

A reminder that I’ll be participating in a virtual Horror Talent Showcase tomorrow, March 29, 8-10 PM EST, which you can sign up for here. I’ll be reading “Venus,” a narrative poem from the Verdant with Splinter and Thorn vicious spring section of seasonal horror poetry collection A Nightmare for All Seasons. I’ve done a virtual reading before for Queer Saints II, and it was a lot of fun.

Book & Candle (Meridan Book 5) by my other name is out in ebook.

Some good news on the medical front, but I’ll talk about it more when the labs get back. However, due to medical stuff, I’ll have to wait until next week before I start my venture into the gig economy. I’m excited and nervous in turns.

Works in Progress:

I finished the two short stories and decided to save the third for next month, because I had a lot of real-life things distracting me this last week. However, I also received the first edits for Tattered & Torn (Meridian Book 6) from my publisher, so I’m getting on that. I’m hoping to finish by end of the weekend or Monday. Then I’ll turn around and start my double edits on Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7).

During a walk, I thought of a juicy concept for a Meridian Book 8 that makes me excited about trying to write in that world again. It may be something I play with after Masque edits. I think eight books in a series feels more complete than seven, and it’ll address an important recurring theme in the other books.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause (finished)
Playlist of the Damned edited by Willow Dawn Becker and Jess Landry

Things I’m Listening To:

Svrcina
Eurielle
Lily Kershaw

Things I’m Watching:

The Substance
Ma
Twisters
The Twister: Caught in the Storm
Meltdown: Three Mile Island series
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Watson series
Ghosts (US) series
Abbott Elementary series
Elsbeth series
The Hunting Party series
CSI: NY series
CSI series
Criminal Minds series
Spring Baking Championship series
Reacher series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Deeper and deeper we go: Friday Update

21 Friday Mar 2025

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News:

I had a really excellent phone and in-person interview this week that unfortunately did not yield fruit. So it looks like gig economy starts for me next week. I’m also having some medical issues piling on me all at once, and it’s uncomfortable and embarrassing and frustrating (and hopefully harmless). I could use a break.

I do have a little bit of good news on the publishing front, but I can’t give details at this time.

My fifth Meridian book under my other name is going wide on March 25, but you can pre-order it now. Book & Candle is a witch’s magic shop in mystical hotspot Meridian, TX. Her partner is stolen by succubi unknown, so she hires a dangerous veteran demon hunter to help her go scorched-earth to find him again. If you like tropes, it features enemies to lovers and age gap between older characters. You do not need to have read any of the other Meridian novels; they’re stand-alones. Tattered & Torn (Meridian 6) is also already available for pre-order.

Works in Progress:

I sent Tattered & Torn in to my publisher earlier this week and apologized profusely for being late from what I promised. She should get back to me by end of next week to do the first round of edits from her side. I don’t anticipate that these should take a long time to take care of.

I wrote some flash fiction and am in the middle of writing another short piece. I might write one more before going on to Tooth & Claw (Meridian 7) edits. I’ve also been mulling over a potential new book 8, created wholly from scratch rather than anything in my series notes, although I wouldn’t want to do anything about it until I finished my Masque edits.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Things I’m Listening To:

Svrcina
Singer-songwriter playlist

Things I’m Watching:

Trap
Venom: The Last Dance
Heretic
CSI: NY series
CSI series
Criminal Minds series
Spring Baking Championship series
Slasher: The Executioner series (finished)
Reacher series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series

From the pollution: Friday Update

14 Friday Mar 2025

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News:

I’ll be reading a narrative poem from the Verdant with Splinter and Thorn section of poetry collection A Nightmare for All Seasons, “Venus,” for the Horror Talent Showcase put on by Mae Murray on March 29, 8-10 PM EST. You can purchase your free ticket for this event here.

Undertaker Books has posted their Table of Contents for the Carnival of Horror anthology coming out April 4. My story “Exile,” a sweet-sour tale about a clown who has grown too big for his circus, is part of this one. I was so happy to come up with a story idea for this sub call, so I’m thrilled to be part of the anthology.

I can’t find an article about it, but I’m tentatively happy that Dusty Deevers’ incredibly broad ‘pornography’ bill looks to have not made it out of committee, per Authors Against Book Banning. There’s still the SCREEN Act in the Senate and a few Texas bills that I have an eye on as far as what’s dangerous and paves the way for book banning/book burning, but that it didn’t get far in Oklahoma is a good thing in a sea of bad.

Works in Progress:

I finished the first round of edits for Tattered & Torn (Meridian Book 6) a few days. As anticipated, I cut a lot of words due to overwriting while trying to figure out where the story would go and how to get from one side of dialogue to the other. I cut 25K words from about 111K to 86K words, which is a substantial chunk.

I’m a little less than halfway through the second round, and it’s definitely moving a lot faster, which speaks to my ability to make really good changes, not just cuts, in the first round. I hope to finish by the end of the weekend—by end of Saturday would be ideal, but I’m on my period, and that makes things less certain.

Once I finish, I’ll send it in to my editor, then try to write a few short things before tackling Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) edits.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Things I’m Listening To:

Singer-songwriter playlist

Things I’m Watching:

Twisters
Warlock
Power Rangers (2017)
Thinner
Nosferatu (2024)
CSI: NY series
CSI series
Criminal Minds series
Spring Baking Championship series
Slasher: The Executioner series
Reacher series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series

Stand your ground: Friday Update

07 Friday Mar 2025

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News:

Rescuing Curiosity, a WriteHive anthology, with my story “Marginalia,” came out on Tuesday. You can find it here.

Works in Progress:

In the last few days, I’ve committed to editing more pages of Tattered & Torn (Meridian 6), because I can’t keep going at this slow pace while watching my world burn and accomplish things in a timely fashion. My daily goal is around 20 pages (single-spaced), which isn’t entirely accurate, because I cut a lot of words on the way, so I’m actually editing more pages than that, I’m just editing them down to 20 pages. Aiming to finish the first round by the end of the weekend, then finishing the second round within a week or less. Still puts me about half a month behind, which disappoints me.

However, I’m sure the second round will be smoother and faster. I’m cutting a lot of words. I remember struggling a bit while writing this one and typing my way out of those struggles, so there’s a lot of extraneous verbiage. I’ve cut about 14K from 111K so far, and I’m only a little over halfway through.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Things I’m Listening To:

Dracula Reborn soundtrack
The Blacklist playlist
Hannibal playlist
Drift playlist
Singer-songwriter playlist

Things I’m Watching:

Lesbian Vampire Killers (Funny story about this one. I saw it in a video store at the mall years and years ago, well before I was old enough to see it. I’d never even imagined watching an R movie at that time, so it intrigued me so much. It’s amusing how cheesy bad fun it is now that I finally watched it.)
To Catch a Killer
Love is Blind series (I tried to watch this for something mindless, but I’m DNFing it at 2.5 episodes. I don’t understand why I’m supposed to care about any of these people or yet another pretty people dating show. Plus, I can’t tell most of them apart.)
Reacher series
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series
Watson series
The Hunting Party series
NCIS series
Queer Eye series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Lasso the moon: Friday Update

28 Friday Feb 2025

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News:

My horror story “Weed Killer,” about a large weed growing outside a downtown donut shop, is free to read at Horrific Scribes for their Horrific Scribblings program, which is more like a series of curated exhibits rather than anthologies or individual pieces. “Weed Killer” is one of their first pieces; they’re just getting started. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

Signed a few more contracts, received a few honorariums, edited another short story for publication.

Works in Progress:

Tattered & Torn (Meridian 6) edits are still slow going, but I think I’m gaining a little momentum. It’s hard when I’m afraid that these books and others are going to become verboten soon (in my state and country), but I’ve got to proceed as though we still have freedom of speech and expression. As though reason will prevail. God, it’s such a precarious place to be.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Things I’m Listening To:

The Blacklist playlist

Things I’m Watching:

Cuckoo
Nightbitch
White Collar series (finished)
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series
The Irrational series
Will Trent series
Ghosts series
Home Town series
Watson series
The Hunting Party series
NCIS series
Queer Eye series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

Cat hair: Friday Update

21 Friday Feb 2025

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News:

Nothing to report, other than that I’ve been house-sitting two cats for a few weeks, which ends today. Being alone for long stretches of time during a coup isn’t the most fun, so I struggled at first, but it’s been years since I’ve lived with cats, and I’ve really missed it. It was nice to learn that I haven’t lost my touch. My personality is very catlike, which lends itself to good practices. I’ll miss getting to know them and gaining their tiny trust.

Works in Progress:

I wrote/edited those two short stories and submitted them, then edited one of my accepted stories for publication.

I’ve started working on Tattered & Torn (Meridian 6) now. Still hard to focus, but I think I’ll enjoy the slash-and-burn of the first editing round. It’s a longer initial draft and probably needs to lose about 15K in the first pass.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Things I’m Listening To:

Pop music playlist (Listening to sad ladies was representative of my feelings, but it wasn’t helping me; pop has been a little better for the moment right now. A lot of it is recession pop, so that makes sense.)

Things I’m Watching:

The Princess Bride
The Lost City of D
Conclave
The Watchers
Fear Street trilogy (finished)
Two-Sentence Horror Stories series (finished)
Columbo series (finished)
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series
The Irrational series
Will Trent series
Abbott Elementary series
Ghosts series
Home Town series
Watson series
The Hunting Party series
NCIS series

Another brick in the wall: Friday Update

17 Friday Jan 2025

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News:

Under my other name, Book & Candle (Meridian Book 5)—a witch forms a conditional alliance with a veteran demon hunter to find her friend, who was taken by succubi—is available for preorder. This one involves contractual obligations, itching spells, and older characters, though still a significant age gap. It was great fun to write a powerful character in an unusually vulnerable position, and I hope it’s just as enjoyable to read.

My horror poem “Dunce,” about a child forgotten in a corner, is available to read for free in Memento Mori Magazine‘s free newsletter, Morsus Vitae, here.

Had a doctor’s check-up and had a long talk (which I greatly appreciated) to determine where I go from here this year on my health journey. I don’t anticipate the blood tests will show much improvement in my problem areas, unfortunately, but at least I have a path to take for some of my other issues that I can’t afford to push off much longer, even if I hope they’re not something too bad. Based on prior experience, I’m probably fine (in the sense that my issues won’t harm me, even if they’re not the most fun things in the world), but your body’s warranty runs out at thirty-five, so I can’t lean on that assumption anymore.

Whether or not I’m successful at finishing up the DRI and Masque edits before the end of the month, I’ll be signing up to work for Instacart. The gig economy is not ideal, of course, but I need money flowing in instead of out (not least to cover medical costs), and I actually like grocery shopping, so it may be a good fit. I’ll be easing into it in February, figuring out my best schedule and hopefully not venturing too far from home.

Works in Progress:

I was supposed to start editing the Dracula reimagining, but I’m having a hard time focusing. I’ll be trying again today and shooting for finishing in a week and a half or less. Honestly, though, I’m not sure what the inauguration is going to do to me.

However, I did manage to write two pieces of flash, both of which got sent out to their respective submission calls in good shape, so it was still a productive week.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

Things I’m Listening To:

Christmas playlist
Dracula soundtracks

Things I’m Watching:

101 Dalmatians (1996)
102 Dalmatians
Grotesquerie series (finished)
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
Found series
The Irrational series
Abbott Elementary series
Home Town series
White Collar series
NCIS series
CSI series
CSI: NY series
Columbo series
Broadchurch series

Poem of the Week:

there aren’t as many stars
anymore i have to squint
to see more than haze
or shadow on the moon
maybe it’s how much i drink
or the long long days
maybe i’m just tired
or maybe the sun wants to sleep
come inside my darling
the light is getting dim