FAQ

It depends upon the level you choose when signing up.

If you sign up at the Free level, you'll have access to occasional posts.

If you sign up at the Basic level ($10 per year), you'll have instant access to my entire catalog, including all of And in the Dark They Are Born, as well as any existing or future installments of Strays Like Us.

If you sign up at the Premium level ($50 per year), you'll have instant access to the entire catalog, but you'll also have exclusive access to behind-the-scenes looks at the making of my projects, as well as: earlybird offers for physical and digital products, access to Postcard Club, and voting rights (for book covers and whatnot; Premium subscribers voted for what you see as the cover for Strays Like Us).

I'll start by saying that I'm a human being. Not a robot. Nor do I use AI to assist in the creation of my work.

I am not a content farm. I value quality over quantity. I aim to create art, not churn something out that'll net clicks.

That's all to say, when answering how frequently I publish new work: it depends.

While I do aim to communicate with subscribers via email monthly, that doesn't necessarily mean that a new story will be going live each month. Or that you can depend upon a book-length work every six months.

You can't. Art is unreliable like that, because every project calls for something different from its human (and this particular human works a full-time job and is a father and husband).

I will say, though, in case it's helpful, that in just about a year's time, I published 170,000+ words, the equivalent of roughly two books.

I will also note that Premium subscribers receive more consistent communication from me, and have access to work that subscribers at the Basic level do not.

Yes. At the end of each calendar year, I make a single donation (10% of all earnings from the year) to Giving What We Can, an organization that ensures money goes toward legitimate, effective charities.

I make a single donation (vs. a donation each time a new paying supporter starts their account) so that payment processing companies take fewer fees, as, typically, payment processing companies take a percentage of the transaction, plus a flat fee.

Once the donation is made, I send out an email to all subscribers, notifying them of the donation's occurrence, as well as the value of it.

Yes, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Please note, however, that cancelling a subscription isn't the same as receiving a refund.

Generally speaking, there will be no refunds issued.

Short answer: no, there are no community areas for subscribers.

While in the 21st century there has been a push for artists of all kinds to simultaneously be both artists and community leaders, over time I've learned through trial and error that what's best for my mental health is to not thrust myself into that dual role.

I hope you understand.

Yes. But I will never shut the door on the possibility of a more traditional approach, should the situation arise and the fit be wonderful. I think there's plenty of room in an author's career for both paths.

No, it isn't. My work is available through prominent online retailers as well, like Amazon, Bookshop and Barnes & Noble.

While I put a lot of time and thought into making the reading experience on this site a great one, I completely understand that reading online isn't for everyone. So if you'd prefer to purchase my work via those retailers, that's wonderful. Go for it. I truly, truly appreciate the support.

I do feel it necessary, however, to mention the difference your doing so makes for me, the artist, in case it affects your decision.

• When a $15 paperback copy of And in the Dark They Are Born is purchased via retailer, I receive $1.06 from that sale the following quarter.
• When a $5.99 eBook copy of And in the Dark They Are Born is purchased via retailer, I receive $2.40 from that sale the following quarter.
• When someone subscribes at the Basic level here on the site, opting for the $10 per year option, I receive $9.41 from that sale within 3-5 business days.

Wikipedia might say it best: "Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction, serious fiction, high literature, artistic literature, and sometimes just literature are labels that, in the book trade, refer to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre; or, otherwise, refer to novels that are character-driven rather than plot-driven, examine the human condition, use language in an experimental or poetic fashion, or are simply considered serious art."

To me, the key word here is "labels."

Us humans really, really, reeeaaalllly like to generate and apply labels to, well, everything. It's how we've made order out of chaos for millennia.

In this case, "literary fiction" is a label created and applied to sell books, though as of recently the label has fallen out of favor, and, in my opinion, rightfully so, as the practitioners and critics of "literary fiction" have over the years built the label into stories of, by, and for the elite.

No, by "elite," I don't mean the wealthy. I mean the "literary elite." I'm going to trust that you know what I mean when I say that.

Help, though, in case it's needed: literary fiction has become a genre that's produced for the select few who'll "get it."

Stories labeled as literary fiction, then, are often seen today as inaccessible. Slow-moving. Comfortable treating "plot" as a secondary concern.

Why do I classify my work as literary fiction then? For that I'll point to the bit within the Wikipedia definition, "do not fit neatly into an established genre," for if I could pinpoint a north star for my writing career that would be it.

I have never wanted my work to be easily defined. I have never wanted to strictly adhere to a genre's rules, just for the sake of fitting neatly into a commercialized box.

I do think of my work as art. I do write character-driven stories. I do experiment with form as well.

But, my stories also move, they go places. They're dynamic. My style is influenced by several other genres, and, truthfully, several other mediums. And though I do experiment and though I do care about making a sentence sing, I'll never sacrifice clarity in order to achieve either.

Quite simply, though it disappoints me to do so, I apply the literary fiction label to my work because A) it's the genre that best suits my work, and B) if I didn't apply a genre at all, a flag would go up in any reader's brain, and that flag would prevent just about anybody from taking a chance on me or my work.

I'm always adding to this list, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some names, but at this moment my literary influences include (in no particular order):

Caitlin Horrocks, Cormac McCarthy, Colum McCann, Dave Eggers, N.K. Jemisin, Sean Prentiss, Daniel Abbott, Celeste Ng, Ursula K. Le Guin, David Mitchell, Toni Morrison, Charles Portis, George Saunders, Alice Walker, Joe Wilkins, James McBride, Colson Whitehead, Viet Thanh Nyugen, Jim Harrison, Raymond Carver, Ann Patchett, Emily St. John Mandel, Adam Johnson, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Annie Dillard.

I'll let you know about projects of mine, so I guess that's ad-adjacent, though if you've opted to support me and my work in some fashion I'll be led to believe that you are okay with such a thing.

But will there be a 3rd party involved via auto placement or sponsorship?

Nope. Ads suck and I have zero intention of subjecting you to that.

Nope. And that's why you weren't greeted with a cookies agreement pop-up upon arrival. When you sign up, you do submit a name and email address that'll be associated with your account. I, the author, can view that, and I can see whether or not a certain email has been opened and/or clicked by any individual account.

But that's the only behavior that is tracked.

Nope. Never.