Catching up, Birthdays, and Celebrity Fish
Valentine’s Day Roses from Nathan!
On February 1, I started my birthday month right by attending the NEHW Happy Hour Write-In and using it to put the finishing touches on the short story I was writing for a blind call. I subbed it. Fingers crossed, I’ll keep you posted! I moved right on to the next story, which is also for a blind sub, so I can’t breathe a word about that, either. I’ve known about this call since November and, in fact, started a whole different take on it, but on 2/1 I woke up with Read the rest of this entry
Hot Times, Back to the Aquarium and Sorting Things Out
My New Year’s Wish tag was JOY—and all I can say is that so far? That’s been right on! What a month!
I finished writing a short story, “Hot Times at the Dinosaur Bidet.” Set on New Year’s Eve 1999, everyone’s waiting for Y2K to happen (or not?)… but there’s something far worse out there, and it can’t be stopped. I submitted the piece to the intended market, which passed. I’ve already selected twenty places to send it to. I finished another short story that I can’t Read the rest of this entry
HP Lovecraft Film Festival VIRTUAL starts this Friday 12/5!
I love cosmic horror—it asks so many questions and makes me think. I also love short films. So the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, going strong since 1995, is my jam! The streaming edition, which is always the highlight of my year, arrives this Friday, featuring over sixty short films, several full-length features, author readings, and panels (and a ticket purchase gives you through 12/12 to watch everything).
Hosts Gwen and Brian Callahan go above and beyond—the quality of this festival, from curation and content to pledge campaign rewards and collateral material—is top notch.
This year’s thirtieth anniversary theme is Cthulu on the High Seas, so in addition, some contributors to the Lovecraftian Microfiction/Challenge from Beyond books, which always accompany the festival, were instead asked to write an X-files-esque story surrounding The Emma, a two-masted schooner that plays into strange events in Lovecraft’s story “The Call of Cthulu.” There are stories by favorites like Cody Goodfellow and John Shirley, and my story “Compaction” is included too. The books will be on sale after the festival on Arkhaam Bazaar’s website.
If short films and cosmic/existentialist horror rocks your world, this festival is for you! You can purchase tickets for the December 5-9 (with extended time through Dec. 12), 2025 streaming event here: https://hplfilmfestival.eventive.org/passes/buy.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I have so much to be thankful for this year—mostly, right now, the fact that I am back at home in Danbury for good, and some sillier things, like a new well pump, a new washer/dryer and a renovated laundry room. While these last two weren’t by choice (things break in a thirty-five year old house!), I’m really excited about them. I’m also grateful for a whole bunch of writing opportunities, editing jobs I need to finish, 34 Orchard, write-in sessions every weekend, and the Virtual Breakout Novel Intensive course I’ve been taking, which has gotten me back on the inspiration train.
And what I’m thankful for most of all are my husband Nathan and my housemate Charles.
All three of us wish you a wonderful time spent with those you love this holiday weekend!
Hi there–if you got some old posts, just delete…
Hello, subscribers to my blog!
I’m working on some site maintenance, and three posts that are between 7 and 10 years old were “republished” and went out to you all instead of being permanently deleted (which was the intent).
Thank you for your patience! I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Kristi
Creepy Abandoned Dinosaur Museum…
Not writing or reading related, but here at 34O we love our tales of all things abandoned. I came across this video of urban explorers visiting an abandoned dinosaur museum somewhere in China, and thought it might be of interest (and… what are the beds doing in the back rooms? WEIRD).
Enjoy!
Introducing DARKNESS MOST FOWL anthology and readings!
Sometimes birdsong is dangerous.
If you love 34 Orchard and you want a volume full of tales that carry our vibe, don’t miss Darkness Most Fowl from The Godmother of Horror Press!
This anthology was invitation only, and so writers we’ve recommended and several 34 Orchard alums build terrifying nests in this bird horror anthology! Edited by #7 “The Last Days”’s Elaine Pascale and featuring stunning art by Michael Takeda (#11, “Kintsugi”), others are Zachary Kellian (#6, “Shrike Song”), Die Booth (#1, “A Murder”), Ernest Ògúnyẹmí (#7, “The Flute”), Leen Raats (#8, “The Solitary Man”), Nicola Kapron (#3, “The Bodies We Should Forget”), Selah Janel (#5, “Mister Skinandbones”), Rob Frances (#4, “Everything Fits If You Push Hard Enough”), Robert Mayette (#8, “The Milestones on That Path”), L.E. Daniels (#8/“Weird Witness”), and ten other popular voices. From grackles and creepers to magpies and nightjars, these flights of dark fancy will claw your heart every time you hear beating wings.
In the mood to Read the rest of this entry
HAPPY RELEASE DAY! 34 ORCHARD ISSUE 12 HAS LANDED!
Thrilled to announce that 34 Orchard Issue 12 is here!
The twenty artists in this issue wander the corridors of longing, which is often considered a yearning for a person, object, or location. But it can mean so much more—and sometimes be the loneliest, most isolating emotion in the human experience.
As the purported “most wonderful time of year” approaches, for those who long for anything at all, it might actually be the darkest.
Welcome to the house so empty your own voice comes back to haunt you.
Welcome to 34 Orchard.
Get your copy at https://34orchard.com/issue-12/ today!
Once again, the ToC: Read the rest of this entry
Announcing 34 ORCHARD’s Autumn 2025 ToC—COMING MONDAY!
The ToC for 34 Orchard Issue #12, Autumn 2025, has arrived! The issue will be released this coming MONDAY, November 10, 2025.
In Issue 12, twenty artists wander the corridors of longing.
When we think of longing, we think of desire, nostalgia, hope, regret, tenderness, desperation, and resignation. But its power shouldn’t be underestimated—it can change the course of our lives. It can drive us to take a job or leave it, marry or divorce, cling to an addiction or let one go, end something or start something new—or, in my case, it can Read the rest of this entry
On my hometown’s green today for the LITCHFIELD COUNTY ARTISANS FESTIVAL
Today’s the day! So thrilled to be on my hometown of New Milford, Connecticut’s green with over a hundred stellar artisans and craftsmen.
I will have many copies of several of my titles, among them Out of Time: True Encounters of the Paranormal, which has true ghost encounters from the house I grew up in (and comes with a special something extra).
Consider spending some time here, get some cool gifts, eat from food trucks, hear live music…and find my space and say hello! Festival has done an amazing job preparing the ultimate hometown experience for you…don’t miss it!
