Works in Progress

In Defiance of Oblivion

In this personal essay, I revisit my grandma's grave and reminisce about the times she and I would visit the cemetery and her future burial plot.

“Hi, Grandma.”
I had found the gravestone bearing her name.
It proclaimed, “Setsuko Y Harris” in all caps. The large capital letters translated in my mind as a shout from a monument no one could hear, as if from a ghost. I had wandered the cemetery to find this one in the multitude, searching from memory alone.

Long Story, Short Life

Novel-length project

After a chance encounter in a post office, 20-year-old Jessie and 40-year-old Sandra go from strangers to unlikely confidants. They agree they both need a friend and stay in touch. But what secret is one of them hiding, and how will it change both women forever?

Brave the Unknown

This is a short story I would love to one day expand into a book. It takes place in the same story universe as "Eden's Envy," and follows Cobalt "Coby" Hansen as he grapples with the decision to make the interstellar leap to serve on Kepler-186f.

"I can assure you, you’ll be exactly as you are now on the other side, having completed a generations-long voyage in under a few minutes. Isn’t that what you signed up for?”
“Yes ma’am, to see more of the universe, make something of myself with the help of the fleet. I wanted to make my planet strong and my mom proud,” said Coby.

Memories of Mother

Sarah Beekman is a mother remembering her own mother at the end of her life. Retired to an assisted living community, she attends a Christmas pageant that becomes a harrowing chase when the image of a dreadful woman begins stalking her through the halls.

No one would believe what she had seen.
It was not a chair beside her but a window, overlooking the gathering twilight in the parking lot. Staring in at her, face inches from the glass outside, she had seen a terrible monster.
No, not a monster, she thought with a chill. That was a woman, glaring at me.