I actually scared myself writing my contemporary gothic ghost story, “No Sweet Bird,” which is now available to read for free over at Crow & Cross Keys! See below for link to the story.

I read this and all I could think of was ‘WTF—didn’t these guys read The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Every one of my tales has a story behind it. This one is about what happens when you spit in fate’s eye. I’ve recently seen this happen to someone—if you believe in that sort of thing—and I think it’s interesting that a story I wrote two years ago saw it coming. It seriously is weird that, metaphorically, I described what would happen.

While the brain’s a really amazing thing, the moral of story? Karma’s a bitch. When the universe gives you a gift, you don’t throw it back.

And for God’s sake, don’t be dumb enough to kill an albatross. After all—the Franklin Expedition actually did this, and look what happened to them.

You can read “No Sweet Bird” free online over at Crow & Cross Keys here: https://crowcrosskeys.com/2022/02/02/no-sweet-bird-kristi-petersen-schoonover/

I’m incredibly honored to have this story featured in this publication. They publish some stuff that’s in my wheelhouse, so be sure to check out the other stories, as you might like them, too (no really, if you do enjoy my stories, you will definitely enjoy what they’ve got going on over there).