If you’re like me, September and now October flew by. You may not have heard from me in a while, but boy have I been busy cooking up some new content.
This month, a new issue of my online literary and genre fiction publication Still Life Fiction is out and we’ve got stories for your spooky season.
The Fall issue explores the theme of Masks: the faces we present to the world, the secrets we keep hidden, and the truths that sometimes slip through the cracks. The masks we wear can protect us, transform us, or give us the courage to become someone or something we might not otherwise dare to be. But what happens when the mask comes off?
Our contributors approached the theme from different angles and genres, taking us through stories of loss, longing, unexpected revelations, and a little good old-fashioned flirty fun. Whether the masks are worn to conceal, pursue a desire, or serve as a symbol of a loving memory, each story reminds us that there’s often more beneath the surface than meets the eye. We’re delighted to share this collection with you. There’s something for everyone.
If you enjoy what you read, subscribe to Still Life Fiction so you won’t miss future stories and issues. You can also follow us on Instagram and help spread the word by sharing our stories with fellow fiction lovers.
If you’d like to support Still Life Fiction, please consider making a voluntary donation through our Ko-Fi page to help cover the costs of keeping the publication running.
More updates to come. I’ll share interviews with authors and much more, but until then, go check out these amazing short stories over at SLF. I’m so proud of our contributors!
I’m excited to share new stories now available at Still Life Fiction, the online genre fiction publication I founded and edit.
Our latest issue features two stories under the Freedom theme. Each story offers something different based on theme, and I’m thrilled that these writers are a part of the inaugural issue of Still Life Fiction.
A teenager working in his father’s business tells the story of the mysterious Candyman, whose hidden talent as a piano player reveals more to him than meets the eye in Junkyard Music. Category: Literary
Here is your invitation to submit your stories in the next issue. The current submission theme is Masks. What do we hide behind the masks we wear?
For our next themed issue, we’re looking for stories about masks. They can be literal or metaphorical, familiar or strange, human or monstrous. Give us horror, dark fantasy, gothic fiction, supernatural tales, psychological suspense, or anything that explores faces we show the world and what lies beneath them. Maybe the mask protects its wearer. Maybe it hides a secret. Maybe, once it goes on, it can’t come off.
Your story doesn’t have to be about Halloween. We’re interested in the darkness, mystery, and transformation that a mask can represent.
All genres are welcome, including literary and cross-genre fiction.
Submission window: August 8 – September 20, 2026 (deadline at 3 am Eastern). Selected works will be published in our Fall issue around Halloween and will be promoted across our platforms.
I’m excited to share that my short film screenplay, Delphine the Hag, has advanced to the Quarterfinals of the Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition!
Delphine the Hag is a supernatural horror short, inspired by a character from my The Bryant Women universe, and is from the perspective of the “villain” and her desire to infiltrate a magical family’s bloodline.
Advancing to the quarterfinals is an encouraging milestone, and I’m grateful to the judges for recognizing the script. I’ll be working on updates to compete for the semi-finals, so fingers crossed!
Thanks to everyone who has supported my writing journey. I’ll share more updates as they come!
I’m excited to share that another one of my short fiction stories has been published! I’m proud to be a contributor to Slash Magazine with my psychological horror short story, “We Could Have Been More Violent.”
Here’s a teaser:
“The bell rang on the door of Eva’s Psychic Healing Shop.
Half of her expected to see Charlie; the other half wished he’d never return.”
The submission window for my genre fiction online publication, Still Life Fiction, is now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted their work. Stay tuned for updates on the selected stories and the magazine’s upcoming inaugural issue.
Stay Connected
Don’t forget to Follow, Like, and Share. You can find links to all my social media and other platforms on the Find Me @ page.
The deadline to submit your short or flash fiction to Still Life Fiction has been extended to June 17, 2026. This gives writers who saw the call for submissions via Duotrope additional time to submit.
About Still Life Fiction
Inspired by the still-life art form, the publication focuses on the elements of storytelling that endure: themes, characters, and ideas that linger long after the page is closed.
Still Life Fiction is a digital publication, with plans for an annual print edition featuring selected stories at the end of the calendar year. I’m starting simply, with a streamlined website, so that I can invest more time and energy where it matters most: reading and recognizing stories that resonate with me and with readers.
Our first submission window will run April 17 – June 17, 2026, with the inaugural theme: Freedom.
Please explore the site and share your thoughts in the comments. I would be thrilled to read your work, so start thinking about stories you want to submit.
Whether you’re writing your first novel or screenplay, Spring is prime time for opportunities to expand your writing career. Polish those drafts and get ready to submit, submit, submit!
May – June 2026
Writers Guild of America East 2026 Support Staff Basic Training Program (Deadline: May 15): The training program is a virtual bootcamp for underrepresented emerging writers looking to break into television at the support-staff level. The program will meet virtually for six weekend sessions in August. Your script must be registered with WGAE, so get started ASAP.
My online publication, Still Life Fiction, submission window is closing on May 15th. Submit your short stories and visit the guidelines page for details:
Screenplay Contests & Festivals (Some competitions have rolling deadlines. Click on the web links to see the final deadlines.)
If you’ve been following the drama between Netflix and Paramount and their proposals to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), you know that Paramount won after 10 bids. Paramount’s final offer swayed the WBD Board, and they determined it to be the “superior proposal.” Netflix quickly walked away from the deal.
If you’ve gotten whiplash trying to keep up with the ping pong match between Netflix and Paramount, you’re not alone.
Here’s the timeline:
Dec. 2025: Netflix reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery for $82.7B
Also in December, Paramount mounted a hostile counteroffer/takeover valued at over $110B.
Dec. 2025 – Feb. 2026: The two companies battle it out over the nuts and bolts of which deal is more attractive to the WBD Board. The most important sticking point for the industry is Netflix’s reluctance to confirm whether it will keep up with WBD’s theatrical release schedule for windows of up to 45 days.
Late Feb. 2026: Paramount makes its final offer of $110B, and Netflix is given the option to match or exceed the offer in four days. Netflix promptly declines.
In that very short period of time, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos testifies on the Hill before Congress, which has antitrust concerns. While in Washington, Sarandos was scheduled to meet with President Trump, but before that could happen, the WBD Board pulled the rug from under him and declared Paramount’s offer the “superior proposal.”
Paramount agreed to pay Netflix a $2.8B termination fee, which the streamer happily received and issued a statement to explain why they walked away. The short answer is that increasing their offer was turning out not to be a sound deal for their bottom line. WBD carries significant debt that Netflix was unwilling to assume.
Since the end of the high-stakes acquisition of WBD, Paramount has gradually revealed its vision for the merger, which includes at least 30 film theatrical releases each year.
Paramount’s victory over Netflix is complete, but it will be short-lived. The studio still has to navigate regulatory hurdles, but with the cozy relationship between CEO David Ellison’s father and President Trump, the deal is unlikely to face much scrutiny from the Federal government agencies responsible for approving these deals.
As of this writing, Congressional antitrust hearings on the merger have not been set, but the Department of Justice is reviewing the deal. A WBD shareholder vote is scheduled for March 20, 2026. However, WBD’s CEO, David Zaslav, said the merger could take from six months to 18 months to clear.
Besides the prestigious and financially successful WBD films, Paramount could reap the harvest of WBD’s success as long as it doesn’t shake up the creative and executive teams responsible for all of the hits the studio has continued making.
WBD has dozens of commercially and critically acclaimed films under its belt. A few of the films in the 2026 Oscar race right now include Paul Thomas Anderson’s original One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Soon, Marty Supreme, an A24 film, will be streaming on WBD’s HBO Max platform as per the usual arrangement between the two companies.
Why Are People So Concerned About This Merger?
Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets include some of the biggest media brands and Intellectual Property (IP) in the world: CNN, HBO, and HBO Max streaming service, TNT Sports International, Cartoon Network, Fandango, Comedy Central, and IP such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and the DC Comics Universe (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, etc.). That’s a massive amount of media control of TV, films, and news.
Political influence: Americans have had a preview of what a legacy media outlet’s news judgment would look like following the controversial appointment of Bari Weiss to CBS, who has been accused of censoring stories that are critical of the Trump Administration.
Massive industry job losses: Hollywood has already gone through thousands of job losses due to the mergers of the past and even as recently as Paramount’s acquisition of Skydance in 2025. It’s expected that Paramount will do the same when it fully merges with WBD over the next year.
Price increases for consumers.
Finally, WBD’s CEO, David Zaslav, oversaw the studio for the last four years, presumably racking up the debt, yet he and his executive team are set to walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars in golden parachutes after the deal is done, while his workforce is almost guaranteed to see job losses.
The entertainment industry, regulators, Congress, and state Attorneys General (AG) are expected to scrutinize or halt the merger, with California’s AG Rob Bonta and Senator Elizabeth Warren leading the charge. Although, to be fair, the scrutiny would’ve come whether it was Netflix or Paramount.
On a personal note, I took a tour of the historic Paramount Studios Lot last Spring, and it was exciting to see so many productions on-site (Paradise and Matlock, to name a few) while on a Hollywood Field Trip.
That was less than a year ago, and look at how much has changed in the industry. I, like many creators, have been concerned that more mergers mean fewer opportunities and less financing for developing original TV and film projects. The few opportunities that may come about would likely go to A-List/celebrity-backed projects.
I know this post feels like all doom and gloom, but the upside is that the indie film market will likely see an uptick in small-to-medium projects hitting the film festival and distributor markets. I’ll continue to document my journey in the industry here, so stay tuned, subscribe to my blog, and follow me on any of my socials on the Find Me @ tab.
I’ve been a busy bee this month working on a longtime dream of mine: launching my own fiction publication, Still Life Fiction.
Inspired by the still-life art form, the publication focuses on the elements of storytelling that endure: themes, characters, and ideas that linger long after the page is closed.
Still Life Fiction is a digital publication, with plans for an annual print edition featuring selected stories at the end of the calendar year. I’m starting simply, with a streamlined website, so that I can invest more time and energy where it matters most: reading and recognizing stories that resonate with me and with readers.
Our first submission window will run April 17 – May 15, 2026, with the inaugural theme: Freedom.
Please explore the site and share your thoughts in the comments. I would be thrilled to read your work, so start thinking about stories you want to submit.
How the Series Became a Love Letter to Gen X, Xennials, and Millennials
By now, most viewers have seen the Stranger Things (ST) series finale, so there shouldn’t be any spoilers. Instead of doing another hot take on the last season and ending of the series, I’d like to tap into that great ocean of nostalgia that ST represents for Gen X, Xennials, and older Millennials.
Before I started season 5, like everyone, I rewatched seasons 1-4 so that I could remember the major plot points, characters, and to tap back into this nostalgic feeling that this era represents for me as a Xennial (born between 1977 and 1983).
The show takes place between 1983 and 1989. For many of us who grew up or were exposed to the music and other popular culture during that time, the show represents some of our fondest memories from our childhoods. Sure, there were some really scary real-world things going on around the world. ST did a strong job of weaving those realities into the storylines, such as America’s ongoing Cold War tensions (the Russians are coming!) or the “Satanic Panic.”
Now, I wasn’t old enough to remember being terribly concerned about those things, but I did see the movies and films during that era that reflected the paranoia embedded in the American psyche. But I digress, there were so many other things in the show that sent those of us from those three aforementioned generations swooning, like the sense of adventure, the era of analog technology, video and board games, synth music, banana seat bicycles, and the latchkey kid era (Will was all of us at that age in the 1980s).
I distinctly remember sitting in front of the fan in the window on hot summer days listening to Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, and a whole host of other artists who transcended race or national borders to reach the hearts of fans around the world. It felt like a magical time, before cell phones, when we played outside until dark, ate cereal for breakfast, and watched cartoons and Kung Fu movies on Saturday mornings… together. Now, everyone has their own screen for entertainment. Back then, we had to share one television.
The Duffer Brothers not only tapped into the nostalgia of those generations, but they introduced the 80s era to two whole new generations that learned what it was like to live during those times of old tech, including landline telephones, video arcades, and hair-sprayed styles. Most importantly, I believe the younger generations resonated most with the underpinning theme of friendship. ST reached global audiences from multiple generations, which is difficult to do, but I believe this happened for the aforementioned reasons.
Despite how you feel about the ending, the Duffer Brothers wrote this love letter to all of us and reminded the fans that friendship can and should be unbreakable, and that “friends never lie.” Now more than ever, we all could use that message, especially as the world has been so chaotic: old friends (countries) are now enemies, or indifferent to the suffering of others. While this isn’t new, it does give the younger generations a bleak view of our future. I hope that this show made folks believe in magic again and the value of true friendship, but if the global popularity of the show is any evidence, I think the Duffers nailed it.
Netflix will drop a behind-the-scenes documentary of the show, called, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, on Monday, January 12, 2026, at 12am PT/3am ET.
Check out a previous article I wrote about film and TV reboots to follow the nostalgia breadcrumbs.
Posted on January 11th in honor of our girl Eleven.
What Writing My Own Stories Revealed About Creative Worldbuilding
Now that fans of the hit IT: Welcome to Derry TV show are discovering the ties between Stephen King’s various TV and film adaptations of his novels, I think I have a deeper insight into how writers build interconnected story universes.
I wrote a short story called Delphine the Hag and the main character was part of this family of supernaturally gifted women. I also wrote a short story called Healing Magick with another main character who went to her grandmother’s home for healing. I never sold that story, but it ended up giving me the idea for merging all of the worlds together for a TV pilot.
AI-generated TV series poster
I thought, what if the young woman in Delphine the Hag and the woman in Healing Magick were related and their grandmother was looking to pass down her magic to one of her granddaughters? I started pulling together all kinds of details about how the magic worked, who the villains were, what the family dynamics were, and ended up with a supernatural TV drama, The Bryant Women.
Needless to say, I freaking loved dreaming up my series bible for this TV pilot. I didn’t want to spread it out in separate short stories, so I merged it all together. And I keep wanting to go back to that well and think of other spinoff ideas, but I’m not there yet.
So, for me, I can see how Stephen King, who published The Shining first in 1977, then IT (1986), and Doctor Sleep (2013), finds it endlessly fascinating to keep wanting to go back to that world he created. I totally get it.
And in preparing to write this blog post, I thought about all of the other book series that I love. This is what drives fans wild, seeing how they can piece together Easter eggs from one book to another. You saw that happen when book fans patiently answered questions from TV-first fans about Stephen King’s books that were the source materials for IT: Welcome to Derry. It was an amazing one-week post-mortem of who, what, when, and why.
In addition to Stephen King, I also really enjoy book series by other fiction authors:
George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones fantasy universe
N.K. Jemisin is a prolific speculative fiction author and she’s written multiple book series. My favorites are: The Broken Earth, The Inheritance Trilogy, and the Dreamblood series.
Kresley Cole’s paranormal romance book series, Immortals After Dark, and her young adult fantasy series, The Arcana Chronicles
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone fantasy series
Karen Marie Moning fantasy romance Fever series set in Ireland
Daniel Jose Older is a Latinx author who has a few young adult fantasy series under his belt that you should check out. He also wrote the novelization of a few Star Wars stories.
Finally, although he doesn’t write any universes, this author has written really good science fiction novels about living in space. I can’t forget Andy Weir’s The Martian.
In addition to being a film buff (I did not go to film school, but I have an MFA in Creative Writing), I’m also a huge book nerd. Definitely find me on Goodreads.com and friend me there. I listen to more audiobooks these days, but I also indulge in turning pages every now and then.
Eventually, I’m going to write book reviews on this site, but I’m not there yet. I want to reserve my time for writing about writing and actually getting my projects out there first.
Anyway, please feel free to post your book recommendations in the comments.
