Can you believe it? I wrote a novel!!! From Running Wild Press comes Legendary, my novel-length follow-up to my short story “The Idylls of the King” which was included in volume 2 of Running Wild’s short story collection. Legendary tells the story of James and Arthur, who met and fell in love after being shipped out of London as children with their classmates as part of Operation Pied Piper in WWII. The novel picks up ten years after, with the two of them living in London as “room mates” since being gay is a criminal offense. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation has the city buzzing with excitement, but James and Arthur receive sad news — an old friend of theirs has passed away, but his dying words were a message for them. Now they must travel across the sceptered isle of England to solve a mystery from their childhood. Can their legendary love withstand the journey and the challenges they will face? 

You can get your copy on Amazon, though it can easily be ordered by your local independent book store, which is much more preferable. Legendary is a YA/New Adult title, an LGBT historical romance with a mythic happy ending, perfect for LGBTQIA readers looking for a story with representation. You can read the Kirkus review for yourself! 

My story “A Mother’s Song” was included in Witches, Wyverns, and Warriors, and tells the story of a court bard dealing with postpartum depression. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. 

Introducing Writers of the Depths! “The Pearl” is another story I’m extremely proud of, as the main character deals with an issue I live every day — the erasure of bisexuals married to someone of the opposite sex. And it has mermaids! If you haven’t checked out the Iowa Writers’ House or the Writers’ Rooms and you live in the CR-IC corridor, you really need to take advantage of all the amazing opportunities they have to offer. I hooked up with several of my favorite Writers’ Rooms people for Imagine Other Worlds with Authors this year. Here are some videos of a panel I was on and my author video, which features a tour of my church-house and an introduction to my ducks!

Check out my story “The Kitchen at the End of the World” in the third volume of the post-apocalyptic short story trilogy “Enter the Rebirth!” You can get your copy here.

I encourage you to visit your local bookstore to purchase your copy of Running Wild Press’s second volume of collected stories. This is the only place to read my story “Idylls of the King!” But if you have to buy it from Amazon, so be it.

Check it out! My story “Snake Charmer” is in this issue of Saw Palm out of the University of South Florida!

You can buy my poetry collection Rustle on Amazon by clicking here. In this collection I explore the Midwestern experience, motherhood, the heartbreaking profession of teaching, pioneer ancestors, love, and aging through the constraints of traditional form.

My Christmas-themed horror story “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” was printed in the journal Intellectual Refuge. 

Check out my short story “Our Lady of the Crossroads” in Issue #2 of Wizards in Space Literary Magazine. Buy your copy here!

Humans Wanted is a human-positive science fiction anthology where my story “A Second Zion” will be featured. Get your copy here!

My poetry appears in Volume 69 and 70 of the poetry anthology Lyrical Iowa.

My short story “Duck Pond” (winner of the 2015 Springfield Writers’ Guild annual fiction contest) appeared in the online literary journal Intellectual Refuge and can be read online for free here.

I was published by the online journal The Fictional Cafe. Click here to read my short story “A New Beginning.”

“The Twelve, Dancing” is a re-envisioned version of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and it was accepted by Quantum Fairy Tales. 

I blog monthly for the parenting website mom.me. Check out my posts!

I have two ongoing novels that I update on Wattpad. You can read about 8 chapters of each. I have a Snowzilla thriller featuring a hapless psychic running around a snow-choked metropolis, and a YA supernatural thriller about a teenage necromancer dealing with ghosts and his powers. Check it out! So much to read!

One of the greatest moments of my writing career was being published online by Big World Network. I have learned so much by being involved with BWN, but unfortunately, it will not be hosted after the first of the year. The very hardworking editor and CEO were unable to make the site viable, but it’s possible that it may be reborn as a non-profit. So for now, my gritty Cinderella reboot “Harvest of Ash” is on hiatus. Read the first two seasons here, and stay tuned — I am actively writing the end of the story, and it will appear SOMEWHERE at some point. Thank you, BWN, especially Amanda, for all you’ve taught me!