From Losanti to the Lakeshore

If you've read short stories in my small corner of Vocal Media, you'll notice that I haven't been active in some time. However, I’m still very active in writing and authorship.

Over the past few months, I have taken part in local artisan festivals and other events, getting the word out and signing copies of The Losantiverse Duology novels Make Me Free and To Die Is Gain. Much like my short story writing, these stories delve into complex relationships, religious trauma, and self-discovery. Interacting with readers in-person has placed me out of my comfort zone as a strong introvert, but it's been a rewarding experience. It's also been neat to build relationships with local bookstores and support the community.

That said, I have dedicated most of my free time to writing more. Much of my downtime has also been used to write a third novel that will be part of a series of standalone novels. The novel will live in the same "universe" as The Losantiverse Duology, but will involve brand new characters and touch on some heavy concepts, besides the familiar themes of faith deconstruction (and sometimes reconstruction), interpersonal relationships, and acceptance.

I started writing the first draft of this story in June, but wrote most of it between August and early November. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how that timeline came about. In one week between late August and early September, I experienced contracting Covid for the first time and the unexpected death of my best and oldest friend. So, I admit that finishing the story was a distraction and a way to work through the grief.

So...what about the story?

The as-yet-unnamed story follows Micah, a married woman silently suffocating in the routines of her life, including her university office job, her Pentecostal church community, and her strained marriage to her husband, Steve. When tragedy strikes, the emotional fallout becomes impossible to ignore, and Micah makes the impulsive but necessary decision to leave, abandoning their home in Losanti, Ohio, for a serene and progressive lakeside town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. But just as she begins to breathe again, Micah discovers that her new sanctuary stands at a crossroads — one where she must choose whether to stay silent or stand up for the life she's reclaiming.

Some snippets of the work-in-progress are posted on Bluesky, and a few of those are on TikTok. Right now, the manuscript is in early edits. My plan is for the novel to launch in 2026, but beyond that, a specific timeline is not available yet. I'll keep you posted.

I do plan on writing some additional short stories. Some will be submissions to anthologies, while I will post others (primarily romance stories) under a separate pen name. That said, I will release most of my out-of-the-box, experimental stories here on Vocal. I find Vocal to be a fun place to write stories — fiction and non-fiction — that stretch my writing capabilities.

So, the plan is to be around here a little more often, especially once the novel goes out to beta readers. By the way, if you're interested in being a beta reader — reading a free book and sharing your thoughts — follow me on Bluesky or subscribe to my newsletter, where I'll post details once sign-ups open. Writing short stories is fun, and I love reading them too, so I'm excited to share more of both as we go.