It’s been a minute since I made an update on Ye Olde Website Blog. Between Bluesky, Insta, and my monthly newsletter, I often forget that this fourth space exists. Which is weird, right? Blogging used to be a thing I did multiple times each day, but that was back when blogging was a new and exciting thing. It’s often strange to think about those times–I mean, I made lifelong friends. In fact, I was hanging out with two of them earlier today at the Darkesome Arts and Crafts Market at Mt. Moriah Cemetery!
But whatever. Consider this an update on what’s going on, as well as a pledge to do better.
You already know that I have a new young adult horror novel coming out in August 2026 (Meat Sweats), and you might know that the paperback version of A Misfortune of Lake Monsters was released last month, but I’m also delighted to say that a new short story of mine was just unleashed on the world! “In The Blood We Live” can be found in the anthology Pretend You Don’t See Her from Kandisha Press. I always love Kandisha Press anthologies–and so having a short story accepted has been goal for a while. I’m particularly happy that they grabbed “In The Blood We Live.” It’s a weird little story that was inspired by the submissions we received for the Bodies Full of Burning anthology a few years ago. Or, rather, submissions I didn’t receive. There were a few types of menopause-related stories I wanted but didn’t get–so you know how it is: if you need a story that doesn’t exist, write it yourself! Anyway, the story is a love letter to Philadelphia women and, of course, all my fellow menopausal ladies.
In a neat twist, Meat Sweats might not be the next bit of fiction you see from me! I was recently commissioned by Ethereal Visions Publishing to write a novella to go along with one of their absolutely gorgeous oracle card decks. Right now the project is in its infancy–I’m going back and forth with the publisher on the characters and the outline. I’m not a hundred percent sure when the deck will be out, though. There may be some additional, similar projects coming down the pike, and that’s exciting. As I said, the decks are gorgeous, but it’s also a really fun way to do something different creatively.
Speaking of doing something different, I somehow schnookered Macabre Daily into giving me my own monthly column about gastrohorror! That makes sense given that Meat Sweats is most certainly gastrohorror, and–of course–I’m also back in school, planning to pursue a second masters degree related to food and horror. I continue to be amazed that my first masters (that concentrated on how and why consuming horror media is psychologically good for people) allowed me so many opportunities over the last year to present on the topic, and whether my second one will offer similar opportunities or not is still up in the air, but that’s not why I’ve returned to school. There’s something really amazing about being able to pursue a degree simply for the love of knowledge. Everything else is just secondary.
Lastly, I’m wrapping up a pretty solid run of book events (pictured is an event I did with Diana Rodriguez Wallach a week or two ago at Children’s Book World–I led a book discussion for the release of her excellent book The Silenced)! October is typically a big honking deal for horror writers. I ended up turning down about half a dozen events for this month for various reasons (not least of all that I’ll be on vacation at some point this month)–but you can catch me October 19 at the Easton Book Festival and on October 20 at Char & Stave, organized by Mavey Books. Do take a look at the events page for more details. I’ve also got a few things next month, maybe an event in December–and then an event here and there in the new year. I’m mostly taking a break, though, until Meat Sweats comes out in August. I genuinely don’t know how writers who are on the road all the time do it. Between July 2024 and the end of this year, I will have done somewhere around the neighborhood of 40 events–and I’m absolutely wiped out. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve had fun! But I’m also a giant, cave-dwelling introvert who needs a lot of alone time to recharge.
