Dead Oaks Podcast

What is this Dead Oaks ? you're probably asking. Well, lucky for you, I'm here to give you a quick introduction before things get kicked off! And let me tell you, big things are (hopefully) happening soon here at One [Word] at a Time... If you've read this blog before, then you probably already know I'm a BIG fan of horror , even if I don't write it all that often. However, that's all about to change, as I've been working on a brand spankin' new, web-only writing project called, if you haven't guessed already, Dead Oaks . The best part of all this? I want YOUR help! The goal of Dead Oaks is simple: Each week I am going to upload a new, terrifying, spine-tingling, underwear-soiling, sleep-with-the-lights-on short story all revolving around the same town, a place where nightmare creatures live among normal people like you and me. All of these stories can fit together into an anthology, or can be read individually with no repercussions f...

I used to define myself as a contemporary YA writer. I always have and always will love stories about young people growing up and facing whatever life has to throw at them, both realistic and fictional (but mostly realistic). I like to read and write stories with the thought in mind of ‘ Wow, this could happen to me.’ Of course, even the most realistic YA stories can seem exaggerated because, well, they usually are. However, over the past month, I’ve decided to take a leap and start writing about one of my other passions: horror. I’ve grown up reading horror stories, watching horror movies, and generally loving the genre, but somehow it never dawned on me to actually have a go at writing it… until now. What exactly made me make the switch? Well, I’m not completely sure, but I’ve outlined some of the reasons I love horror and why I’m excited to be writing it below. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A lot of people grew up watching Buffy and I’m one of them. You may even...

You may or may not be familiar with an author who was pretty popular in the 90s and still carries a household name today. The author I'm talking about has written hundreds, if not thousands of young adult horror novels/stories that, compared to today's standards, are nothing but fluff and happiness. His not-so-happy endings and use of red herrings, gore, and the occasional curse word made him an idol to my third-grade self. The author I'm speaking of is no other than R. L. Stine, creative mind behind such "awesome" series as Goosebumps and the Fear Street books. In honor of Stine's incredibly under-credited and often cheesy work, and because I recently stumbled upon an amazing blog dedicated to recapping and poking fun at Stine's work (see Fear Street Blog here), I've written a short continuation of one of his more beloved tales, 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil . For those of you who don't know, 99 Fear Street is a saga divided into t...