January Updates
I hope your holiday season was lovely and full of good reads. I was fortunate enough to receive a first edition of Genius Loci and Other Tales by Clark Ashton Smith published by Arkham House (a favorite of Lovecraft’s)! We had a quiet New Year - I did a bit of journaling, writing and reading to help set the tone and usher in the new season.
After travel and fighting a bad cold, I put the finishing touches on my UCSD course, which starts this month! I’m also preparing to announce the final batch of contributors for my Women of the Weird West anthology (and do a cover reveal!), and have been working on several short stories—I just finished a feminist Krampus tale. I also read Annihilation, which I loved.
Some of my works published in 2025
New Story in Horror Library - Get Your Horror Fix!
My story “Mask Off,” about a thwarted photographer who finds a mysterious mask, will be in the excellent Horror Library Volume 9! Preorder: https://www.darkmoonbooks.com/Horror_Library_9.html
Events/Classes
UCSD Extension
My new speculative fiction class for beginners will be offered this month at the University of California San Diego Extended Studies. If you or someone you know might like to dip a toe into writing fantasy, sci-fi and/or horror, consider signing up. It is offered as part of the writing certification program, but can also be taken as a one-off class. Check it out here!
Southern California Writers Conference
Want to level up your writing? Check out these two workshops I’ll be giving at the Southern California Writers’ Conference:
“Big Punch in a Little Package: Creating Short Stories that Sizzle and Sell”
“From Whispers to Screams: The Art of Horror”
Sign up here to attend and take advantage of a weekend of excellent writing advice and networking:
https://writersconference.com/sd/san-diego-schedule-at-a-glance/
ICYMI: My New Audiobook Is Out!
The audiobook of my action-adventure western, Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger, is finding new readers! If you might like to dive into the Weird West, you can find the audio version on all the audio streaming and lending platforms!
https://scifiwri.com/2025/11/18/out-today-audiobook-of-melinda-west-monster-gunslinger/
Upcoming Stories
“Mother Knows Best” in Death Maidens from Ace/Penguin Publishing Group
2 TBAs!
Book - Fantastica Horrifica (Stars and Sabers Publishing, 2027)
Anthology - Women of the Weird West (Brigids Gate Press, 2026)
Anthology - Of Tombstones and Terrors (Stars and Sabers Publishing, 2027)
You can also read or listen to some of my stories for free here.
Meme of the Month
