Pinch Me!

The Writer's Lab, World Con, and a New Monster V. Monster

Aug 12, 2026

I’m so, so happy you’re here to experience this exciting news with me! My name and original script were mentioned in Variety! Seriously, pinch me.

Read Variety Announcement

I have been selected for The Writers Lab Intensive taking place in October 2026 in Los Angeles! Even better, it is for a one-hour T.V. pilot that is very near and dear to my heart. I’ve worked on the concept for this world since the lockdown. It’s an epic science fiction adventure/thriller tackling big issues like climate, supply chain, and AI with a dash of video games and pirates.

It was first a solarpunk short story. In fact, it was probably my first solar punk story.

Next, it became a book proposal.

Then, it transformed into a complete novel outline…

…And finally in 2025, I returned to my first love, screenwriting, and it became a T.V. pilot and series outline.

The Writer’s Lab is a respected Hollywood intensive for writers over 40. So, yes, I had to tell Hollywood I was over 40… the town favorite type of women, don’t you know? I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.

I couldn’t be more excited to be part of something that is championed by actors such as Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. I will be part of an 8-person cohort of other writers, and we’ll be doing a three day intensive workshop with mentors and industry professionals. I can’t wait! It’s like Christmas and Halloween all at once. It will be more hard work on this story but that’s the type I love, the sweat and tears that hopefully brings this story to its audience.

The main takeaway is that when a story and idea won’t leave you alone, keep searching for the format that they want to live in. Sometimes, that first version of them and their world is not the right one. I’m glad I didn’t give up on this one.

World Con - August 27th-30th, 2026

I will be there for the whole convention, and we’ll be hosting our first live Monster V. Monster! World Con is one of the biggest SFF/Fantasy conventions in the world, home of the Hugo Awards. It will be my first one, and I’m super thrilled to be part of it. Wicked Tree Press will have a booth all five days. We will be featuring the Nebula Winning title, Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: The Killing Stone. I will be signing all weekend and giving out extra goodies to readers who stop by and pick up a book! I’ll also be at the SFWA booth for a a few hours throughout the convention.

The horror anthology, Eye See You, featuring many talented Substack writers and editors John Coon Garen Glazier Erica Drayton, will be also be available at our table right along with several other horror anthologies and Wicked Tree Press’ titles like the Plastic Girl trilogy and Origins comics.

Monster V. Monster Podcast

We are on our 11th episode of the Monster V. Monster Podcast. This week we dived into the Odyssey! This one pits Scylla and Charybdis against each other in a real estate dispute — People’s Court style with Zeus acting as judge and Poseidon as the bailiff.

Definitely, go give the show a listen and/or subscribe to the podcast here on Substack. It’s a great way to escape the real horrors of the world and play in a world of myths and monsters.

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Systemic Anthology

Systemic is a comics anthology collecting stories of people at the points where societal forces clash, featuring Changeling.ai by Jessica Maison, Michael Judd, and Olga Wieszczyk.