Love Your Wife (2019.12.28)
Why is it weird that I love my wife?

Melissa at the Diner (2019.12.24)
Did I make a new friend?

Home for Christmas (2019.12.06)
My birthday depresses me, but Christmas exalts me. It is a conundrum.

Marianne's Memorial (2019.11.27)
Marianne is memorialized.

No Ruby Slippers (2019.11.22)
My aunt Marianne dies.

In Distress (2019.11.05)
The stress of work and school is made overwhelming by the death of Amber's grandfather.

The Maize (2019.11.02)
I wander a maze on a cold night with a Librarian, Boy Scout, Actress, Sarah T, and Chris.

Arbitrary Blackness Gallops in (2019.11.01)
I am the sole paying attendee of a poetry reading and cause college students to roll their eyes.

A Death in Georgia (2019.10.30)
Amber's grandfather dies and I miss her.

Two Roads in Red Hook (2019.10.25)
Veronica and I do not talk about writing as much as we do our stories.

Better Living through Socializing (2019.10.20)
Since when does socializing energize me?

Adam of Dreams (2019.10.14)
Because of a vivid dream, I have dinner with my college girlfriend's ex. It made as much sense at the time.

Left of West and Coming in a Hurry (2019.10.12)
I am probably not actually prophesying the end of the world, but let's recycle and not be unrestrained capitalist to be on the safe side.

Waning Attraction (2019.10.08)
I was once cute, never handsome, and age won't improve this.

Soulmates and What Comes After (2019.10.01)
The world doesn't owe you soulmates on whom you can project.

Not the Sanest Part (2019.09.23)
My mental health does not obey sequential time.

At the Stoplight (2019.09.17)
Walking through town, my favorite mechanic says he has a new car, wife, and cancer.

Little Songbird (2019.09.10)
One of my students dies.

The Boy between the Sheets (2019.09.05)
It was quirky that I handed people personal ads. It is bizarre that kids use social media.

Their Totality in Haiku (2019.09.02)
Preparing a new anthology, I reflect on its deuteragonists.

Are You Still Carrying Her? (2019.09.01)
I am letting go of people who do not know they are held.

The Border of Overwhelming (2019.08.26)
I have a snit, see the stars, and return to a dying hamster and a panicked Amber.

A Cabin in Lake George (2019.08.17)
We stay in a secluded cabin in Lake George, but who wants to be secluded in a tourist town?

Tie-Dyed Ghost (2019.08.04)
Neurochemicals, Melissa's birthday, and Jareth's Gotcha Day conspire to make me poor company.

The Painter's Chasm (2019.07.27)
Two milestone parties and the expectations of those who have to throw them in an imperfect world.

The Burial of Mr. Pinkerton (2019.07.14)
A rat dies and is buried with his companions.

Of Friends, Fire, and Authorial Truth (2019.07.13)
I see two whole sets of friends in one evening and talk about the truth behind embroidery.

The Old Man in the Jazzy (2019.07.04)
A eighty-six year old man terrorizes me by talking to me.

One Person, One Volt (2019.07.03)
I am evidently in the Green Party and vote based on vehicles.

Sex and Naps (2019.06.25)
Kristina, Sarah T, and I discuss sex over walks and tea.

Long Intervals of Horrible Sanity (2019.06.21)
I am released from therapy. Does this mean I am cured? Who knows.

Triage (2019.06.18)
It's hard to choose the welfare of a violent rapist over that of those he will victimize.

Fire Mates (2019.06.17)
A fire, a parade, a community or two, an old friend turned maybe-new.

The Time Amber Found and Thomm Lost a Cat (2019.06.16)
Amber kidnaps and I lose a cat.

Second Base with UFOs (2019.06.11)
It's easier to be a paranormal expert when the paranormal has no interest in you.

Sympathy for the Devil (2019.06.10)
I have a harder time being compassionate to the Nazi Youth on my street, even if they think they are pretending.

The Dark Chocolate Principle (2019.06.08)
Maybe you only think you don't like something because you never tried the real version.

Every Student (2019.06.03)
I keep teaching the same kids on a rotation.

Near to Middle (2019.06.01)
We are not middle-aged.

Kissing, but More So (2019.05.30)
I ascribed permanence to sex. This is a mistake, but this is how it started.

Not Mean. But Be. (2019.05.28)
Premature poetry convinced me it was all faking.

Don't You Know That You're Toxic (2019.05.27)
I need to confront toxic masculinity regularly to save my boys.

In Need of a Cat (2019.05.25)
Amber is depressed, but a street cat may not be the treatment.

The Victim of Romance (2019.05.21)
I feel discomfort when a woman booty calls me because I have been some shade of this woman, once long ago.

Labeling as Liberation (2019.05.20)
Acknowledging one's mental illness can open a door to the past and future.

The Chilling Adventures of Staying in Your Lane (2019.05.19)
If you don't need to have a fictional witch be Pagan, maybe don't?

Star Dust in Pine Bush (2019.05.18)
I am yet again a silent speaker at the Pine Bush UFO Fair.

Hudson Valley Comicon (2019.05.12)
I have a press pass at a geek con and actually work when I would rather mourn.

Melissa as Written (2019.05.11)
Melissa in a story ends slightly worse than Melissa in life.

The Stars Are Not Wanted Now (2019.05.07)
We put Jareth to sleep.

Grave Walking (2019.05.04)
We talk a few walks about and for Jareth, turning to nutritional yeast, sardines, a graveyard, and witchcraft.

This Terrifying Known (2019.05.02)
We visit an oncologist for Jareth, who for a thousand dollars tells us he isn't dead yet.

All I Can Do (2019.05.01)
Jareth worsens and I am left with little to do.

It's Only Forever, Not Long at All (2019.04.27)
Jareth, our kitten, has lymphoma.

Package Deal (2019.04.19)
Who is Ken, really?

Emotional Support Readers (2019.03.30)
I need people to care about my writing, which maybe some do.

Paradoxical Smiling (2019.03.22)
I smile when stressed in public. It is creepy, but not likely a sign of abuse.

A Hundred Visions and Revisions (2019.03.15)
I can't even trust my own perceptions. Maybe you really are being gang stalked.

Your Bangarang Is on the Wrong Side (2019.02.25)
I do a convention with Dante Basco, former Lost Boy and Lord of the Fire Nation.

Kyubey, Who Was Not Rescued (2019.02.13)
When forced to drive to Long Island for a hamster, it is hard to contest that Amber likes animals more than I do.

Call No Man Happy (2019.01.15)
I am likely boring. Not biopic material.

Eve's Labyrinth (2019.01.02)
The New Year is lovely and promising, and I have depression.

Thomm Quackenbush is an author and teacher in the Hudson Valley. He has published four novels in his Night's Dream series (We Shadows, Danse Macabre, Artificial Gods, and Flies to Wanton Boys). He has sold jewelry in Victorian England, confused children as a mad scientist, filed away more books than anyone has ever read, and tried to inspire the learning disabled and gifted. He is capable of crossing one eye, raising one eyebrow, and once accidentally groped a ghost. When not writing, he can be found biking, hiking the Adirondacks, grazing on snacks at art openings, and keeping a straight face when listening to people tell him they are in touch with 164 species of interstellar beings. He likes when you comment.