Canopic jars were used in ancient Egypt’s mummification process. They held the internal organs of the deceased. This one, from the tomb of Imhotep, is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but currently it is not for public viewing. To see more examples of canopic jars, start at the MMA’s website here: http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/555729?rpp=20&pg=2&ft=canopic+jars&pos=37

My newest short story, “Jarring Lucas,” will be appearing in Great Old One Publishing’s upcoming anthology Canopic Jars: Tales of Mummies and Mummification. The final Table of Contents hasn’t been set yet, but I’m thrilled to share one with such writers as Michael Bailey, whose work I admire—his short story /poetry collection SCALES AND PETALS garnered the International Book Award for short fiction. M.J. Preston, illustrator and author of The Equinox, will design the cover.

The invitation to submit was a thrill, and the work was a challenge—I’ve never written anything about mummies or canopic jars, much less anything peppered with allusions to Lovecraft. Plus, I really wanted to break out of the box and do something atypical (I won’t tell you the story’s setting, but I promise it’s not anywhere you’d normally associate with mummies). This story took about three months to complete and polish, to the exclusion of almost all else, but I’m really happy with it…and I hope you all will be too!

As of now, there is no publishing date set, but I will keep you posted.