Virtual toast to Edgar Allan Poe tonight!
Today is Edgar Allan Poe’s 212th birthday, and the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia will be holding a virtual online birthday bash tonight from 7 pm to 8 pm ET.
This follows a day of streaming events. You can tune in for the free content on YouTube here NOW, and at 7 pm this evening for the toast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2wiocfvTHs Grab a drink (amontillado, anyone)? And join in the fun! The night will feature a reading of “The Masque of the Red Death” (appropriate for this year, no?)
“Arbor Day” is here—join me for a reading with other WICKED WOMEN at the virtual COFFEEHOUSE OF THE DAMNED tonight at 7 pm!
I’m thrilled to announce that my short story “Arbor Day”—creepy trees and bodies is all I’m going to reference—is now available in the newest New England Horror Writers anthology, Wicked Women!
Want a preview of this awesome antho and my story as well? Tonight at 7 pm, I’ll be reading with Christine Lajewski, Jennifer Williams, Elaine Pascale, Sara Marks, and Morgan Sylvia, and I’m the last one of the evening.
You can watch the open ZOOM meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89312013237…
Want to hear more about my story? You can get behind the scenes at Morgan Sylvia’s blog here: https://morgansylvia.com/2020/12/20/wicked-women-blog-hop-kristi-petersen-schoonover/
Want to purchase Wicked Women? You can do that in paperback and Kindle here: http://bit.ly/WWArborDay
When I don’t have to go anywhere …
… the snow is pretty! This is the view out my home office window.
Since I don’t drive in the snow, and I’m not a fan of the cold, I think I’m going to enjoy this winter. While I still have to go to my day job five days a week, I have loads of days off available (no vacations planned) I can use as snow days. And there are NO plans to go anywhere on weekends.
I’m really looking forward to this.
Yesterday was Wishes & Intentions Day!
Every year for the past few, my friend Heather and I have taken January 2 to write down our wishes and intentions for the coming year. We then seal them up in an envelope, and open them on January 2 the following year before writing new ones.
I totally forget what’s on mine, so it’s always interesting to see what I’ve written down. I’m happy to say that I accomplished 11 out of 22 in 2020 (and some are still “in progress”)—among them, write more, get the toxicity out of my life, keep my home office clean, and stop going to so many events so that I can enjoy more time at home (when I saw that one, I got the creeps).
I went more specific for 2021, and have 63 wishes and intentions. We’ll see what happens!
Busy Snow Birds
We had our first nor’easter of the season yesterday, and our backyard birds were very busy at the feeders. It was a tranquil scene to wake up to.
Announcing 34 ORCHARD’S Autumn 2020 Table of Contents!
It’s been an interesting journey this time around, but I’m thrilled to announce the Table of Contents for 34 Orchard’s sophomore issue—coming to the magazine’s website here on November 10!
In this issue, twenty-one artists from everywhere burn worlds to the ground in terrifyingly beautiful ways, featuring the following art, fiction and poetry: Read the rest of this entry
Join me for SCREAMS OF AUTUMN Halloween afternoon!
Looking for a short, sweet thing to kick off this very unusual Halloween?
Join me on Halloween, Saturday October 31, at 2 pm at Brookfield Theatre for the Arts in Brookfield, CT as I present a perennial favorite (Poe’s “The Raven”—not really read by women too often), a forgotten classic (Julius W. Long’s “The Pale Man”), and one of my own: “Screams of Autumn,” which was published back in 2010 in the online lit mag, Spilt Milk.
The event is FREE and is OUTDOORS! SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MASKS ARE REQUIRED. Bring your own chair (there will be markings on the parking lot pavement), dress warmly, and bring blankets if you wish. Goody bags for everyone in attendance will include a bonus, never-before-published short story that I just wrote this summer.
The show should last about 45 minutes to an hour. So come on, kick back for a bit, and get your scare on! The theatre is located at 184 Whisconier Road, Brookfield, CT. More information and RSVP to BrookfieldTheatreCT@gmail.com
Farewell, Poe
I am heartbroken to share that my little black cat Poe (8/17/02—07/21/20), just shy of 18, has passed.
Poe was the runt of his litter, and an ex and I rescued him from a filthy house in which he was sleeping in an oven when he was just eight weeks old. We’d already chosen the name Poe, even though the lady called him Sam. We got to the house, and he was nowhere to be found (there were like 100 cats). Tom called “Poe” and he came right to us. For the rest of his life, he always came running when I called his name.
Poe clearly thinks the platter of Thanksgiving turkey is for him. November, 2005.
Poe was extremely intelligent, and a bit of a wisecracker—there were times I could almost see him rolling his eyes at his less-than-bright brother, Mikey. He loved his bacon, and at Thanksgiving, he was constantly sitting in an empty seat and trying to get at the turkey. He also loved cream cheese (I was prepping for a party once, left to use the restroom, came back into the kitchen, and he was Read the rest of this entry
HAPPY 4th OF JULY!
From our house to yours, a very happy Fourth! Stay safe and enjoy whatever it is you do with those you love!
This vintage jewelry–some of it dating back to the 1960s–belonged to my Italian great aunts, who had jewelry for EVERY. HOLIDAY. And then some!
Happy July–34 ORCHARD is open for submissions!
The cover of the Spring, 2020 issue of 34 ORCHARD. Cover art: “Lost and Found,” by Brandon Kawashima.
34 Orchard is now open for submissions from July 1 — July 31, 2020, for our Fall Issue, to be published November 10, 2020.
Please check out our guidelines here. If you’d like to look at prior issues, our Spring issue is posted here.
We look forward to reading your work!
