Tag: ghost story

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No secret that I love fairytales and folklore. Different cultures bring different flavor. In Irish fairy and folk tales, you’ll find a grimly manic humor in the darker stories. A common thread that comes all the way from the epics through the fairy stories is the concept of lost time. While you are in the thrall of the ghost or in the fairy glamour, time marches on and you are outside it. When you return to your senses, you will find the world has changed—maybe only fractionally—if you are lucky—but changed all the same. I had that idea in mind when I wrote this story.

Jinx. From Feed Literary Magazine

This one is published in Feed Literary Magazine, and I’m so grateful to them for giving two of my micros a home in the same issue!

The video is from the end of September, 2023. I was on my way from Archon, a sci-fi fantasy convention held in Collinsville, Illinois (home of the world’s largest catsup bottle) to the Grubville Opry, a listening room in Dittmer, Missouri, to hear my songwriter husband, Tim Crosby, play. I was at Archon for the first time because Jonathan Maberry was there. He’s a writing hero of mine. He’s incredibly talented, and staggeringly prolific. He’s got a great work ethic to match his talent, and he’s super cool to his fans. I had a great time at Archon. A fantastic group of people—friendly, creative, supportive of each other… the kind of people you hope you find at a convention when you know no one when you show up.

I filmed the reading alongside the Meramec River in Missouri. I stopped at the Minnie Ha Ha Park in Sunset Hills, Missouri to take a walking break. It turned into a filming break. There’s a little bit of background noise—it’s a popular park! The crow, pileated woodpecker, and black snake clips are from Coyote Creek (my backyard).

I hope you enjoy!

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It shouldn’t be so fun to read about a vengeful spouse stalking her family from beyond the grave. But it is. A ghost seeks revenge, zombie curse, whodunit all rolled into one novella. I’ve called JG Faherty the Master of the Mashup before this, and it’s an appropriate title. Don’t ever think one of his books will be simple and straightforward—there’s always a surprise. Death Do Us Part is a fun read. For true terror, turn to his latest three novels.

That’s a flight of semi-dry wines from Von Jakob Winery & Brewery, and that beautiful vista is from their large back deck.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan is the first book of a trilogy—which I didn’t know when I nabbed this one from the local Barnes & Noble. Glad to see it, though, because of course I want to know what happens next! I’ve seen this one compared to Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and I get that. The Last Werewolf  takes a philosophical approach, as we understand that we are reading Jake Marlowe’s journal and following along as he faces the extinction of his species at the hands of The Hunt—and what that means for him personally. Wait till you meet Talulla and Cloquet! These two breathe a new vitality into the story, as they are meant to. Nothing in this book is a mistake, read it closely. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.

When I could tear my eyes away from that beautiful Pope County scenery at Shotgun Eddys, and when I wasn’t listening to my beloved, favorite singer-songwriter Tim Crosby, I was knocking back a couple of Stags and reading about Marlowe’s wild world. A good combination.

#nerdinabarwithabook Share yours!

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We had an eerie, all-day fog today. It was like being inside a rain cloud. A fog to soften the edges of the world, to mute already drab colors, to muffle some sounds and let others carry, seemingly arriving from nowhere.

What better thing to do than visit a cemetery? There are lots of little cemeteries in the area, where century-old tombstones and new burials mingle.

This story appeared in 206-Word Stories: A Horror Anthology, published in 2022 by Bag of Bones Press.