Blood And Iron

 I am so pleased to finally be able to announce my short story "Blood And Iron" is available in Rosalind's Siblings, a celebration of scientists of marginalized genders. This anthology was scheduled for several years ago but the plan fell through and it finally found a new home with Atthis Arts!

My story is about an autistic forensic pathologist who deals with magical creatures. They've been showing up in our world for some reason, but never survive long. Her latest case—a fairy who might have been murdered—could be the key to solving the entire interdimensional mystery.

This character is a lot like me, and probably the most explicitly autistic character I have ever written. It isn't just a diagnosis she has or something she deals with, it is an integral part of who she is and how she interacts with the world.

My original description for her was "Temperance Brennan from Bones if she was a Disney princess."

The death of magical creatures is central to the story, but there is no death on the page and any mentions of bodies and autopsy of them is dealt with in a non-graphic way.

Wardrobe Of The Worlds

In fashion, one day you're in, and the next day you’re out of this world…

My story "Wardrobe Of The Worlds" is now available in Soul Jar, an anthology of disabled authors.

Imagine intergalactic Project Runway with an autistic model and a Bruce Willis inspired Army general designer, and you've got the idea. Oh, and if they don't make the best dress possible, well… the Earth might be destroyed.

Part Of Her World

 This story didn't get announced when it first came out, so I am announcing it now!"Part Of Her World" is available to read for free online at Breath And Shadow!

This story, loosely based on The Little Mermaid, deals with a disabled woman who lives in a gravity free environment that helps her move more easily, trying to hide the fact that she is disabled while helping a pretty astronaut.

There is a lot of internalized ableism to this character. She doesn't mind being disabled, but she has it in her head that no one will treat her with respect, or want to date her, if they know she can't walk.

That's something a lot of us have to deal with. When I first started writing and submitting stories, I never mentioned my disability. I didn't want it to change the way people thought of me.

I always mention it now, because it's important to be honest about yourself and to have good disability representation in the media. But there is still always that little doubt, is this going to change anything?

Welcome Mat, Five Stars

 I am very proud to announce that my new story "Welcome Mat, Five Stars" is now available in the anthology The Monsters Next Door!

It's a humorous but tragic story of a couple who unknowingly move into a community of vampires.

The story is told through online product reviews left by the main character, Lucy Morris (named after my two favorite Dracula characters who deserved better).

I think that format gave me a unique opportunity to build suspense because I have so much control over what information the readers have. There's no dialogue, there's no descriptions of the neighborhood, the story is pieced together just with the details Lucy inadvertently gives in her reviews.

I had a lot of fun writing it, because I didn't know where it was going at first. I only knew there was a welcome mat at the beginning and a mirror at the end, and I had to work out how to get from one to the other, and then go back and fill in the foreshadowing to make it make sense.

I hope you enjoy it.

And Let It Go

 My story "And Let It Go" is now available in Yay! They're Here!

It's the story of the woman who accidentally started the end of the world when aliens landed on her birthday.

The title is a reference to 99 Red Balloons, which also inspired most of the plot (and the name of the alien species).

I also took inspiration from The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man." I grew up watching marathons of that show every major holiday on the Sci-Fi Channel, and that was always one of my favorite episodes.

For maximum enjoyment, I recommend imagining the main character as Kat Dennings's MCU character Darcy Lewis. 100% I wrote it with her in mind. Actually, writing it as if she was going to play my character is what took this story from just a vague idea to a finished piece.

Transfer, Emphasis On Trans

I am very proud to say my story "Transfer, Emphasis On Trans" is now available in Mirrors Reflecting Shadows, proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project.

It's set in a futuristic world where Freaky Friday style body swaps are commonly offered services.

When a trans man swaps bodies so he can properly experience society as a man before transitioning, he expects it to last 24 hours. Little does Alexander know, the person he swapped with was in trouble and got himself—and Alexander's original body—killed.

Now he's stuck in the perfect body—and in the middle of an investigation.

When I wrote this story, I didn’t realize I was trans. I just thought everyone had a little bit of gender dysphoria from time to time.

That was in 2017.

Since then, this story has collected almost 20 rejections and almost as many different titles and editing passes. And every time I edited it, it felt a little more familiar, a little more personal.

And that's because I'm non-binary.

While this story overall is one of hope and gender affirmation, please be aware the main character's family is not affirming of his gender or name with the exception of his sister.

The Horsepower Whisperer

 I am very proud to announce I have another story published in the amazing Brave New Girls series of anthologies. This one is "The Horsepower Whisper," available in Brave New Girls: Tales Of Girls Who Engineer And Explore!

My story is a steampunk tale about a family struggling to keep their farm profitable while recovering from the death of the mother.

The main character, Katie, is trying to follow in her mother's dancing footsteps, but instead of practicing her routine, she's trying to help her father and younger sister with the farm. She decides what they really need is a horse, so she buys a broken down mechanical one and tries to fix him up in secret.

There's one scene in this story that I struggled with writing, because in my mind, it needed to be a music montage set to the Hall and Oates song "You Make My Dreams Come True" and I just couldn't figure out how to write that for the longest time.

I hope you enjoy my story, although please be aware it does deal with grief of losing a mother to cancer.