To begin talking about this book and why it isn’t easy to talk about, I want to tell you about the types of stories I most love to read, both in the horror genre and outside of it.
Read moreMy Upcoming Horror Novel: The Aching Plane
What scares you? This is a question that hovers around the horror genre. As a horror writer, it’s something I often have to ask myself—and, worse, I have to be willing to be honest about it with myself. What scares you? What truly scares you?
Read moreSearching for Horror Novels in Small-town Bookstores | My Relationship with the Horror Genre
In early September of 2022, when I heard that the horror writer Peter Straub had died, it was like a hole had opened up beneath my feet. Anyone who’s ever felt close to a writer, a musician, a movie star, through their work, can probably relate to the strange grief that comes when you hear one of them is gone. To me, it’s like a grief I don’t have the right to, not compared to those who may have actually known the person, yet I’ve felt compelled to explore the sense of loss by celebrating that person’s work. I worry it’s a selfish kind of grief, centered around myself rather than the person. And yet it stems from a place of gratitude, and comes with the desire to talk about it, to write about it, to honor them in the only ways I know how.
Read moreSome Thoughts on Confidence in Writing
I’m confident as a writer now. But that doesn’t mean I put words down on the page and I’m confident in them. That means I’m confident in my ability to eventually create a product I’m confident in.
Read moreGratitude for the King of (not merely) Horror | Stephen King's Influence on Me
I want to preface with a point I’m going to come back to, and which I find myself repeating often as a bookseller who curates the Horror section at my local Barnes & Noble: Stephen King is so much more than a horror writer. Some of his best, most enduring works transcend genre, whether grounded dramas or human stories with mere touches of the supernatural. His newest book, FAIRY TALE, is one I’ve pointed people to recently, saying “So, I know you just said you don’t read Stephen King because his work scares you, but trust me—this isn’t a horror novel.” And then I usually go on about how wonderful of a book it is, a love-letter to myths, fairytales, and the magic of storytelling, which also happens to be a fine example of pure, enchanting storytelling itself.
Read moreLet Me Pitch You My Horror Novel - The Origin of The Family Condition
I was staring at a Bearded Dragon in its glass tank, and a thought entered my head—the seed of an idea—which eventually became my horror novel,The Family Condition.
Read moreThe Family Condition - A Horror Novel -- Now Available for Preorder
I’m excited to be able to announce two things about my upcoming horror novel: the release date; and that it’s now available for preorder.
The Family Condition will be released on September 27th, which is just a little under three weeks away. You can preorder it on Barnes & Noble (BN.com) or Amazon.
Read moreMy Upcoming Horror Novel (pt. 1)
An announcement about my upcoming horror novel.
Read moreTo See Clearly After the Fire -- What I've Learned from Trauma
I want to talk about the Almeda Fire of Southern Oregon and my experience of it, but I want to preface by saying: This is just one experience.
Read moreThe Timeless Place in All of Us - Stillness, Grief, and Art
If I’ve learned anything from stillness—that is, learning to meditate, to be still, and to find the stillness inside of myself through the hardest experiences in life—it is this: the world is a mirror. What we see when we look at the world is what we hold inside. And what we hold inside is our choice. When we look out at the world, we look at ourselves.
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