What I Published in 2023

I know I’m a bit behind on this, but here is a list of the things I published in 2023. It was a whirlwind of a year! I’m particularly proud of the works I got to edit in 2023 with Interstellar Flight Press—they are an awesome reflection of the trust writers continue to put in me, and I can’t thank the writers enough for that faith.

Novelette: “Bone Light” in Split Scream Four from Tenebrous Press

This novelette had a bumpy ride, as it was slotted for pub by a press who ghosted me before eventually getting picked up by Dread Stone Press, who then shuttered and transferred it to Tenebrous. The story follows Mary Long, a woman in the 1800s who becomes a lighthouse keeper because of a dark accident. I was inspired by the stories of women keepers of the light, who often had to survive intense trauma and adversity. This one is very historical, and the research I did for it would fill a whole second book, -_- ha. But I love it very much. It is eligible for awards with a novelette category!

Josh Hanson at FanFiAddict called “Bone Light” “A sapphic tale of witchcraft and haunting as the two women battle the elements, sexist lighthouse inspectors, roving bands of thieves, and generations of angry ghosts.”

Short Fiction: “Daughters of Eve” in Unspeakable Horror 3: Dark Rainbow Rising

This story is deeply personal to me and explores sexual awakening through the metaphor of portal fantasy. I was lucky enough to work with editor Vince A. Liaguno for the Horror Writers Association anthology Other Terrors, and Vince also chose my story for this anthology, which is very cool.

Here’s what Lightspeed had to say about it:

“Daughters of Eve” by Holly Lyn Walrath opens with mesmerizing and mysterious scenes involving a phenomenon tied somehow to sexuality and perhaps even intimate connection. The story also brings in cultural, often life-threatening dangers that are related to identity and sexuality. There is a lovely complexity to the way these dangers are initially layered in, suggesting an array of effects, including the way people are forced or taught to see and limit themselves; simultaneously, the danger is just-palpable, instilling in the reader a sense of uneasiness that lurks right under the skin. The writing itself is great, a straightforward and expertly composed style, and the storytelling is seriously spellbinding. The piece overall feels like a frank, personal, and kind of beautiful exploration of self-discovery, with a speculative element that brings even more nuance and metaphor into the conversation.”

Poetry

Poetry Between the Lines: Solo Exhibition, Sawyer Yards, ECG Gallery

In April of 2023, I had my first solo artist exhibition, a series of large-scale erasure poems. You can read about the exhibition and see pictures from it on my website.

Poetry Chapbook: Numinous Stones, Aqueduct Press

My horror chapbook Numinous Stones was published by Aqueduct Press as part of their “Conversation Pieces” series. This book was first originally published as a translation by Marco Raimondo from Kipple Press (Numinose Lapidi). It was also a semi-finalist for the 2021 Tomaž Šalamun Prize. Here’s what Strange Horizons had to say about it:

“The book is composed entirely of pantoums, a circular form adapted from traditional Malaysian poetry in which the second and fourth lines of each quatrain are also the first and third of the next. The repetition lends itself to slow developments and cycles, a good choice for the subject matter of death and grief, but also a key element in producing the impression of the book as a graveyard full of moveable headstones. By highlighting the line as a moveable element of composition through a form that repeats and reconfigures whole lines, the pantoums of Numinous Stones construct themselves as things that are as mobile as the lines, placed in their locations in the book with meticulous intention, but also as something that the reader can pick up and move as they read.”

What I Edited (with Interstellar Flight Press) in 2023

Here is a list of the books that Interstellar Flight Press put out this year and I worked on as an editor! I am very delighted to have worked with such an amazing list of authors.

• The Long Fall Up and Other Stories: Short Story Collection by William Ledbetter

• anOther Mythology: Poetry Chapbook by Maxwell I. Gold

• Beautiful Malady: Poetry Chapbook by Ennis Rook Bashe

• Interstellar Flight Magazine Best of Year Four

What I Loved in 2023: Creative Input

I believe it’s important to give yourself time as a creative person to take in more than you put out. We all need inspiration and joy to fuel our creative imagination. I wanted to share some of my favorite things from last year that I listened to, read, watched, or enjoyed. I hope you discover some inspiration for your own writing from this list!

Lofi Girl on YouTube

I’ve shared this before in the Weird Circular, but I LOVE the “Lofi Girl” station on YouTube. Every day, you can find me listening to this soothing background music while I work. I love the “synthwave” sessions, which are live and streaming 24 hours a day. But there are also a ton of cool other types of music on the station, including more “cozy” vibes or upbeat hip-hop. I also like how Lofi Girl always credits the artists so you can look up their work as you listen.

Also, I just realized that Lofi Girl is hosting a short story contest about how Lofi Girl meets Lofi Boy 🙂 (The station includes two characters, male and female, who are animated and recently went “missing” for 24 hours, presumably because they were on a date. It’s charming.)

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners on Netflix

I’ve always loved cyberpunk as a subgenre of scifi, and I’ve also always been a fan of dark, edgy anime. I feel like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is one of the best anime’s of the last few years. It nails the worldbuilding that pairs cybernetic implants with anti-government activism. The main character’s arc is satisfying and yet fantastically emblematic of toxic masculinity, and the anime is definitely self-aware about that fact. Lastly, I loved the twists and turns of main character Lucy’s past. Oh, and did I mention the soundtrack is killer? I haven’t played the game it’s based on yet, but now I feel like I have to because I loved the anime so much.

The Barbie Movie

I have enjoyed Greta Gerwig’s work in the past, but I have to say it was Barbie (2023) that clenched my absolute fan-girl obsession with Gerwig’s style. When I first saw the movie in person, I got emotional, and I couldn’t figure out why. I think after rewatching a few times, it’s because Barbie shows us what a world where women are treated as equals, even superior, feels like. That world feels utopian and dystopian at the same time. I loved how Gerwig approached Barbie, making her into a real character with emotions, but I loved even more how Gerwig acknowledges that feminism benefits everyone, not just white women. Equality is about providing opportunities for all people and treating everyone like they are human beings of worth.

chloe chiasson: keep left at the fork

When I was in Dallas to see my piece at the Dallas Vignette women’s art fair, I swung by Dallas Contemporary Art Museum. There, I was blown away by the work of Texas artist chloe chiasson. chloe creates wall sculptures in relief based on her upbringing in the South. My favorite piece is the above “keep left at the fork”—a life-sized rearview mirror complete with resin water drops. This exhibition nailed what it is like to grow up in small-town Texas as a queer person—the nostalgia, the erasure, the heart pony bead keychains, and old Shiner cans.

The House Witch Series by Delemhach

This year, I really needed some cozy reads, and The House Witch series by Delemhach definitely hit that quota. The story follows Fin Ashowan, a royal cook who quickly becomes pulled into a larger world of politics and magic. But my favorite part of the story is the cooking magic and general low-stakes of the book series. It’s a delightful read, and I’m not surprised that it’s so popular!

The Makani: Cooking for the Maiko House

Speaking of cozy food stories, I loved The Makani on Netflix. It’s based on the Manga Kiyo in Kyoto (frustratingly not available in English as far as I can tell), and it follows the story of Kiyo and Sumire, two friends who move to Kyoto’s Gion district to live in a house of female geisha performers. The story is very upbeat and the stakes are entirely emotional, with friendship and small romances peppered throughout. I love how the story showed us what it’s like to live as modern geisha (geiko and maiko) without overly sexualizing and miscategorizing the culture like Western shows might.

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I would like to say I’m a well-rounded gamer and that this year, I played a ton of new games, but tbh, I just played Zelda nonstop. I’ve been a Zelda player since “A Link to the Past” in the 90s, so a new Zelda game pretty much makes my year. TOTK is a lot of fun. I have really enjoyed re-exploring the revamped map from BOTW, and with the addition of the gloom, it’s a lot of fun to have a new area to explore. I would LOVE to see a future Zelda game where Zelda gets more of a character focus, like Hyrule Warriors, where we get to play Zelda and see her character evolve. I have nitpicks, but it’s a pretty great game.

These are just a few of the things I enjoyed from 2023. Here’s to a new year full of inspiration and enjoyment!

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