It's Officially Spring Semester

You can take the dog out of Alaska…

Spring Semester kicked off this week, which means—for me, anyway—that the year has officially begun. Over a hundred graduate students arrived in my classroom, along with one very special MFA mentee, and what time hasn’t been dedicated to preparing for them has been spent managing a chaotic jumble of upcoming book stuffs, writing deadlines, academic responsibilities, travel schedules (so much travel!)—and snow? Yes, SNOW. For the first time in over 20 years (or so long-term residents of the area have told me), there is a layer of lovely white on the ground. It’s been two years since I left the frostbite of Alaska behind, and it’s incredibly surreal to watch flurries land along the pier at the beach where I once cooked myself so badly I almost ended up in the ER with burns.

It’s also incredibly surreal to see my name listed on this year’s Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot not once, not twice, but three times! The full list dropped this week, and it stacked with some of the best horror had to offer in 2024: Stephen Graham Jones! ! ! CJ Leede! Josh Malerman! Chuck Tingle! Gwendolyn Kiste! Paul Tremblay! Nat Cassidy! Clay McLeod Chapman! Eric LaRocca! Lee Murray! Osgood Perkins! Vince Liaguno! And so many more. It’s an insane honor to be listed amongst so many talented and inspiring friends and peers in the horror community. I am jaw-dropped grateful. This is a banger of a list. THIS IS HORROR.

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Both of the anthologies I had the privilege of editing in 2024—MOTHER KNOWS BEST, a women-in-horror anthology, and THE DARKEST NIGHT, an anthology of 22 winter horror stories—made the list, along with my debut horror/mystery, BLESS YOUR HEART. All three are incredibly special to me, and I’d be over the moon to see any recognized as an official Nominee when those are announced next month.

But there’s no rest for the wicked, and 2025 is underway! BLESS YOUR HEART arrives in paperback on March 18, and ANOTHER FINE MESS arrives on shelves on April 15 (in the US) and July 17 in the UK. I also turned in my newest project—an unannounced female-driven suburban slasher—to my editor at Minotaur a few weeks ago. I can’t wait to share more on that, but for now, my lips are sealed! 💋🔪

Earlier this month we also announced a new women-in-horror anthology project, co-edited with my incredibly talented bestie : HOWL: AN ANTHOLOGY OF WOLVES! Stephanie and I brainstormed this monstrous beauty late one evening over a bottle of chocolate wine while teaching a MFA residency at The Highlights Foundation in Summer 2022, and I am howling at the moon, pawing at the ground, anxiously awaiting November. This is a DREAM project with many of my favorite women in contemporary horror on the Table of Contents (I literally fangirled putting this one together), and every single one of their stories are phenomenal. The cover and full ToC reveal is coming soon (but not soon enough, ugh!)

Finally, I’ll be back at BookTrib next week with a newly revamped Chill Quill column! Each month I’ll be giving reading recs from the spooky side with brand new books hot off the press, starting with a slightly backward glance at January’s releases before we dive into February.

Until then, keep reading, keep writing—and stay spooky! 👻

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