This Is Not What I Expected

This post celebrates a some of my talented and sensitive writer friends’ work. So many people need venues for their writing, to set their creations free in the world. I’m honored to be able to share these on ThisIsNotWhatIExpected.

.harper.author took The Way It’s Supposed to Be on a mission to raise money for a small book community on the Oregon coast. It is having a really good time, loves the beach, and couldn’t be happier hanging with another author. My writing community is the best!

After way too many proofs with minor tweaks, we have a winner! Blue glowing text, some spacing adjustments. This will be what my first foray into thriller/horror looks like (minus the not for resale banner) when it’s available for purchase.
is hard at work building the haunt that inspired it. I definitely recommend a visit this October.

First proof of The Well! I love this stage of writing a book — when I finally get to hold it in my hands and feel the pages. I immediately have revisions for the next proof, of course, but the next step, hitting “publish,” is in sight!

My mom passed along a Frida Kahlo puzzle, and I finished it last weekend. It’s a collage, in the style of Kahlo’s art, of the major events and elements of her life — her love of animals, her time in Paris and New York, the house she and her husband, Diego, built, the crippling accident that drastically altered the course of her adult life.
Once I was done, I felt prompted to investigate her life further, though I’d been familiar with it once upon a time. I had a friend early in my college years who was obsessed with Kahlo. In my casual couch research, I did indeed discover that “Frida mania” was a phenomenon that trailed into the early 90s…
Read more at ThisIsNotWhatIExpected.substack.com

Almost all of my Substack posts are free, so if you’ve ever been annoyed by a nearby cafe table teeming with loud voices, it costs you no dollars to head over to my site so we can commiserate. Enjoy!

A few of my favorite bibliophile memes as of late.
I love the little treasures hiding between the pages of used books. Some of my favorite finds:
📖 pencil-written scorecard for an indiscernible game
📖An ornate yet amusing sketch of a cartoon frog with human arms
📖A business card for a mobile VCR repair shop
📖A receipt from 1989 revealing the original purchaser paid less for the new book than I did for the tattered version.

This may be a story of early-1900s elite New York society, but damned if it didn’t feel applicable to 2026.

✔️wealth gap
✔️societal obsession w/physical beauty
✔️The struggle to keep up appearances as fortune falls
✔️Women judged by harsher standards than men

I related to Lily and her struggle between adhering to the path she was brought up for and following her uncertain heart.
Wharton’s writing is a scathing commentary on the vacuous nature of the world of extreme wealth she herself was brought up in. It is an elegant satire. Definitely recommend.

My dad taught me how to shake hands — firmly, looking the other person in the eye, leaning in a little. He’d tell me stories of men he’d met who tried to crush his hand beneath theirs upon this age-old greeting. My dad’s derision for this approach was apparent in his tone as he told the story. He held equal disdain for the “limp-fish” handshake.
I found a firm and slightly aggressive handshake useful.
Especially with a certain kind of man…

Read the rest at ThisIsNotWhatIExpected.substack.com

I’m so excited to finally share the story behind Mortis Manor— a collaboration with — with everyone! It’s coming out in a few months, but first we gotta pick a cover. Which do you like?