It’s October, and for me, that means chill autumn vibes, maybe decorating with a skeleton or two, and cozying up with some of my favorite haunted reads.
It also means I’m kicking off a micro-series of episodes, dubbed Hauntings: five episodes all about reaching through the veil, or that cozy-haunted feeling of a cherished memory, or the comfort of horror. (More on that in one of our Creative Chats this month!)
In this episode, though, I’m sharing some of my “Golden Ghouls” — that is, the things that haunt me in a good way, and spur my creative practice. Maybe they’ll spark something for you, too.
I’m also extending the series theme to our October Asynchronous Book Club, and I’ve got three books for you — remember, you can read whatever you want, whenever you want, and always be sure to check content warnings before you dive in:

• Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin (one of our original January Immortal Beloveds that we’re meting out across the year)
• Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm (a favorite of Instagram’s Weird Women Book Club, @weirdwomenbookclub)
• Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson (one of my annual October reads; I love this collection, the 2017 Penguin edition of which includes a foreword by another of my favorite authors, Ottessa Moshfegh <3)

Enjoy … if you dare! (I’m just kidding. Kind of.) And, as always, take care, keep creating, and stay divine!
Resources

• On the meta meaning of this podcast | S1:E21 | Last Words, Words, Words: Season Finale (Or Is It?) + Teasing Season Two
• Writing about writing | Refuse to Be Done (Matt Bell); One Writer's Beginnings (Eudora Welty); Meader, Spiral, Explode (Jane Alison | Bonus Kenyon Review essay on M,S,E by Ruth Joffre); Mystery and Manners (Flannery O'Connor)

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