Just One Last Dance

 My story Just One Last Dance is now available along with 98 other very short horror stories in 99 Tiny Terrors!

I can't say much about it without spoiling anything, but my story is based on the song Thinking Out Loud, and its music video. Yes, it's a very sweet song and a very nice video about dancing, and yes, I turned it into a horror story.

My entire thought process is documented in this Twitter thread, but basically I was disturbed by the line "Will your eyes still smile from your cheek" because like… that's not where eyes go and it's strange that he didn't notice that, so I figured she was a cosmic horror from beyond the stars who was messing with his brain.

Mine is just one of 99 stories in this book, and I’m so honored to share the table of contents with some really amazing people, so I hope you will check it out.

Sixty Percent

 There's not a lot I can say about Sixty Percent, a horror story now available in eco-horror anthology Chlorophobia, without spoiling it.

It's very short, about 750 words, and written in second person present tense. This might be my first story written in second person, actually. (Dear Vegas kind of is, but it's written as a letter, so I'm not sure if it counts.)

It's the story of the worst drought in recent memory, and nature is getting very thirsty.

The story was inspired by the song No Rain, and the music video with the little bumblebee girl. Because of course I found a way to turn a beloved song from my childhood into a horror story.

Content warnings: drought, bees, bees trying to drink your tears right from your eyeballs 

O Howly Night (and a poem)

The holiday season starts early this year, with the release of Home for the Howlidays, an anthology of canine themed winter holiday stories featuring my story O Howly Night!

(And to celebrate, check out this Twitter thread from the publisher, in which the authors read my version of A Visit From Saint Nicholas, which references every story in the book.)

My story is about Bella, the littlest hellhound celebrating her first Christmas running with the Wild Hunt. But when they capture a human on the way home to his family, Bella decides it's up to her to give his children the Christmas they deserve.

I had a very hard time thinking of a name for this story, but after thinking long and hard, I came up with the best title ever.

Home for the Howlidays.

Only problem was… that was such a great title, it was already the title of the anthology I was submitting to.

Maybe that's why it sounded so familiar.

I renamed it Bark! The Hellhound Angels Sing, and it was accepted for publication. And my friend Lizz announced on Twitter that her story was going to be part of the anthology too!

Her story…called Bark! The Herald Angels Sing.

I offered to change mine but warned the editor I had absolutely no more ideas. Heck, I already tried to name the story after the book. Luckily, she remembered a suggestion for a story title someone else didn't use, which is how I ended up with O Howly Night.

(other titles I considered, with varying degrees of seriousness?

Happy Valhalla-Days

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Sleipnir

Bifrost-y The Snowman

Deck The Halls Of Valhalla)

This is a really fun book I’m honored to be a part of, and I hope you will consider buying a copy for yourself or for the dog lover on your holiday gift list. Home for the Howlidays is available in paperback and digital.