I finished reading Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement by Kathryn Joyce (2009). I was looking for additional insight into the kinds of experiences Abby might have had growing up in a family cult based on patriarchy doctrine teachings, such as Quiverfull. The book was informative, but I found readingContinue Reading
A year ago I went to Bumbershoot, and wrote this, but didn’t post it: I didn’t want to have to tell you this, Bumbershoot, but this year you kind of sucked. I know, it’s hard. You’ve had a lot of turmoil, a lot of difficulty, one budget crisis after another.Continue Reading
Halfway through the final week — we’re really in the home stretch now! (At the actual workshop, this was the point where we started painting each others’ toenails.) Accomplishment-wise, week 5 was kind of a mixed bag. I was on vacation for my birthday and was hoping to check twoContinue Reading
My simple goal, to send out that one story to at least one place, became a quest to devise a plan for how to send out stories, period. I put some time into thinking about the process of submitting short fiction at a meta level. What is it? Is thereContinue Reading
This is the Write-a-thon week 2 report. What, you missed the week 1 report? That’s because I didn’t get to it. And here it is, my week 2 report, coming in the middle of the week. That… tells you something about what’s going on in my life right now. I’mContinue Reading
Hey everybody! I’ll be signing books at the Locus Awards tomorrow (Saturday June 25) if you’re going. The signing time is 12-12:30.Continue Reading
In 2006 I started telling the “How Saint Expedite got me into Clarion West” story to anyone who seemed interested. A version of it existed on a previous version of the gothhouse.org website. That’s how my husband’s sister Dorothy knew to call us up and say, “You know that statue that’sContinue Reading
During the Great Boxing Week Ice Storm of 1996 Paul and I flew to New Orleans for the first time. We spent a day crammed into SeaTac airport with thousands of other stranded travelers, as the airport gradually ran out of food, plane de-icer, civility, and hope. The airline promised us,Continue Reading
Sponsor me, sponsor another writer, or learn more about the Write-a-thon Sunday, June 19, begins the six week Write-a-Thon. What is the Write-a-thon? A fundraiser for the Clarion West writing workshop, which I attended in 2006 (10-year anniversary this year!) Clarion West is a nonprofit literary organization (501©(3), for taxContinue Reading
My Crypticon panel schedule: X-Files Friday | 5:00 pm | Columbia B Horror Comics and Graphic Novels Friday | 8:00 pm | Columbia B Freak Shows Friday | 11:00 pm | Alpine Room Twin Peaks Saturday | 1:00 pm | Columbia A Remembering Bowie: The Hunger, Outside, and Bowie’s Contributions to Horror Saturday | 6:00 pm | Alpine Room Making the Leap: Writing Short Stories vs. Writing Novels Saturday | 8:00 pm | AlpineContinue Reading
I started writing this back when Mark Driscoll was still head of Mars Hill Church and Mars Hill Church was still a thing. I set it aside when he resigned, thinking perhaps it wasn’t relevant anymore. But grifters gotta grift, I guess, and there seems to be no level ofContinue Reading
A couple of weeks ago, on Super Tuesday, I found myself feeling depressed for what seemed like no real reason. I was obsessively checking primary results, though, and at some point I noticed an association between Trump wins and that little squeeze of sick dread. Oh, I thought to myself.Continue Reading
Premise: An exiled Puritan family trying to survive in the wilderness is targeted by an enigmatic supernatural threat, but the worst threat might be the paranoia that drives them to turn on each other. Briefly: Beautifully made, with an excellent cast and a haunting soundtrack. The archaic language is aContinue Reading