I got word that my story from the Claw Machine anthology, “Narrowly, Narrowly Caught,” has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize!  This is my story in which a high school reunion and memories of grad night collide, and a claw machine reveals more than seems possible.  I leaned into my economics background and my interest in arcades for this one.  It’s the closest I’ve come to one of my stories having an actual soundtrack. 

It’s also a story in which I challenged myself to make the act of prepping a salad as tense and meaningful as I could, as evidenced here (yes, that is my actual, deplorable handwriting): 

Needless to say, I’m honored that the editor selected my story! 

My newest story, “The Queen of All Roses,” is part of The Muddy Goose Guide to the Weird Northwest: A Playable Adventure anthology from Demagogue Press.  The front cover has a playable version of the Game of the Goose, and the stories and poems have characters embarking on dark journeys involving real landmarks in Oregon and Washington.  Technically, this book had a special pre-release edition earlier this year at Worldcon, but it’s officially available today. 

So, what did I write about?  I may have created a cryptid… 

“The Queen of All Roses” took inspiration from my late nights commuting home from grad school on the MAX light rail train, plus input from my California nieces and nephew on arriving in Portland’s recently updated airport, and how I grew up visiting the International Rose Test Garden in Portland’s Washington Park. 

In fact, my younger son joined me on a research trek to the rose garden for this story.  We got an appropriately eerie day, with lots of fog. 

I also drew upon a stop our family made during our road trip to the Bay Area last year.  We checked out the Darlingtonia Trail to see a bog of pitcher plants. 

If you want to know how I meshed all that in under 3,500 words, you’ll just have to read it! 

I had a great time this past weekend at the Speculative Sundays reading!  Joshua Gage’s poetry is fantastic, and Akua Lezli Hope is always a gracious, engaging host.  In case you missed it, here’s the link to the recording.  And remember, there’s still one more session of this reading series for Speculative Poetry Month coming up this Sunday, featuring poets Angela Acosta and Alicia Hilton, two of my occasional “TOC (Table of Contents) buddies.”  We’ve cooked up some free giveaways that attendees can sign up for, too, if you’d like to see more of our work.  

Soon I’ll be transitioning to some fiction updates, including the Muddy Goose anthology. 

I briefly studied dramatic monologues in college and always thought it would be fun to write one.  This is a type of narrative poem where we hear from one speaker who gradually reveals more than they might realize as they speak.  Fun, right?  I decided to write one using a ballad form. 

My resulting poem, “The Emerald Tapestry,” has just been published in Corvid Queen, the online fairy tale magazine from Sword & Kettle Press (who also published my Elgin Award-winning chapbook!). 

One more reminder that I’ll be one of the readers for Speculative Sundays, a free online poetry reading series, this Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4pm Pacific time.  Come end your weekend strong with some poetry! 

And as I’ve mentioned, I have a new story in the anthology The Muddy Goose Guide to the Weird Northwest.  We’re cooking up a fun event to be hosted online by Vintage Books (they’re the bookstore that hosted an event for the Claw Machine anthology earlier this year).  Mark your calendars for Dec. 2 at 7pm Pacific time for this new one. 

I realize I’ve been keeping quiet on my actual writing these days.  Autumn is usually good to me.  Last month I broke through a block that had me stymied for a while, and I penned a few poems, started a couple new stories (I like to have multiple going at a time), and got an influx of research for a story that’s been eluding me for years.  My process is slow, so I’ve got to enjoy whatever progress I can claim.  And always aim to make the end product worth the wait.