The Origin Stories Blog
The Adventures Begin…
It has been a minute (or fifteen years) since my friend Kathy Jeffords and I have created something together. As we reconnected a bit more earlier this year, it became evident that there was a synchronicity happening around where we were in our lives and the goals...
The Wendy’s Experiment
My friend Kathy and I have known each other since junior high. At one time we waged a cartoon war that involved adventures of our awkward superhero alter egos. I was dubbed Super Frizz because my grandmother had attempted to perm my hair in the seventh grade and...
Goddess Game – The First Move
Yesterday, my book Goddess Game was released. I’m pretty excited about that and a bit nervous. I imagine this feeling is similar to seeing your child up on stage, about to perform their part in the school play and, while you’ve done what you can to prepare...
The Shadow at the Bell Tower: True Story Behind “Darker Than the Night”
I’ve had a deep fascination with the supernatural and paranormal since childhood. A good ghost story? Always my jam. And over the years, I’ve had a few strange experiences of my own. One of those real-life encounters inspired my short story Darker than the Night—first...
Every Moment Can Be A Learning Opportunity
It’s not always easy to see the opportunity or good in each situation. I have been practicing the art of seeing everything that happens as something intended to help me. Even if it doesn’t appear to be the best thing ever, there is likely something for me to learn....
Zombie Dreams and the Origins of “The Resurrection Incident”
Always Ready for Zombies I’ve had a lot of zombie dreams over the years. And yes, I’ve watched more than my fair share of zombie shows and movies—so I’m sure that’s partly to blame. For most of my adult life, anytime I walked into a new space, I’d instinctively scan...
Into the Work: Dreams, Curiosity, and a Poem from the Archives
Dreaming, Reading, and Wonder I’ve always been fascinated by dreams. At various times in my life, I’ve written them down—sometimes just to remember them, sometimes to try to understand them. A few were so vivid they’ve stayed with me like memories, even ones I had as...
Oh, Procrastination: Bananas, Banter, and Getting Stuff Done
I created the graphic below years ago when I was a raw foodist and making my first attempt at being a writer and creator full time. It still makes me smile each time I see it. Hopefully, you are at least mildly amused. I ate a lot of bananas in those days. I’m not...
How “Sentenced” Came to Be: A Story of Shifted Perspective
Growing Up in the Church I was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). While I don’t consider myself an active Mormon today, I was baptized in the Darlington Ward and stayed there until around age 10 or 11, when that ward closed. From then on,...
The Azalea Bushes That Grew Into a Story
Little Gloves, Big Blooms It seems that my mom and grandmother were always dressing my sister Marie and me up in little lacy things. And, okay, I’ll admit that as a young girl I liked the little black shoes and wearing the gloves. I think Marie and I always looked...
A Secret, a Bee, and Floating Paper: How “The Secret in Bladham Wood” Began
Stories Often Start Strangely I think the story behind a story is one of the most fascinating parts of being a writer. For The Secret in Bladham Wood, it all began with what I can only describe as a tiny hallucination. Years ago, when I still lived in South Carolina,...
The Creepy Old Car Beyond the Fence: Childhood Fears and a Fictional Twist
Writing from Life (Eventually) However, my personal adventures have crept in over the years. "The School Car" is a fictionalized version of something that happened to me in elementary school. It made quite an impression at the time and has stayed with me over the...
Boogie-Monster
Several years ago, I wrote a poem about my brother. It was inspired by a time one of my friends came over when I was a teenager (my brother would have probably been somewhere around 8-10 years old). At one point he was chasing the two of us all over the house with a...
Of Sheila and Spiders: Childhood Fears and the Story That Crawled Out
A Tangled Web from Childhood I could write several blog posts containing spider stories. My arachnophobia was instilled in me at a young age. Growing up in the Southeast, my siblings and I were often warned to be wary of black widow spiders and brown recluses. I never...
A Poem About My Dad and a Childhood Beach Memory
Looking Through Old Family Photos I have been looking through some of the old photo albums my grandma has in her house. I don’t know a lot of people in the really old black and white pictures and it is interesting to try to figure out their personalities based on...