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...
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...
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...