An Introduction
The Long Haul
I’ve always mulled over whether to do a newsletter. I think they’re a great way to give updates without leaning on social media, especially with the bigoted cesspool that social media platforms have become (*cough* Twitter). But I didn’t know if I had anything important to say. There are amazing newsletters already out there: K.C. Mead-Brewer’s, Annika Barranti Klein’s, and Melissa Ren just started one! Really, you should subscribe to them all.
Then my fellow Wild Geese Bookshop bookseller and communications manager extraordinaire Suzie recently recommended I start one. She pointed out it’d be a good way to update people what I’m working on, what I’ve loved, and what I’ve published. So it feels like a good time for it.
This newsletter is “The Short Long Haul” because writing careers are often about the long game. There’s a lot of brainstorming, hours and hours of writing in isolation, and then a ton of waiting. So much waiting. While writing this, I am waiting on half a dozen editors while being on sub and about 10 short story submissions. Patience is not my virtue, yet I chose this career. Life is funny.
The “short” of the title is from the fact that I love short fiction. I love highlighting great work whenever and wherever possible, especially in my Book Riot articles, and I try my utmost to highlight work by those who are marginalized. I also love writing short stories. I hope to utilize this newsletter to continue spotlighting great short fiction, in addition to giving updates on my latest projects and publications.
For example: I am about one month into publication of my debut novella, FROM THESE DARK ABODES. I’d be so grateful if you bought a copy and/or spread the word.
The Short Haul
Now that we got intros and my meandering thoughts out of the way, here are some short works that have been haunting me. I hope they haunt you as well.
“Open Them If You Don’t Believe Me” by K.C. Mead-Brewer in matchbook. A haunting, fever-dream of a story. I’ve read this numerous times and each time is a gift. Keep your eyes wide open.
“Butter” by Erin Brown in Nightmare Magazine. Holy shit, this story. Guttural. The horrors persist and Kayla makes them her own. I will never look at a butter container the same way again.
“Disassembling Light” be Kel Coleman in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Intricate, wondrous, and heart wrenching. Reading this story inspired me to write again after a drought.
“Notes on Possums” by John Lemay in HAD. This is technically a poem, and it wrecked me. It will wreck you, too. Prepare yourself.
Keeping it short for now! Stay tuned for my next Book Riot article, about paranormal horror, which will publish sometime next week. Take care of yourselves.