Hello
friends and fiends—
August is
always a hectic month, but we’re here, we’re moving, and school is back in
session baby! I’ll be teaching seven classes during the fall semester…yes, you
heard that correctly. Seven! They’ll be filled with horror, monsters,
and all things that go bump in the night, and I’m beyond excited to dig into
the material and have some great discussions with my students.
In my
undergraduate short story class, I always start us off with a deep dive into
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s work, and we’re tackling her masterpiece “The Yellow
Wallpaper” to kick things off. We’re at the midterm point in my MFA class on
editing via Southern New Hampshire, and then I started advising two thesis
students at WCSU as well. Also on deck at WCSU is a class on horror and the mystery
novel, and then a class on middle-grade literature and speculative poetry.
If you’re
interested in the reading list for the horror/mystery course, we’ll be reading:
- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
- Survive the Night by Riley Sager
- If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
- Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
If you’re
interested in the reading list for the middle-grade course, we’ll be reading:
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Omnibus by Alvin Schwarts
- The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
- Root Magic by Eden Royce
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
In terms
of what I’ve been reading this month, I’ve done a mix of class prep and
pleasure reading:
- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
- Survive the Night by Riley Sager
- Here, The World Entire by Anwen Kya Hayward
- The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
- Strange Nests by Jessica McHugh
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Outside of
that, Dennis and I have really been enjoying the produce from our garden and
we’ve made some pretty tasty meals with the tomatoes and peppers we’ve grown.
We had a nice little harvest of Cubanelles, green peppers, and jalapenos, and
honestly, Dennis makes the best guacamole around, so the baby and I have been
pretty happy campers. I also whipped us up a Cubanelle and corn chowder that didn’t
disappoint, and our mint harvest has been unbelievable, so I have bundles all
throughout our house drying now so I can make a nice blend of peppermint tea to
enjoy during my third trimester.
- We’ve also been binging True Blood together so that’s been a nice comfort rewatch for me, and I even read the first Sookie Stackhouse book recently, so it’s been cool to revisit everything and do some compare/contrast. Some other stuff I’ve consumed media-wise:
- I finished AHS Stories and felt blah about it overall. I liked the first two Murderhouse episodes, but after that, I was kind of tuned out.
- I started AHS: Double Feature this past weekend and I’m intrigued by the first two episodes. There is some The Shining meets Salem’s Lot vibes going on there, so I’m hopeful. I also like the aesthetic and color scheme a lot.
- I’ve been watching Nine Perfect Strangers and digging that a lot. It’s giving me major And-Then-There-Were-None feelings and I’m here for it!
- I also completely binged The Chair, which I can’t recommend enough, especially to all my higher education friends. Totally a great watch as we all held back to school…and to campus this fall.
- I also listened to a few podcast episodes here and there:
Needless
to say, it’s been a busy month, but fall is when I start to really wake up
creatively, so I’m always inspired and eager to be working on something while
my favorite spooky ASMR channels play in the background.
I hope you’re
feeling inspired and excited, too.
Only 60
days until Halloween!
Lost in a pumpkin patch,
Stephanie M. Wytovich
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