A quick catch-up and a fun short story.

I'm almost...ALMOST finished editing the paper on Melville and Lovecraft. The due date to the editor is this Friday, August 15. Yikes. But I think I'm just about there. I'm happy with how it's turning out. As always, the time it's taken has been necessary, and as always, I don't grasp that until I'm nearing the end.

Here's a fantastic short story:

http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fiction/librarians-in-the-branch-library-of-babel/

It's called "Librarians in the Branch Library of Babel" as in the URL and is best read if you've already read Jorge Luis Borges's short story "The Library of Babel." I urge you to take the time. 

A Weekend with Good Friends 2025: Panels and Links

Improvising as a Player or GM

Featuring: Scott Dorward, Matt Sanderson, Newman, Tom Malcolm Wright, and Heather M. Moderated By: Hedge

Managing Information and Player Attention in Investigative Horror

Featuring: Sue Savage, Keris McDonald, Leslie “XPLovecat” Horn, and Lydia Moderated By: Heather M.

A Weekend with Good Friends on YouTube

The Haunted Life of Edgar Allan Poe (updated 22 July 2025)

I'll need to give this some more thought, but it's gotten me thinking more about Poe's unity of effect and Lovecraft's theories on writing. 

The Haunted Life of Edgar Allan Poe

Edited 22 July 2025 to improve link and font.

Good Friends of Jackson Elias interview, part 2

It's out!!!

Haunted Landscapes on Good Friends of Jackson Elias

In this part of the interview, I talk with Matt Sanderson and Scott Dorward about the idea of haunted landscapes, how it's not the same idea as hauntology, why ghosts have nothing to do with it, and how it ultimately points to both Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu. 

I hope you find it as delightful to listen to as I found it to record!

I'm delighted to share the new episodes of Gunpowder and Glass, the AP that I'm in on WasabiBurger's channel and Patreon. Gunpowder and Glass takes place in Pyrrhion, Wasabi's world set in the Worlds Without Number RPG system.

The first episode has Bernard's character on an adventure (Bernard's a Discord buddy, I've no idea of his last name):

Gunpowder & Glass - Worlds Without Number Actual Play #1

The episode below (second in the series) has Martin's character, a good-natured but vaguely slippery type, on his own adventure (Martin's a Discord buddy as well):
Gunpowder & Glass - Worlds Without Number Actual Play #2

And the third episode is mine!

Gunpowder & Glass - Worlds Without Number Actual Play #3

I play Amethelia Vexx, a courtesan-turned-necromancer who's joined the Venators because they seem like they're doing good in Pyrrhion.

Another player, Dan, has episodes of his own, soon to be published, and future episodes have our four characters together for an adventure. Consult the oracles for visions of the future posts to come.

I keep this video on my desktop to remind myself that I needn't be like the others. I'm sure other people are holding on to it, too. 

Here's the source of the video. I thank Mr. Rodney kindly. 

Ripples from Carcosa: H.P. Lovecraft, Haunted Landscapes, and True Detective

Here's my book, y'all1 Take a look via the link below.

RIPPLES FROM CARCOSA: H. P. LOVECRAFT, HAUNTED LANDSCAPES, AND 𝘛𝘙𝘜𝘌 𝘋𝘌𝘛𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘐𝘝𝘌 by Heather Miller. Cover by Dan Sauer Design.
Hippocampus Press link to book

The first season of the show 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 (HBO, 2014) is one of the most compelling amalgamations of horror, detection, philosophy, and personal conflict ever presented on television. The show’s creator, Nic Pizzolatto, has drawn upon a wide array of sources for the eight episodes of this season, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as two police detectives investigating mysterious deaths in an impoverished region in Louisiana.

In this pioneering study, veteran weird fiction scholar Heather Miller has unraveled the complex network of influences that made True Detective so memorable. First and foremost, there is H. P. Lovecraft, whose rich pseudomythology underlay the entire series. Then there is Robert W. Chambers, whose “King in Yellow” mythology was utilized in a profound manner by Pizzolatto. Finally, there is the fiction and philosophy of Thomas Ligotti, the modern-day apostle of pessimism and anti-natalism.

In successive chapters, Miller dissects each of these influences, drawing upon her extensive knowledge of primary and secondary sources. She understands that the show, aside from merely drawing upon past literature, also makes keen statements on such contemporary issues as environmental degradation and domestic trauma. Her conclusion—“It is necessary that we be the bad men sometimes so that the light can win”—exhibits the paradoxical morality embedded in an unforgettable instance of modern media.

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Professionally, Heather Miller is a medical writer for the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC, where she specializes in oncology. She has a master’s degree in English, is ABD in technical communications, and has been a regular presenter at the Dr. Henry Armitage Memorial Scholarship Symposium during NecronomiCon Providence since 2015. In her personal life, she is a tabletop roleplaying game player, writer, and editor, having played in actual-play games for, among others, Into the Darkness, Miskatonic Playhouse, WasabiBurger, and Symphony Entertainment. She is a wine enthusiast, holding a Level 2 Award with Merit through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, and is a trustee for the Mensa International Charitable Foundation.