Writing

Dispatches

Process notes, behind-the-scenes writing, and the occasional thing I probably shouldn't put in print.

FeaturedMay 28, 20266 min read

On Writing Dread Without Writing Monsters

The hardest thing I've had to learn is restraint. The monster you don't show is always more frightening than the one you do. Here's how I think about building dread from the inside out — from the character's perception, not the page.

Read Dispatch

May 12, 2026Behind the Work

Where "The Interval" Came From

The story started as a single image: a woman standing in a hallway at 3am, certain she had heard her name. I didn't know who she was yet. I just knew she wasn't going to go back to sleep.

4 min read

March 17, 2026Influences

What Shirley Jackson Taught Me About Unreliable Rooms

Hill House doesn't just feel wrong — it is wrong, architecturally, deliberately. Jackson understood that space can be a character. I've been trying to steal that trick ever since.

7 min read

January 22, 2026Readers

A Note on Reader Mail (and the One Letter I Keep)

I get letters sometimes. Most of them say some version of "I couldn't sleep after reading your book." I take that as a compliment. One letter, though, said something I've never been able to shake.

3 min read

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