My Vampire Stories

Hey, people! Vampires are the best. I like all monster types, but there's something really multi-purpose about vampires. Every once in a while, I get in the mood to write something vampire-related. I didn't realize until this morning how often this actually happens. Enough to write a full blog post about it.

Here are the links to the four vampire stories I published in the last couple years. They're all available on Medium:

An Unsafe Part of Town - A woman angrily leaves her boyfriend George at a bar. On her long walk back home, she meets a vampire in an alley and has to decide whether the undead monster is better than freakin' George.

Party Vampire - A recently out college student meets a hot guy at a house party. He's perfect except for that whole vampire thing.

Gray-Eyed Woman - An orphan girl sees a vampire lurking outside the orphanage gate. She tries to warn the other children, but when no one believes her, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

I Killed a Vampire with Lipstick - I think the title says it all. It's a wild one.

Rocky Fortune - My New Pulp Detective Story

Mermaids, Goats, and Frank Sinatra

Adventures Magazine Issue #17 is now available!

I am so excited about this book! AdventuresReads publishes quarterly anthologies of new and classic stories. My dad has been in a bunch of past issues, and for the first time, he and I are published in the same book! (Along with Charles freaking Dickens. Crazy!)

My story is called "Mermaid Show." It's a pulp mystery based on a radio drama from the 50s called Rocky Fortune (starring Frank Sinatra). Lately, I've been writing a lot of stuff with public domain characters, and it's been a blast every time.

Here's an excerpt if you wanna see the style:

***

He meets me at the entrance, where plastic mermaids smile down at us from pillars on either side. His handshake is wet and clammy, which seems appropriate.

“Glad to be here,” I tell him.

He takes me inside and gives me a quick tour of the place. “We run a tight ship around here,” he says. (He doesn’t mention the “sinking” part.) “And I expect only the best. At first, I wasn’t sure about hiring you on, considering your status.”

And what status is that?” I ask him.

“As a card-carrying member of the frequently unemployed.”

I don’t like the insinuation. I probably have more work experience than all his other employees combined.

“Correction,” I say. “I like to refer to myself as frequently employed.”

“Touche,” he says. “Well, welcome anyway.”

We pass through the front courtyard, where one lonely security guard is napping on a stool.

So far, the place doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. I see broken turnstiles, cracks in the concrete, and a wooden cut-out of a cartoon tuna that would look a lot more inviting if it still had its head.

We reach the food stalls (not very appetizing) and the toilets (even less appetizing) before we get to the main attraction: a huge water tank where the mermaids do their show. Whatever money Gus saves on everything else goes straight into that tank. It’s filled with giant clams and pirate chests and other aquarium regulars. No mermaids, though. Not yet.

“Beautiful, yeah?” Gus says. “Just wait ’til you see it in use. My girls put on one hell of a show.”

***

Fun, right? I really tried to emulate the rhythm of the radio show (which is all on YouTube if you want to check it out).

Anyway, please spread the word on this anthology. It's a real labor of love for OffBeatReads, and I'm really happy with how it all came together.

Finished for Now!

It's been a crazy few weeks, but the Remember crew is finally done with the cabin! After several (pretend) deaths, lots of coffee, and the hard work of 30+ people, the main section of our film is over.

Now we're going to regroup next February (!) and finish off the forest-set scenes. (Plus a pivotal moment in a shed. Try to imagine what that could be.)

As we wait for our next round of spookiness, let's take a moment to sing the praises of one last cast member who never got the attention that he deserved:

Here he is trying to remember his lines before we got him in costume and makeup. Despite the long conversations that we shared, I never caught his name.

Anyway, kudos to that guy. And great job to everyone who worked their asses off to make some movie magic. It's been incredible.

First Day of Filming!

The dream has officially come true, people! Today is my first day on set of Remember, a horror movie I cowrote with the absolutely incredible Jeff Corpening. I've written all about it (and sent out a bunch of newsletters spotlighting different parts of the process).

And now we're here, in a spooky/gorgeous cabin up in the Smoky Mountains.

Fun fact, they're called the Smoky Mountains because the mist literally looks like smoke. I was today year's old when I learned that.

What do I expect? Well, I'm meeting a ton of people in person for the first time, all of whom know way more about filmmaking than me. It's going to be so much fun to hear their stories and watch them at work.

As you might've heard, this is our second attempt at filming this project. It's changed a whole bunch since 2022's COVID shenanigans. Leaner, meaner, and (dare I say?) a little scarier, too.

I'll keep you posted!

Chicken Soup for the Soul

One of My Many Embarrassing Stories from China

Everyone loves Chicken Soup for the Soul. It's the most comforting book series out there. (Plus, there's a podcast, and movies, and a bunch of other stuff. A whole mini-empire of heartwarming goodness.)

I've just been included in my fifth Chicken Soup book, a comedy-themed one called Laughter's Always the Best Medicine. Look for a bunch of smiling llamas on the cover.

My story is called "My First Party in China," and if you know me personally, you've probably heard me tell this story. If not, I won't spoil it. Just know that it's from my experiences teaching in rural China and it's very, very embarrassing.

But that's not the big reason I wanted to post this. (I mean, I'd love to help sell more copies of this thing, but I think Chicken Soup is doing just fine marketing-wise.)

Instead, I wanted to tell everyone out there that you (yes, you) really should submit a story to Chicken Soup. It's very easy, the editing process is super-pleasant, and you'll get a couple hundred bucks for your trouble. Plus, you'll be published in this awesome, best-selling series. Like I said, this is my fifth story and I plan to keep submitting. I love these books.

(And if you're curious about my past stories, the topics were: dogs, grandparents, kindness, and gratitude.)

If you go to their website, they always have five-ish topics that they're currently looking for. Usually some animal-related ones, a holiday-themed one, and more general ones like "miracles" and "forgiveness."

You pick a topic, write a true story of something that happened to you, and then submit directly to the website. Don't get fancy with the prose, because you want the story itself to be the focus. And you only have 1,200 words.

I've never met a single person in my life who hasn't had a least one experience that would make a good Chicken Soup story. That's what's so great about these anthologies. They're relatable. Just think of a story you like to tell at parties or a memory that still chokes you up and write it down.

Please do that. I'm serious. Even if you've never written anything before, even if the whole thing sounds intimidating... Just open Microsoft Word, turn on the dictation feature, and tell your story like you're telling it to a friend. You'll be surprised how little you have to edit (and how short 1,200 words actually is).

And one piece of advice before you do that: Try to focus on how you changed during the story. That's something I noticed with all of my published ones. (I submitted a lot more that were rejected.) The editors seem to like stories with some kind of personal growth. 

So if you have a funny story about your dog embarrassing you in front of your neighbors, for example, then add some context at the very beginning and end showing how this experience helped you be more confident around your neighbors. Something like that.

Anyway, Chicken Soup is great.

Woozy's Obituary

 If you're in the mood for something short and dumb: Woozy's Obituary

I've been publishing a lot on Medium lately. I have some full-length novels (released in chapters) as well as a ton of random stories. I wanted to highlight this one in particular because it made me laugh. If you're a Scooby Doo fan, I think you'll like it.

August Horror!

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally August. My birthday month! Best time of the year!

And in the midst of the summer heat, what better time to cool off with a nice horror story? If you remember, back in January, I was selected to be part of Twelve Months of Horror, a twelve-story collection of some of the wildest, goriest, funniest, steamiest stories around. The idea is to have a new horror story for every month, a way to honor the passing of time by scaring yourself sh*tless.

(I told you all about this back in the winter, in case you don't remember.)

And guess what? August is MY month. A little bit about my story: It's called "Desert People." It's a creature feature with some political vibes mixed in. It takes place on a desert road. It's pretty sweaty. A lot of people dig it so far.

And now's the time to check it out. Happy August, everybody!

My Adventures in Student Writing

Take a look at those five covers up there. These are the five anthologies I worked on while living abroad. Two of them are from Bhutan and three are from Kazakhstan. I've worked on a lot of projects in my life, but these are the five books I'm most proud of, and I didn't even write them!

These books were completely written by my teen and pre-teen students in Kazakhstan and Bhutan. (For the first two, I even went on a country-wide book tour with my students, selling most of our books at Buddhist temples. But you can read about all that craziness on my Medium page.)

Anyway, I wanted to introduce each one in case anyone's interested. You'd be amazed at the amount of creativity (and weirdness) on display in these stories!

The first is We Are Bhutan, the result of my first teen creative-writing group. We even designed a little mascot to appear throughout the book, a Himalayan black bear.

Very quickly after that, my students released Scary Stories from Bhutan, a direct result of how many spooky stories I got during the first round. It was a genre that a lot of my students were interested in, which makes the (mostly-family-friendly) all-horror collection extra fun!

(We used a crane for the mascot in that one. I loved illustrating him in his various Daffy Duck-style freak-out poses.)

After those two books were out, my travels in Bhutan came to an end and I relocated to Kazakhstan. Once again, my students were giant globs of creativity, so of course I had to continue these anthologies.

This time, the participating writers were given pictures for inspiration, along with a one-hour time limit. It was structured as more of a competition, with various prizes for the winners, but the resultant stories were just as wild as before, if not more so.

The first was Crazy Stories from Kazakhstan, which had a couple stories that were surprisingly emotional. I was really impressed.

(A snow leopard as the mascot.)

We ditched the mascot for the next outing, Writers of Kazakhstan 2022, which included some really cool stuff. A lot of our writers used their stories to grapple with their post-pandemic traumas, resulting in a memorable collection.

And finally, our latest collection, Writers of Kazakhstan 2024. After being out of the country for nearly two years, I came back to attend this event. Such a great time, and even though the participating writers were no longer MY students, I think they did an awesome job.

I hope you check out these books. They were a ton of fun to make, and it's so cool that over 200 kids are now published authors! They worked hard and they earned it.

Romancing the Rainbow

I’m really excited to announce the release of Romancing the Rainbow, a short story collection about queer couples meeting for the first time. This is a whole series of meet-cutes, basically, and it’s really fun and romantic. 

My story is called “Barley.” It changed a lot in the months before publication, but I’m really happy with it. Honestly, this collection is an absolute blast.

Writers of Kazakhstan 2024

Flying pigs. Alien words. Mayhem. Superheroes. Armageddon. Romance.

This is Writers of Kazakhstan 2024.

In December 2023, dozens of young writers participated in StudyRoom Language Center's annual writing competition. They were each given four photos and had to create an original story in under an hour. This collection gathers together the best stories for their first time in print.

This collection is for anyone who wants to see the world through the eyes of another culture. Kazakhstan is a massive country full of unique customs and history that most outsiders don't know much about. In many ways, the authors in this collection share the same interests and concerns as anyone else. In other ways, though, their perspectives are wildly unique. This book offers a taste of Kazakhstan's amazing creativity and specific sense of humor.

Plus, there's a bunch of flying pigs. Everyone loves flying pigs.

Women on the Run

 

I'm someone who loves talking about the latest books I've read (even the bad ones... Well, especially the bad ones). That's why I'm so excited to contribute to 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝, a really cool new resource for book recommendations that come from people, not algorithms.

For 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝, I compiled a list of five recent recommendations under the topic "women on the run." It's a nice tie-in to my new romance novel 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 and a great way for me to share my latest reads.

And while you're on the site, look for other personalized recommendation lists. I'm sure you'll stumble onto something great.

Twelve Months of Horror

 

Here it is! Today's the day that Dark Village Pub releases its new anthology Twelve Months of Horror. (And a steamier companion book that I'm sadly not a part of.)

This anthology has a pretty cool hook. One horror story for every month of the year. I wrote "Desert People," a sweaty trek through the desert with some nice bits of creature feature violence. Obviously, my story is saved for August.

Honestly, I think this whole project is very cool. It's a nice way to track the passing of 2024 (which may or may not turn into a horror show all its own. We'll find out in November). Tell your friends. 

Finding His Prince

Finding His Prince is finally out!

Dorji is the crown prince of Bhutan, a tiny Buddhist kingdom high up in the Himalayas. He lives a life of responsibility and rules, especially with his coronation fast approaching.

Michael is an American botanist working for the royal family after a very public scandal forced him to leave his country. He’s drawn to the handsome royal, but he knows that any interaction between them would lead to yet another life-derailing scandal. The two men come from different worlds, and even though the attraction between them is palpable, they can never give in to their feelings. 

During a royal visit to their national park, Prince Dorji's bitchy fiancée, Karma, gets lost, and Dorji has to team up with Michael to find her. In the process, sparks fly between the two men. This sweet, comedic romance follows the two as they trek through the most beautiful country on Earth, all while a humbled and embarrassed Karma develops an unexpected side-romance of her own. But as the dangers worsen and the reality of their impossible situation begins to sink in, will Dorji and Michael accept that their love is stronger than the forces keeping them apart?

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Hey, people! I am SO excited about this antho! It's middle grade horror! So think Goosebumps reading level. My story "Pale Blue" is a body snatchers riff set at a Utah boarding school. The Big Book of Things That Go Bump in the Night is really fun!

I Hate Your Face - podcast

Marcus returns to his hometown and is forced to work with his high school bully Eli on their ten-year reunion. But through their nonstop fighting, the two realize that they might be falling in love.

***

I Hate Your Face is my new gay romcom in audio form. I had a blast writing this, and our narrators and voice actors really killed it. 

If you're on the fence about checking it out, there's a dramatic monologue about Jennifer Lopez getting explosive diarrhea at her niece's quinceanera. If that sounds like your vibe, then we'd probably be friends. (And you should probably check out the story.)

The first episode is free, but the rest of the story (six more episodes) are under a subscription model. But Headfone has a lot of awesome series out there, including my friend's pirate drama that I can't praise enough, so it's a pretty cool investment. You can download the Headfone app and find a bunch of romance, horror, and thriller goodies.

Cuddles

For any other Goosebumps superfans out there, I have a short little story in Oddball Magazine about my childhood obsession with the series. It's called "Cuddles" (titular evil hamster pictured above) and it's really cute. I hope you like it.

Cuddles is a character from the second (and best) Monster Blood book. For the record, I have extremely mixed feelings about the Monster Blood quadrilogy. None of the books are top-tier, and the fourth one is probably one of the worst (non-chicken-related) books in the original Goosebumps line. 

BUT it stars a redhead named Evan, so obviously I have a personal connection. Anyway, head over to Oddball for a blast of 90s nostalgia and self-deprecation. Or, I don't know, Cuddles will nibble you to death...

Followed by Fear

 

A city girl needs the help of a small-town sheriff to stop her stalker.

Harper’s Bend is the perfect small town, especially on Halloween. Filled with friendly locals and rural traditions, Sydney views this place as her only chance to take back her life and flee from the mysterious stalker who’s been after her since the death of her husband.

She didn’t expect the danger to follow her, and she definitely didn’t expect to develop such an instant connection to local sheriff, Preston Blacker. He’s standoffish and treats her more like a problem to solve than an actual person. There’s a reason for his distance, though, and Sydney realizes that she’s not the only one struggling with a dark past.

As the stalker’s efforts escalate, Sydney and Preston must work together to find out who is following them. But can they keep their emotions in check long enough to save themselves?

Followed by Fear is a romantic suspense story where the heroine finds protection in the arms of a complicated hero while surrounded by the holiday trappings of rural New Mexico. It’s perfect for fans of the high-stakes thrills of Cassie Miles and the quirky small towns of Maddie Day.

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Equivalent Retribution

Another season, another dreaded call of the siren! That's right! It's finally springtime, which means some Easter celebrations, family barbecues, and lots of pollen-related allergies. Good stuff.

It also means that we have another issue of Sirens Call, the (free) horror magazine with a little bit of everything. For this one, I went out of my comfort zone and wrote a sci-fi story (my first since that Golden Girls spoof about alien Betty White hanging out with a squid. Don't ask.)

This one's a lot darker. It's called "Equivalent Retribution" and it's about a woman who accidentally pisses off an alien and has to figure out how to make things right. The first draft was more of a comedy, but I ended up rewriting it with gnarlier EC Comics vibes. 

Mama Mermaid

 Killer mermaid time!

So a little girl wishes that her mom would turn into a mermaid. The results are absolutely horrifying.

That's the premise for my short story "Mama Mermaid" in the Elemental Cycle 3: Water anthology. I absolutely LOVED being a contributor for this collection. All the stories are creepy and wildly different. Eerie River Publishing absolutely kills it with everything they publish.

We even got to do a little YouTube live-reading before the book's launch. 

If you're squeamish, TONS of content warnings for this one. Too many to list, really. But it's a great anthology. Very spooky. And honestly a bit more "literary" than a lot of my stuff.

Estelle Harrow Gets Lucky

I introduce to you... Hell Hath No Fury, a brand-new anthology from the premier publisher of pulp, Pro-Se Productions.

Estelle Harrow uses her connections to the ghost realm to solve murders, but her adventures never go as planned. This time, she's up against the Irish mafia, a powerful organization that may or may not be smuggling leprechaun blood for their own nefarious purposes. As Estelle comes face-to-face with dangers that she couldn't imagine, will she be able to survive fistfights, drunken gambling rings, and a six-year-old ghost who's finally gotten fed up with her pesky seances?

I am so excited to have my story kick off this new anthology. It's honestly really wild, and I can't wait to hear what you think!

The Sirens Call

 The nights are getting longer and the days become cold...

Speckles of snow fall through the air, obscuring the dark, hidden things that wait just outside our vision...

It's wintertime, baby! And what better time to curl up and enjoy some dark fiction?

I present to you... The Sirens Call, a free magazine with dozens of stories that are strange, unnerving, and altogether perfect for the winter season.

My nasty little number is called "Dinner with Mama." Zombies are involved, and it's actually more heartwarming than you'd think. I wrote this a while back, and it was included in a horror anthology that has since gone out of print. I've always loved this twisted little tale, so I'm happy that it's found its permanent home with the sirens.

Kids Are Hell

 

An abandoned warehouse. A girl with a tail. Screams in an orphanage. 

My newest story "Nameless Child" is finally out. The anthology Kids are Hell is the latest anthology from Hellbound Books, and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of this collection.

The Great Miss Sampson... Again!

 

My family dramedy The Great Miss Sampson has just been selected in the Christian Family Film Festival, coming this August in New York!

This is its third festival placement, after the Faith in Film and the International Christian Film and Music Festivals. All good things ahead!

And Now... Snow White!

I'm really getting into the podcast world lately. I just posted about my Lovecraftian radio drama for Horrifying Tales of Wonder (please check it out if you haven't). I was lucky enough to be a part of Life on Pause Season 2, which was a total, total blast.

And now, I'm writing ten episodes of a new kids podcast that's a little bit Snow White, a little bit Buffy, and a whole lot of crazy. It's an adventure with chicken monsters, a wicked witch, some karate, and even a little music! Fun stuff!

Here's an early look at Snowii, one of our young leads:

The team at Streamin' Services is halfway through the recording sessions now, and I can't wait to see what they come up with. The first episode drops soon on Spotify, so be prepared for a crazy time!

The Same Old Lake

 

I finally wrote an old-time radio podcast. This one is for the Horrifying Tales of Wonder series, which merges classic radio with Lovecraftian goodness. It's right up my alley, basically.

So if you're down for a little creeping dread, check out "The Same Old Lake." It was such a joy to write and the actors really knocked it out of the park.

Remember: Filming Soon!

For those who've had at least one conversation with me within the last two years, you've probably heard me go on and on about my horror screenplay. Well, it's finally a reality! We go into production this June and I couldn't be more excited.

It's called Remember, and it's a horror movie about a group of young people who go to a cabin in the woods and start getting murdered one by one. Yeah, you've probably heard that set-up before, but this isn't something you've ever seen before. After each kill, the surviving characters forget that the victim existed. Each murder is a reset, and with every change, the characters shift in their personalities, relationships, and abilities to survive. Our friends and lovers shape us in so many indescribable ways, and when their memories are gone, what do we have left?

Remember is low budget. It's wild. It's filming in June! And if you want to be a part of this awesome project, search for "TheRememberFilm" on all of the socials. The producers are still looking for investors to join the team so check out the Remember website to see how you can help! 

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Kindness Matters

For those of you who know me, it might come as a surprise that I'm part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. And yet...

This is my third story for them. It's a nice little mini-memoir from my time in Nepal. The topic is "Kindness Matters." And honestly, I'm really happy to be a part of this. I've used some of these Chicken Soup stories with my ESL students and they're always so charming. Little bit-sized bits of comfort.

(Cute, right? Kind ducks.)

And as far as publishers go, working with the Chicken Soup team has been amazing. They give you a bunch of advanced copies and offer all kinds of support. If anyone is an aspiring writing out there, Chicken Soup is a great outlet. (And every person out there has at least one real-life story that they could share.) Check out their calls for submissions. Seriously.

This story specifically was a bit hard for me, because I had to cut down a 3,000-word experience into something much smaller. Left out some specific details but kept all the big stuff.

Out of the three anthologies so far, I think I like this one the best. It has the biggest variety of funny/cute/dramatic/heartwarming stuff. Not sure how my story fits in that spectrum. Perhaps you could check it out for yourself.

And for the record, the other collections I was in were Life Lessons from the Dog and Grandparents, with one of my stories even included on their awesome podcast! 

Letterboxd

People, I've FINALLY joined Letterboxd! I just started using it, so not many friends yet, but add me if you have an account. I love to discover new movies by lurking on other people's profiles. 

Today, I was supposed to work on a podcast script, but I procrastinated for probably four hours writing little reviews and ranking horror movie franchises. If you want to see some hot takes on 90s Whoopi Goldberg movies, check me out.

Listen to Cannibals!

 I just saw the new Texas Chainsaw movie. Great stuff. A lot of people have some major problems with some of its choices, but I dug it all around. Wild and gruesome stuff.

Anyway, I figured now would be the perfect time to let you all know that my CANNIBAL short story is now in audio form. I love hearing wildly talented narrators take a crack at some of my horror stuff. For a refresher, this is the anthology:

It's from the fine folks at Red Cape Publishing, part of their A-Z of Horror series. (They're about halfway through the alphabet by now.) There are a bunch of meaty stories in this one. Mine's about a farmboy. That's all I'll say.

Anyway, I am so, so happy with how this audiobook came out, so I wanted it share it with y'all.

And if you're interested in my opinions on the Texas Chainsaw series, head over to Letterboxd. I have some hot takes.

Kunzum Reading Corner: My Interview!

I got interviewed! The awesome people at Kunzum Bookshops in India have reached out to talk to me about my Karma Tandin: Monster Hunter series. It was a pleasure to answer the questions (Thanks, Shruti! You're awesome!) including one particularly difficult question about representation that I found quite interesting.

(Even I get scared sometimes.)

Anyway, I love, love, love talking about monsters, and I hope you like my answers!