Writes
Dani’s Arrival I took too much time feeling old in the mirror. There were new grey hairs in my eyebrows. It had started with my right eyebrow but both were now giving off serious mad scientist energy. My stomach growled and I remembered I had a muffin hidden in the breadbox. I had washed it down with another sip of… Continue reading Haint Party, Chapter 1
A queer Southern Gothic wedding with a bruise, a trellis, and way too many secrets. Last time I told you there was a manuscript gathering dust in the attic. This was once its prologue. Now it’s just the first open door. Welcome to Haint Party. It is messy, queer, a little magical, and definitely fueled by wedding chaos. Think of… Continue reading Haint Party: Prologue
On abandoned rooms, forgotten manuscripts, and the stories we’re finally ready to tell… There’s a room in my head I haven’t opened in months. It’s beautifully decorated. Tasteful. The kind of space where you’d serve tea in matching cups and speak in your most articulate voice. Everything has its place. The books are alphabetized. The light hits just right at… Continue reading Why I Burned My Old Brand (And Left the Lights On Anyway)
On ditching the book, finding my voice, and giving myself permission to be messy So here’s the thing—Found in the Margins never felt like me. It was pretty, sure. Poetic, even. But every time I sat down to write, I felt like I was wearing someone else’s blazer. Professional. Proper. Completely suffocating. This? This chaotic, punchy, say-whatever-grabs-me energy? This is… Continue reading Let's Be Honest: I Hated My Own Brand
…a personal story This morning I received an email that someone had cited my doctoral dissertation in their research. I didn’t believe it, but it was a google alert. Who would fake those? It might be tougher to do so, but then I checked my profile on google scholar, something I haven’t done since I graduated in 2020. Yep, I… Continue reading You've been cited!
I’m not 100% sure how it happened. Yes, you read that correctly. Yes, I know I’m trying to finish editing by October, but I accidentally started writing a lesbian western. It was on a whim and mostly as a joke, but it started a few nights ago. It’s not bad. I allowed myself to be a bit silly with the… Continue reading Accidentally Wrote A Lesbian Western
Reflections on writing, fear, and a bachelorette party that goes very, very wrong I’m doing my very last round of edits before handing this book to my wife, who will give it the final pass and tell me exactly where I’ve gone off the rails and believe me, she will. After that… it’s time to publish. Gulp. The goal? The… Continue reading Editing My Ghosts (and My Book)
Plan: I’m going to self-publish by October. I’ve said, now I have to do it, right? That’s how all this works. I write it. I edit it. I find that I’m not completely satisfied with it, but I can’t sit on this book for another year. The first draft of this book was penned when I was still a teenager.… Continue reading Old Book New Plan
Not giving up I’ve not given up. I’m pivoting aggressively. It happens, right? The book I was working on was not happening. I couldn’t move forward and I kept going backwards. I spent time with my therapist, my wife, and just about anyone who would sit still with me to talk about it. Here’s what I’ve discovered: Finishing Something I’m… Continue reading This is not the end. More on that later today…
