Skip to main content

Case Files

Classified dispatches on writing, supernatural fiction, and behind-the-scenes intelligence.

Close-up of a vintage typewriter with “Something worth reading” typed on the page.

Why I Write

I write to make sense of people and to hand that sense back to you as a story. When I was seven, I designed an assistive suit that could help paraplegics walk and lift with superhuman strength. I drew the…

2 min read
A close-up of the Great Seal on the back of a U.S. one-dollar bill, showing the pyramid with an eye at the top and the words 'Annuit Coeptis' and 'Novus Ordo Seclorum' in Latin, with detailed engraving patterns around the seal.

How a Dollar Bill Sent Me Down a Rabbit Hole

Ever held a dollar bill and wondered why an ancient pyramid with a glowing, all-seeing eye stares back at you? That symbol has sparked theories of shadowy organizations and hidden agendas for decades. As a kid, that symb…

3 min read
Crumpled paper sitting on top of stack of books.

The Art of Editing TVJM

When I typed the last sentence of my first draft, I felt like I was on top of the world. I had finished! But, as many writers know, that’s only the beginning. After setting the manuscript aside for a few…

4 min read
A brown Bigfoot figurine walking through a dense forest with fallen leaves on the ground and trees in the background.

Legends of the Pacific Northwest

I first moved to the Pacific Northwest at twenty-five, and the landscape immediately grabbed me. Vast, ancient forests, countless waterfalls—so numerous they weren't even named. Coming from the East Coast, where a waterf…

4 min read
A vinyl record player spinning a record, with another vinyl placed in front of it. Beside the player is a white mannequin head with colorful paint drips and wearing red polka-dotted headphones connected to the record player by a yellow cable, against a backdrop of vinyl album covers.

The Soundtrack Behind TVJM

I wrote most of The Vanishing of Jessica Muir with music on. One song was playing . Others showed up during late-night editing sessions when I was chasing a specific feeling — tension, loss, a fight scene, a quiet drive…

3 min read
A scenic view of Mount Rainier, a snow-capped mountain, framed by tall evergreen trees, with a small reflective lake and green meadow in the foreground under a bright blue sky.

The Origins of TVJM

The day started like any other. I woke up before dawn, the sky still clinging to the last threads of night, to feed my pigs and begin the daily grind. Moving to any small, insular community comes with a permanent…

5 min read