I’ve Been Featured in the HWA Seers Table!

Exciting news, everyone! Thanks to Linda D. Addison, I’ve been featured in The Seers Table of the Horror Writers Association for my work on Starward Shadows Quarterly! I’m so thankful she took an interest in the magazine and decided to include me in this month’s feature. Getting the magazine off the ground has been challenging at times, so it’s wonderful to have someone recognize all the hard work and dedication.

Linda also chose a lovely story written by Jamie Lackey called The Book of Fthagn to feature in The Seers Table as well, and I’d like to take a moment to reflect on why I chose this story to begin with. We all know that there’s no shortage of Lovecraft Mythos stories written by the same old demographic (so many that there’s no need to point out what this demographic even is!). However, at Starward Shadows, we’ve decided to try and examine the Mythos through a different lens. We’re looking for stories by women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone else who falls into an underrepresented group. That’s not to say we’ll only publish stories from these groups–but we really want to let these previously-stifled voices shine in our magazine, and Jamie’s story did a wonderful job.

I loved how she built on the classic setting of Innsmouth–so classic, in fact, that it’s been ripped off in more books and movies than I could count in a thousand lifetimes–but somehow, she made it feel modern and fresh. I don’t think most people ever would have imagined a story set in present-day Innsmouth, told from the perspective of an “average” high school girl. It’s truly something I’ve never encountered before, and it was a pleasure to read from beginning to end.

I can’t wait to find more similar stories that bring a much-needed new twist to Lovecraft’s old settings. Personally, I believe that the Mythos of old still holds tons of untapped potential for authors who originally would have been excluded from it. If this subject interests you, I elaborate on my feelings a lot more in this Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein interview.

Thank you so much for helping to get my name out there, Linda! And to everyone else, don’t forget to check out all of the awesome authors who made it all possible!