There are dozens of problems you may encounter when stealing your own coffin, but for Vlad, it was his lack of physical hands.
You read that right. That’s the opening sentence to my flash fiction short story, “Grave Robbers,” which is published on Havok today. It follows Vlad, a young ghost (only several centuries old), as he plans the perfect heist to steal his own coffin from an ancient Scottish castle.
For class we were tasked with redesigning a short book of the Bible. One of our options was Esther, and even though I wasn’t particularly a fan of that story, I knew there was a lot of interesting history there. I decided to not only redesign the book like the class required, but I also wanted to make it a historical and biblical commentary. My dad and I worked together to sift through the historical references–Dad came up with a timeline based off of James Ussher’s Annals of History while I read Josephus. Below is the cover jacket design and some of the spreads in the book. I’ve also included the introduction to read below the designs, in case you want to know more about what went into the in-depth project. If you’d like to purchase the book, you can find it here. I got an A- on this project.
Assateague Island, a 48,000 acre vacation oasis, is shared between Virginia and Maryland, and is relatively untouched by human civilization.
Every year, the Copy Editing II class works hard to produce PCC’s annual literary publication, Fountains. This year, I had the fantastic opportunity to be one of two Senior Editors, and it wasn’t until this year did I realize the awesome process of creating such an incredible product.
I had the privilege to publish two more stories in the America’s Emerging Writers series this year, a new publisher now nominating its best stories for Pushcart nominations. I’ve never written a horror/campfire story until the first semester of my freshman year, but staying several nights in a large Portofino resort on the end of a Pensacola island got my creative juices flowing. Four years later, the story is finally available for others to read in the East Region’s horror anthology, and anyone familiar with the island resort will notice the story’s resort bearing remarkable resemblance. The other story, published in the East Region’s literary publication, is a story I wrote as a college sophomore, and a version of it can be read here. Since penning it, the manuscript has evolved and developed, so be sure to check out the updated version in the paperback edition.
As a professional writing major at my college, seniors have to compile their best work from over the last four years into a bound, designed book. It’s been a project I’ve been waiting for with bated breath ever since I learned about it. Older students told me as a sophomore to save every paper I ever wrote, keep teachers’ notes, and to be thinking about a theme that can tie everything together. Back then, I couldn’t imagine picking out a theme that could encompass all my writing: after all, I liked to write about different things, and some of my stories were vastly different from others. But as my senior year came upon me, I found the perfect theme. My stories revolve around either hope or memory. Many of them look to the future with either a warning to society about our faults, or an expected adventure just out of reach. And when not writing a social commentary on America’s morals, I’m pulling nostalgia from the cracks of my mind. I thought “memory” and “hope” were much too generic for my theme, but finally it hit me: I also write about time. Time looking forward to the future or back … Read More
Earlier in 2018, my short story, “Fruits of the Spirit Daycare” was accepted by Z Publishing and printed in their Florida’s Emerging Writers, which makes up their national series, America’s Emerging Writers. It was a great experience, and I really enjoyed seeing my name printed alongside so many other talented writers representing the state of Florida. Little did I know that there would also be a national copy set to print just in time for Christmas — and my story made the cut. While 2,000 entries were accepted for the state-level publishing, making up all 50 states, only 136 of those 2,000 were selected to make up the national edition: America’s Emerging Writers. You can buy a copy on Amazon, or click here to buy from Z Publishing’s website. Note that there are two volumes to this book. You can find mine in the first volume.
This past month, I’ve been struggling with severe writer’s block. I almost never succumb to it’s cold, calloused embrace, but this month has been a doozy for my writer’s mind. What’s worse? I had a paper due; a long paper. In an attempt to conquer this…impediment…I wrote this short soapbox rant for my nonfiction class: Today, I have a problem. A real, big-time problem. It’s a problem every writer faces, a problem every writer fears. It comes with no warning, but strikes a quick, agonizing blow to your self-esteem, your peace of mind, and your overall sanity. I’m talking about writer’s block. The wicked, wicked illness of every writer.
