My psychological horror story Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue has been accepted into Book 17 of The Ghastling. It’s the story of a Halloween carnival ride with a sinister secret.

It wasn’t the slide itself that scared me—it was the character of Uncle Pumpkin that I found most terrifying. He was supposed to be a silly, clown-like figure that brought joy to children around Halloween, but the only thing he brought to me was a sense of profound unease, a lingering dread that left me feeling like I had a sandbag in my stomach.

My urban fantasy story Interminable has been accepted by The Stray Branch Literary Journal. Originally published by Dark Recesses Press, Interminable is the story of a man with an incurable condition and an inescapable fate.

Content warning (spoiler): suicidal ideation

“I’m sorry,” the doctor said. He closed the folder containing my test results. “There’s nothing we can do.”

My voice shook as I spoke. “You’re sure?” I scanned the doctor’s office as if searching for some undiscovered cure for my affliction. “Can’t you give me something? A shot? Some pills? Anything?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Two of my horror stories have been accepted by Chilling Tales For Dark Nights, for their Horror Hill podcast. This will be the first audio production of these stories, so I’m excited to hear how they turn out.

• Make It A Double is a psychological horror novelette about a consolatory toast that turns into a blessing … and then a curse. “May whatever luck comes to him, come to you, times two.”
• No Signal is a slasher story that puts a twist on the common trope of someone in the woods trying to call for help, only to realize, “There’s no signal out here!”

My short non-horror story Firefly has been accepted by Fresh Words: An International Literary Magazine for their March 2023 issue. It’s a simple story about a young girl who captures a firefly in the back yard to help cheer up her ailing sister.

Missy caught the firefly in mid-air, cupping her hands around it to form a tiny, dark cave. She could feel the insect’s delicate footsteps tickling her skin as it wandered across her palm, searching for a way out.

“Got you!” she whispered, victorious.

My sci-fi horror story The Door Is Open has been accepted by Dark Matter Magazine to appear in Issue 017. It’s hard to describe the story without spoiling it, so let’s just say: never open a door that can’t be closed. You never know who—or what—might slip through.

Three of my horror drabbles have been accepted into the Shacklebound Book of Drabbles by Shacklebound Books.

• Sharp Candy. Look before you eat.
• Under Leaves. Bury me next.
• Practical Joke. You’ll die laughing.

My short horror story Leftovers has been accepted into the Murder On Her Mind anthology by Wicked Shadow Press. It’s about an elderly woman living in a rapidly-declining urban neighborhood who subsists on an unconventional recipe from the old world.

My short story It’s What’s Inside That Counts has been accepted by Fantasy Magazine. It’s about a young girl who dissects a pig in science class, only to discover something unexpected inside.

I didn’t know how I’d react to the dissection. I couldn’t imagine poking around in a dead pig’s guts. I wondered how they would feel. Would they be squishy and warm, like spaghetti? Or cold and jiggly, like Jello? My stomach turned at the thought.

I was definitely gonna barf.

My short humor piece An Open Letter to Those Who Declined My Facebook Event Invite has been accepted by The Weekly Humorist. The title should be self-explanatory, but just in case it’s not: I’m very disappointed in you.

It is with great disappointment that I write to you today, the day after our Ninth Annual Footie Pajama Game Of Thrones Bar Crawl.