Edits & Inspiration
Hello everyone!
It’s been a minute. I wanted to throw together a quick update on my life, my upcoming novels, and the inspiration behind each. Let’s begin.
This summer has been quite the roller coaster to say the least! After I spent time in Kansas City visiting friends, I hopped down to Houston to spend time with family. Now I’m back in Lexington trying to get back into a routine and work on Hinterland, Sourwood, and other projects.
I wanted to take some time to talk about the inspiration for each book and give an update on where they are in the publishing process.
Hinterland
Let’s start with my debut horror novel Hinterland. In November 2023 I was challenged to write a book in a month (!) which was never something I imagined doing. If you know my writing process you know I don’t write that fast—a story usually sits with me for months to years before I put pen to page (finger to key?) and then it takes several months to draft it. Hinterland was different. I always wanted to write a wilderness survival story, inspired by books like Hatchet and Lord of the Flies or shows like Lost or Yellowjackets. At the time, a former religious institution that I was once a member of was revealed to be a cult… needless to say I was SHOCKED.
While I hadn’t been involved in the organization in years, I began to hear horrific stories of toxic ideologies, manipulation, and abuse. In the chaos of an unfolding scandal, I started writing a wilderness horror story about a doomsday cult and one member’s attempt to escape before it’s too late—only for him to realize how altered he was by being among the cult. Thus, Hinterland was born.
As for its status—it’s still in editing. Remember how I wrote it in a month? The manuscript needed a few more passes before publication but it’s still on track for release on December 6, 2025. I can’t wait to share it with you.
Sourwood
Six months after I wrote Hinterland I started on my next project: Sourwood. After writing a horror novel I wanted to return to my love for the gothic. I wanted my next book to be about a pair of siblings navigating their secret family history. I was navigating some family dynamics and reading It Didn’t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle by Mark Wolynn.
As always, the two were a source of inspiration. After finishing the book I imagined a family cursed by their genetics and two siblings attempting to alter their fate by ending the cycle that started long before they were born. Sourwood came to life over the summer of 2024. I pitched it as Mexican Gothic but with the angel from Midnight Mass—if you don’t know I’m a massive fan of both Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Mike Flanagan.
I recently received developmental edits for Sourwood and I’m reviewing the suggested changes. I’m really excited for this project. Cover art should be coming soon and the novel is on track to arrive March 2026.
The House on Garnet Hill
Ah, yes. I wrote THOGH before Hinterland and Sourwood. After writing my first novel—a rough haunted house story that may never see the light of day—I had a couple of scrapped concepts that I was toying around with. One involved two men living in a haunted house who were being separated by the house and their journey to loving each other despite their surroundings.
I was living in Cincinnati at the time and an ex boyfriend lived nearby. Essentially, I was haunted by him. I’m sure you can see a pattern repeating. I took both concepts and wrote my heart out on the page.
The House on Garnet Hill took me years to prefect and its publishing journey was rocky at the start but I’m happy that it will be out in the world soon enough. It’s still too early for the editing phase but Garnet Hill is coming in December 2026!
If you’ve stuck around this long, you’re a real one! I tend to ramble on when I’m excited. Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts. I can’t wait for these books to be in your hands.
P.S. I give each of my novels a codename before I come up with a title. Hinterland’s was Hunger and Sourwood’s was Thirst. Meanwhile, The House on Garnet Hill’s was Facet… I’ll leave it at that.
