My first attempt at writing a sestina, a 39-line poem with a strict pattern of repeating end words, was rough.  I stuck with it, though, and produced “Court Sestina,” about a relationship explored through a tennis match.  It’s available now in Volume 41.2 of Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature, alongside some absolutely lovely writing about all types of athletics.

I had a lovely chat with Steven HAuse and Cody Vanderzwaag of the new video interview series Gloaming and Gamma Rays about “The Sphynx’s Blind Date.”  We talked about this story’s connection to a sonnet, how I ended up reading a list of phrases about bulls as research, and why I didn’t include a centaur or mermaid, among other things.

If you couldn’t make it to our in-person launch for the Claw Machine anthology (or if we left you wanting more), please join us tomorrow, Tues., June 24, at 7pm PDT for Vintage Books Live! Tries Out the Claw Machine.  This reading and Q&A will be streaming live via YouTube.  Hope you can join us!

My flash story “The Sphynx’s Blind Date” has been reprinted in Solstitia’s coffeeshop!AU issue.  The setting for this story was inspired by Moonstruck Chocolate Café (technically not a coffee shop, shhh!), which sadly doesn’t exist anymore.  I wanted to memorialize it in fiction.  This is one of those cases where the details of the surroundings took a backseat to the characters and dialogue, so you can envision the café however you want. 

The concept of coffee shop AU, rooted in fanfiction, got me curious and, since I love me some data, led me to this 2016 analysis of survey results:  “Five Tropes Fanfic Readers Love (And One They Hate)” by Fansplaining’s Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel. 

I have another blog post up on WritersDigest.com, this time where I talk about how writers like me who specialize in short lengths might go about building up to a novella.  I want to emphasize, it’s perfectly valid to devote oneself to shorter fiction lengths.  I intend to keep doing so.  It’s just, I had a longer story arc to tell in this particular case, and for the sake of my characters, I realized there was more than one way to get there.  I found an option I didn’t find overwhelming, and I wanted to share it in case it gives anyone else ideas.

Huge thank you to all the Kickstarter backers who made this project a success!  Claw Machine: The Anthology is out in the world at last, and it includes my horror story “Narrowly, Narrowly Caught.” 

I aimed to combine a lot of elements in this one:  eerie omens and childhood chants, principles of economics (which I studied in college), emotions at milestone events like grad night or a class reunion, and applying a musical “soundtrack” to accompany certain events on the page.  And a claw machine, of course. 

I started this story while vacationing in San Francisco last year, so public transportation was also on my mind as my family took BART and Muni everywhere.  This is the first of two horror stories of mine coming out this year which feature light rail trains!  Make of that what you will.  I actually hate driving and rather like trains. 

If you couldn’t make it to our in-person launch party for this anthology, we’ve got an online reading scheduled for Tuesday, June 24^th at 7pm PDT, hosted by Vintage Books. 

Preorders are now live for the ebook of my fantasy novella, with the official publication (including paperback) coming on July 15^th! 

This book is for you if (select all that apply):

• You dream about shrinking down to pixie size
  • And, you know, being able to fly
• You enjoy experimental story structures
  • Is Thrice Petrified a trilogy of novelettes?  A novella-length triptych?  A root cause analysis viewed through the lens of fiction? 
  • (The answer to all the above is yes.)
• You are intrigued by the prospect of “FernGully meets Zootopia”
• You can handle fantasy quests simmered with a dash of slow-burn romance
• You want to immerse yourself in a magical version of Oregon’s wild landscapes where humans don’t exist
• You are a rockhound
• You appreciate low-tech settings and cultures with characters living off the land
• You believe in second chances
• You like the idea of warrior fairies
• You’ve read “A Petrified Heart” in Wyngraf and want to find out more about these characters and their adventures

(On a different topic, if you’re in my area celebrating Portland Book Week 2025, one final reminder that I’ll be participating in the Claw Machine anthology book launch and reading this Friday!) 

How’s that for a blog post title, huh?  Let’s go with the goose first:  I’m pleased to share that I’ll have a new story, “The Queen of All Roses,” in the upcoming anthology The Muddy Goose Guide to the Weird Northwest: A Playable Adventure, from Demagogue Press.  This anthology will feature horror and dark speculative stories set in the Pacific Northwest.  There’s a lot more to it, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  Suffice to say, it’s got a great lineup of local authors: 

Also, I want to give one more reminder about the launch party for Claw Machine: The Anthology in Portland this Friday the 13^th!  (If you can’t make it to this event, I believe we’ll have an online one coming up as well.)  This book includes my horror story “Narrowly, Narrowly Caught.” 

When I was looking into places to submit my novella, I was drawn to the covers that Of Metal and Magic Publishing puts together.  It was one of the many things that made me want to pitch to them.  They were the first place I sent Thrice Petrified to!  And now, I’m thrilled to say I have one of those covers of my own. 

Drumroll please… 

I love it!  They don’t use AI, and they were great at considering my input.  We decided to go for bold colors and feature the high desert setting.  And what a perfect font for a fantasy tale, right? 

Now, we’re getting the proof polished up into an ARC (advanced reader copy).  I can hardly wait to share the next update! 

One of my favorite things about having a poem in The Hyacinth Review is seeing what gorgeous artwork they choose to accompany it.  For their Books & Literature theme, they’ve reprinted my poem “Calypso, Riddled” (originally from NonBinary Review’s issue on The Odyssey) and paired it with a lovely still life.  Enjoy!