short story

Wrapped the second semester of the client animation project

My heart is full 😊

Last week Professor Joshua Muntain and I wrapped the spring semester with these talented students from Villa Maria College. While learning post production techniques, this “little studio” worked with me as I played the role of “the client”, to animate my newest audio drama, “The Hunting of Tulikettu”, which tells the story of the mythical Finnish fox that creates northern lights with its tail.

Throughout the semester we met and workshopped their animations with the intention of creating one, complete animation. Each student was responsible for roughly 40 seconds of screen time. As second year students, this was their first big project. Much was learned on both sides of the classroom.

Unfortunately due to Covid I couldn’t wrap the semester in person, but I am proud of the students and happy we got this screenshot!

I’ll release the audio drama and animation very soon – I’m eager to share both!

In the meantime, you can check out 2021’s animation and story, “The Specter of Ægir”.

“The Specter of Ægir” animation is released

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I’m so happy to finally be able to present the animated adaptation of my short story and audio drama “The Specter of Ægir”!

WARNING: This video utilizes a strobe / flash effect that may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

Many of you know that I teamed up with Joshua Muntain last year to create a project for his “post production” class at Villa Maria college where his students animated moments from the audio drama. I was able to compile their animations into two large chunks – it’s honestly one of the coolest things I’ve seen happen with one of my stories.

To me, “Ægir” is a strong example of why it’s important to tell smaller stories while tackling larger, more ambitious projects. It helped me remember the power of having wins and what that feels like while working toward becoming an established writer. After being written, “Ægir” grew into a way to collaborate with creatives when I really couldn’t rally the troops and shoot films like I used to in the past. It allowed me to team up with my friends, my old boss, so many young animators, was published in an independent magazine, and it sparked the idea for a much larger project, a podcast that I haven’t shared anything about yet. All this from one little story!

It goes to show that the important thing here is that we need to find ways to create things that speak to us and then share them with the communities that are nearby, not communities that are far away that we may never reach. The more I do that, the more I remember how good it feels.

Enjoy this animation! Round two of this course begins in a few weeks, I’m looking forward to sharing the next story, audio drama and animations.

Learn more about the project, listen to the audio drama and read the story here.

New flash fiction story "The Specter of Ægir"

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I’m happy to release a new short story of mine, "The Specter of Ægir". This piece, written for NYC Midnight’s flash fiction competition, is told in less than 1,000 words!

Synopsis: A diver helps his wife, the newest director of Ægir’s Aquarium, in the wake of their boss’s sudden demise. As her first day unfolds, an uncanny guest lurks, seeking vengeance.

An excerpt:

“Under the murky sky I fled. I flew down a curving stretch, the lone driver on a highway that seemed as though it was paved solely for my vehicle. The engine was the only producer of noise. 

I had finally escaped from the funeral parlor. I know I was far too unemotional, a response my wife commented on, before she left. Cars had pulled into the parking lot for hours. My colleagues, oceanographers and marine biologists, gathered to pay their respects to our boss, Dr. Harper. The doctors proclaimed her heart had given out on her. It was sudden. Her people were shocked. But as the tides pull ships, they too would drift away, back to their studies. Would one more leaving be missed? Absolutely not. Funerals bring families and friends together more than any other event – people obsess over death. An open parking spot would be welcomed.

I smelled the river before I saw it. The air that snuck in through my sunroof had a vitalized nuance to it. It supplied the aquarium we worked at with fresh water, pumped inside by the filtration units. They hummed as cargo ships’ lights blinked across the bay… ”