Thoughts from the Writer’s Desk

By Tricia PatrasFinding inspiration as a writer isn’t always as romantic as it sounds. For many of us, the creative process can feel more like a frustrating tug-of-war than a…

by Fendy S. TulodoThey said it was just a power cut. But I swear—when the lights blinked off that night, the blinking cursor on my screen started typing back.It happened…

By Maria HaskinsI grew up in northern Sweden, and even though I’ve lived over half of my life in Canada by now, I still miss the summer nights up there….

by P.H. LowWhen my father is a child in Malaysia, he walks into a bookstore.Or rather—I am not sure if it is a store, or a kind of hawker’s stand…

E. Catherine ToblerWhen my mother discovered that I wanted to be a writer, she told a friend at work. I do not know if she told this friend out of…

by Maria HaskinsWhere there are humans telling stories, there are monsters. From the very beginning, monsters have taken center stage in our myths, fairytales, and fiction.The vampire is one of…

I don’t typically swing an axe around my apartment while editing an anthology, but this time, I did. For my latest, 120 Murders: Dark Fiction Inspired by the Alternative Era, one…

Much has been made of Ernest Hemingway’s judgement that ‘the first draft of anything is shit’. But why? It’s such a crass truism, one that, thanks to the profanity of…

Without the right beginning, a successful creative piece is impossible. This may sound self-evident, and yet the process of working through a story or novel is such a chaotic and…