Monthly Archives: March 2021
Pfizer Shot #1 Accomplished!
My husband Nathan and I got our first Pfizer shots today up at the Xfinity Center in Hartford (over an hour away). The process was smooth and easy! I’m really impressed with how well organized it was compared to how tough it was to get an appointment in the first place, and the cool guy that checked us in has the same birthday as my dad (2/17), which I took as a positive sign.
No side effects. I had some weird tingling in my arm, but I’ve had shots for lots of other things because I’ve worked at aquariums and have had more than my share of bouts with possible tetanus and exposure to strange animal diseases. So it wasn’t anything I hadn’t experienced before.
Our second shots are scheduled for Saturday, April 17. We plan to stay overnight the night before and make an adventure out of it, because hopefully a global pandemic will only come once in our lifetimes …
34 ORCHARD’s Spring 2021 Table of Contents is here!
We’re excited to announce 34 Orchard‘s Table of Contents for Issue 3 – Spring 2021 – coming to the 34 Orchard website April 25, 2021!
In our third issue, twenty artists ruminate on the sometimes devastating consequences of choice … on the verandah, a selection of cocktails awaits. Choose wisely!
Cover Art: Please Pray – Jen Connic
Am I Beautiful? – Carl Olson
Inheritance – Annie Dunn Watson
Salt and Pepper – W.T. Paterson Read the rest of this entry
When your friends have you figured out …
My friend Suzanne got me this necklace as a Christmas present. I love it … to death.
Recently my friend Suzanne sent me a present I wasn’t expecting. I was thrilled when I opened the gift and discovered a necklace featuring my favorite character in Disney’s Haunted Mansion’s Stretching Portraits—a young girl suspended on a rope over a hungry alligator.
The four portraits in the Stretching Room and Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
According to themeparktourist.com, this pretty girl in a precarious situation has a name: Daisy de la Cruz (you can read about everyone in the mansion here—this article is about Disneyland’s version, but in the Stretching Room, the WDW portraits are identical): https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20120507/6634/characters-disneylands-haunted-mansion
So, why is she my favorite? I’ve always identified with her: like me, she was always optimistic, always hopeful, always waiting for something to go her way—without really understanding that she can hope all she wants, but fate has other plans for her, and mostly scary ones.
Suzanne got this at the Etsy store League of Shadows. Everything is handmade, and so their stock rotates and changes frequently. As I write this, they don’t have these necklaces, but they have lots of other cool stuff. If you’re looking for something unique for yourself or another, it’s worth putting them on your list of places to check out. They’re located here: https://www.leagueofshadows.org/
HORROR & HIGH HEELS interview on tap!
The Dark Discussions podcast network did an interview with me about my work and my horror faves here in their Horror & High Heels interview series!
You can read the interview here: https://www.darkdiscussions.com/articles/horror-high-heels-interview-with-kristi-petersen-schoonover/
Want to read the rest of the articles in the series? You can do that here!
Elizabeth Black, horror writer
https://www.darkdiscussions.com/articles/horror-high-heels-interview-with-elizabeth-black/
Mariam Michael Draeger, Hostess of The Grimm Exchange
https://www.darkdiscussions.com/articles/horror-high-heels-interview-with-mariam-michael-draeger/
Holly Amber Church, Film Composer
https://www.darkdiscussions.com/articles/horror-high-heels-interview-with-holly-amber-church/
Nora B. Peevy, artist, photographer, writer
https://www.darkdiscussions.com/articles/horror-high-heels-interview-with-nora-b-peevy/
Escape to free stories for an hour this Saturday night!
I’ll be reading THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, March 20, 2021 at 8 pm in one of a series of special Virtual Reading Events set up by writer extraordinaire Terri Bruce! Grab a glass and a snack and join me for this free event!
Each writer will read for six minutes, and most of us are doing giveaways, so this is a chance for you to get a taste of some really good stories and maybe even get some free stuff!
Once again, the event is FREE and will last an hour. If you’d like to sign up, just go to this link: https://forms.gle/YNSkjkHq159N8eyh7
Writers presenting:
Alma Alexander – Fantasy author of 30 books including the Worldweavers series
LJ Cohen – Science Fiction/Fantasy author of over 20 books including Derelict
Lindsey Duncan – Science Fiction/Fantasy author of several books including Scylla and Charybdis
Tracy Townsend – Fantasy author of the Thieves of Fate series
Sarah Smith – Historical Mystery author of several books including the ghost thriller The Other Side of the Dark and the Titanic-centric (yay!) Crimes and Survivors.
Hope to “see” you there!
Happy St Patrick’s Day! I eat my corned beef with …
2020’s corned beef and marmalade.
… orange marmalade. Yes, you read that right. It’s the only way I’ll eat it. It probably comes from the fact that my Hungarian grandmother always served us meat and fish with fruit or some type of sweet jelly or sauce (lamb with mint, flounder with peaches, pork with applesauce, steak with raspberry jam). Don’t knock it ’til you try it! It’s actually pretty good.
Charles’ corned beef spread.
Every year, my housemate makes the complete corned beef dinner, but usually, all I eat is a plate of corned beef with marmalade (usually the lower sugar variety). I can’t wait for tonight! I look forward to this day every year! How do YOU eat your corned beef?
Save the date … virtual reading this Saturday, March 20
This coming SATURDAY, March 20th, at 8 pm EDT, I’ll be reading alongside some wonderful writers in one of a few special virtual events! I plan to read from my short story “Immolation,” and will be doing a giveaway. More details coming soon! Save the date and get your snacks ready!
“The Digging Place” to appear in FORNEVER AFTER
This watch features prominently in my short story, “The Digging Place.” I had been surfing the ’net for a watch like it to no avail for at least forty minutes, and finally I said to Nathan, “I need a picture of like, a souvenir watch that a seafaring museum might sell in its gift shop? For reference? And like … I got nothing.” He walks over to the book shelf, grabs this, and brings it over. “You mean … like this one?”
I’m pleased to announce that one of the short stories I wrote last summer—called “The Digging Place”—has been accepted to and will appear in Jolly Horror Press’ ForNever After anthology, slated for release later this year.
ForNever After will feature tragic and scary tales of romantic love, so “The Digging Place”—which is about missed opportunities and love lost—will fit right in (if you read my work, then you know that tragic and scary romance is in my wheelhouse, so … ). I won’t give any spoilers, but I will tell you that Tarot Cards, Mystic Connecticut, and a warehouse full of junk in Tennessee figure prominently.
I’ll let you know when it’s been released!
It’s been a banner week!
There are weeks when, as a writer, I don’t feel so accomplished. This morning, I had one of those moments … and then I did a tally of what I got done this week:
Gave feedback on a friend’s synopsis
Gave feedback on another friend’s short story
Gave feedback on Chapter 1 of yet another friend’s novel
Designed and mailed out the 34 Orchard Issue 3 announcement postcards
Created the back cover copy for Tidings (my husband did most of that—he used to market books, so …)
Watched Aliens and recorded the 10th anniversary episode of Dark Discussions (I can’t believe it’s been a decade!)
Completed edits on several of the stories for 34 Orchard
Finished several sets of tiny newspapers for my annual holiday chapbook mailing … I have to make 320 sets; I have only 114 to go!
I guess I really did deserve that bottle of wine and a nice early bed time last night!
Back to work!
My short story “Stones” featured on BEYOND THE SCREAMS podcast!
I was honored to be asked to present a short story for the Beyond the Screams podcast, which brings scary campfire tales to listeners along with its insightful theme-based monthly commentary on all things horror with hosts Holly, Patrick, and Steph. I chose the story “Stones,” an intimate take on the Pope Lick Goat Man legend.
The month of March covered creatures of mythology and lore. Check out all of their episodes here: https://beyondthescreams.com/
To hear the recording of “Stones,” click here: https://beyondthescreams.com/2021/03/08/stones/
To read about the Pope Lick Goat Man, click here: https://www.derbycityweekend.com/urban-legends-fuel-the-tale-of-the-pope-lick-goat-man/
