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Three Expat Women. Three international love stories. One book giveaway.
Do you know what I love more than a good memoir? More that two good memoirs? Yep, THREE good memoirs! And there’s even a giveaway. Click below for details. a Rafflecopter giveaway I’ve already started reading Leza’s book and am enjoying it immensely. Years ago I heard Tracy read a bit from hers (it was…
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Japanese Picture Books
I was walking through the kid’s section of the bookstore the other day when this beauty caught my eye: How absolutely awesome, I thought. It’s a picture book about paradise, or Buddhist heaven. Hey, wait. If they have a book about gokuraku“-極楽, they surely must have a book about… And they…
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The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship
I am tickled pink to announce that I have won this year’s Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship. I would like to give a world of thanks to The Horror Writers Association for providing female horror writers with such a wonderful opportunity to invest in and hone their craft. And thanks and appreciation also to the HWA Scholarship Committee:…
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My Anti-New Year’s Noodles
On New Year’s Eve in Japan everyone (and I mean everyone) eats something called toshikoshi soba, year-crossing soba noodles. It’s a thing. And it’s delicious. If you ask around you’ll hear loads of reasons why you’re supposed to eat these specific noodles on New Year’s Eve. The main one, though, is that the soba represents…
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The Mini Museum of Masks
Japan is narrow and mountainous and hugely populated. When asked what I miss most about the States (while I have several answers depending on my mood) “space” invariably gets mentioned. No sprawling parks with giant old trees and hide away benches where you can read undisturbed for hours. No lush lawns with dogs and children…
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Vegetable Ice Cream?
A while back a friend gave me a heads up about two new flavors of Haagen Dazs ice cream to be released in Japan only. Woo! New ice cream! Yeah, that’s what I thought, too: green tea, red adzuki beans, maybe something mochi related. Alas, no. It took awhile, but I finally spotted the new…
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“The Spider Sweeper”
Several years ago I wrote a short story I was incredibly smitten with but knew in my heart might never find a home. It’s called “The Spider Sweeper” and it just felt very odd. It’s a horror story. It’s a love story. It’s set in Japan during the late 1800s. I sent it out and…
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Don’t Pee on the Worm
One day back when my son was a toddler we were taking a stroll around a hilly lake with my in-laws. It was slow going as he had short little legs and we were all enjoying the flowers and water and the lovely spring weather. Halfway through our walk my son stopped and pointed. “A…
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Smelly Things
I love nice, smelly things.I’m down with fragrant candles and burn incense several times a day. I have all sorts of essential oils for my diffuser and have recently acquired a fragrant wax melting device which was cool until I knocked it over onto my new carpet and couch. *stupidfragrantwaxmeltingdevice* But then I got this: …
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Drop
I found one! Koji Suzuki — the horror author of Ring, Spiral, and Loop to name a few — has written a new tale called “Drop” (“The Drop” in English). But this one has an interesting twist. It’s a horror story printed on toilet paper, set in a public toilet, and intended to be read while…