Each time a moth suddenly lands on my bare ankle when I'm half-awake, sipping coffee, I relive my entire personal evolution. The urge to smash. The pause. The readjustment. The care. The gentle gathering and the walk to my back door. The peace that follows a small act of kindness

Enjoyed signing advance copies of Something in the Woods Loves You at the Timber Press / Hachette Books booth at the Public Library Association (PLA) conference yesterday.

'Snot otter' is the second coolest common name for a very cool animal.

Grief hurts.
Yet, we get to craft our own meanings.
And we don't owe pain the last word.

Episode 58: Ghost Flies is out now in the usual podcast haunts or at CryptoNaturalist.com.
What counts as a ghost is, perhaps, open to interpretation.
Thanks to Steve Shell from Old Gods of Appalachia for voicing today's field report.
Featuring poetry from Emilie Lygren.

Positive change often requires an act of imagination and an act of trust.
Imagination in order to conceptualize a better future.
Trust in order to walk toward a horizon that, at first, only exists inside of you.

We seldom admit the seductive comfort of hopelessness.
It saves us from ambiguity.
It has an answer for every question:
'There's just no point.'
Hope, on the other hand, is messy.
If it might all work out, then we have things to do.
We must weather the possibility of happiness.

I cannot say how often I have lifted this book from the shelf and found myself between the pages absorbed in a quiet contemplation of connections.

Field Guide to the Haunted Forest, by Jarod K. Anderson ✍️🌿✨️

Recalling that your own imagination is also a part of nature, is one way to reconnect with the gorgeous wellspring of magic that our universe hides in plain sight.

A short excerpt about making meaning from my new book Something in the Woods Loves You.

Something in the Woods Loves You.

Teach meaning-making as an empowering skill rather than the search for meaning as a haunting imperative.

It is okay if you are left behind. It is okay if you are left out. Here there is tea and soft leaves and wind and peace. You cannot go on every adventure. It is brave enough to rest. It is a good use of time.

Quirk Books is celebrating Women in Horror Month and look! It's me! Check out my interview about why I write horror and what horror I'm enjoying on their website! quirkbooks.com/women-in-horro…

Feeling very encouraged by the feedback I'm getting from advance copy readers of my book Something in the Woods Loves You.

The monkfish. Emoji of the sea.

Jarod K. Anderson has written a poem of extraordinary insight&inspiration saying that when we’re not ok we can accept that temporary stateAND “sharpen our empathy against the stone of discomfort”by continuing on,even then,2show kindness2ourselves&others-We CAN grow wherever we are❤️

Being awake to nature
helps us let go of the desire to “be important”
and start looking toward better, kinder goals.

Nature is family.
Family doesn’t want you to be important;
it wants you to be whole.

Am I the only one tempted to try the bread recipe in the latest episode of The CryptoNaturalist ?

I don't always succeed at being inspiring.
Or entertaining.
Or thought-provoking.
Yet, when I want to be confusing?
Now that's a walrus I can wax.