Two new stories in one week?

Because I’m usually working on longer projects, it’s rare for me to publish new stories in general. Two in one week is bananas. Enormously grateful to Necessary Fiction for sharing “Hell of a Game,” and to Okay Donkey for giving a home to “Ka, Ba, and Akh.”

“Hell of a Game” is a spooky baseball story, perfect for Halloween. I spent too much time at Louisville Bats games this summer and ended up here. This is just how my brain works, folks. I can’t help it. Knowing K.C. Mead-Brewer’s love of bats, I became paranoid that she’d already written a story like this, so I went through her entire website before submitting it places. I recommend you do the same simply because she’s so talented.

“Ka, Ba, and Akh” is more emotionally moving (I hope)—though it does deal with mummification, if you want to squeeze it into your spooky season reading. Really it’s about loving your difficult mother, even after her death. Thanks to my friends who read over this piece in its various drafts!

Fun fact: near where I grew up, this wealthy real estate mogul named Jim Onan built his own pyramid—as a house, not a tomb. I used to drive past it every day on my way to elementary school. When he put the Egyptian statue in front, he got in trouble because it was too tall for the local building codes, so he simply piled rocks at its feet to make the ground higher.

In 2018, the pyramid burned down.