A lover of the weird and fantastic; I favor the Oxford comma, torturing my characters, and bacon. I sincerely hope you'll find things that are new(-ish. Hey, nothing's really new in this universe) and things that make you want to ask more questions. Curiosity is fun. My current projects are the supernatural legend, Fixit, and another story of the Traveler, The Hotel Bismarck. Look for my first published piece - "Bloody Chrysalis" - in the anthology Trans Bodies, Trans Selves 2! https://the-painted-corner.com
Over the past twenty years or so, I’ve seen the growth of the phenomenon where authors and other creatives put several pages into their books, discussing the people whose works influenced them. When I was your age, you didn’t find a long “acknowledgements” section at the end of a book or an author’s introduction where … More Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants
I am marking this day in my calendar. Today is the day that I officially declare the first draft of Fixit to be done. My first (completed) novel. I think I’m in shock. I know I’m crying, and they’re tears of joy. What a relief! Proof positive at long last that I can embark on … More Tears Of Joy
[Total sidetracking: I grew up thinking the word above was spelled ‘spicket.’ Because that’s how my sire pronounced it. ‘Spic-ket,’ a hard consonant clipping. I found out I was wrong at the spelling bee in 7th grade. Heh. The two years I attempted the spelling bee, I got nailed on the first word. But I’ve … More Someone Left The Spigot On
As I was taking my lunch break today, I sat my phone up on the table and went over to YouTube. I do that a lot when I’m on lunch break. I’ll tune in to any one of a number of streams, but today’s was an old favorite: Primitive Builders. You know them, right? They … More Define:Fiction
I always feel a little odd when a character I’m writing ‘speaks’ to me. The sad part about having dissociative episodes (thanks to my good ol’ PTSD) is that I tend to look at such characters askance. I sure as hell overanalyze them and it takes a while for me to let go long enough … More Sour Worms
Transitioning is expensive. And I’m not even talking about hormones, surgeries, or therapy. I mean, how often do you go through your closet and get rid of seven-eighths of everything in there? Then start over again? You end up re-purposing things you own, not only to cut corners and expenses, but also to hang on … More …to have loved and lost
Back in November of 2021, I was diagnosed with cancer. I met with oncologists, went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and have been given a (mostly) clean bill of health. There’s only one problem: pain. Six months out from the end of my treatments, I’m still in enough pain daily to warrant opioids, medical marijuana, … More Broken On The Wheel
(Updated 6/10/22) I don’t normally do book reviews. If you’ve looked at my (sadly outdated) Goodreads list, I give stars and say nothing. I do this out of a desire to remain as neutral as possible towards my fellow authors. I neither want to play favorites nor do I want to blast the work that … More A Quagmire Of Horror And Love
I have a friend who finds death not only distasteful, but personally insulting. Discussions with them are very interesting. In the process, I have come to understand my own view of death. It isn’t death itself that is so problematic to me, it’s the severing of connections. When someone dies, that connection you had with … More In Memoriam (Add Salt To Taste)
I have a problem. It may require some kind of treatment or therapy, I’m not sure. But it eats at me, absorbing my energies, burning my time, and holding my attention. Every time I think I’m free of it, it hits me again. No matter if it’s 4 a.m. or in the middle of my … More Too Many Threads
The Painted Corner 