WRITING

CULTURAL CRITICISM

I’ve spent decades thinking about stories—what they teach us, how they shape us. My curiosity isn’t just academic; it’s personal. I want to understand how culture has affected the way I think and feel. No story is too big or small. I am as interested in classic literature as I am in the latest viral video.

My book Evil Children in the Popular Imagination examines the cultural meaning of the “evil child”—from possessed children to changelings—and asks why cultures repeatedly imagine innocence as threat. I've also published collections of essays on the horror genre and the apocalypse and over 40 essays, chapters, and reviews on subjects ranging from Edgar Allan Poe's influence on serial killer narratives, masculinity in ghost-hunting "reality" television, and movies about school shootings. Click here for a full c.v.

Right now I'm working on a book called On "Reading": How Stories Shape Our Lives and the World. Click here to learn more.

SPECULATIVE FICTION

I've been writing creatively for as long as I can remember but only began taking it seriously in the last few years. My stories explore the darker sides of human nature, what is revealed when reality is shattered by something strange and unsettling.

My writing style has been shaped as much by the classic literature I studied as the horror stories I've devoured all my life. I love characters who are honest if not heroic, twisty plots that are always one step ahead of you, and prose that shows a deep love for language. As much as I love film and television, my favorite books are those that understand the unique power of written word, not those that read like novelizations of movies not yet made.

I've always got a couple of novels in my head, but the one I'm working on right now is The Cull, a post-apocalyptic story I like to describe as Yellowjackets meets The Road, with a little dash of Atonement. Click here to learn more.