My Writing Year in Review
I didn’t send out a single word of my writing for two years due to the pandemic. Like so many people around the world, in 2020 and 2021 I was coping with the loss of family members to COVID-19, a cross-country relocation, caring for my kids, overseeing my daughter’s remote learning, navigating my spouse’s work-from-home schedule, and trying to survive the global catastrophe. But this year, I feverishly sent out just about everything on my computer that was ready. I’m blessed to say that most of it found a home.
In addition to Madness Heart Press re-releasing my horror novella, Salamander Justice, on Halloween…
I also sold my short story collection, Unshod, Cackling, and Naked to Unnerving Books, and it will be released on January 26, 2023.
Below is a round-up of my shorter published works released this year and information on how to read them.
Bridget Has Disappeared – Interzone 292/293
This work of long-fiction is a mystery, with some horror thrown in, and all within the confines of science fiction.
It is also Yusef’s struggle with needing to know. He hates that there’s a part of his wife out of his reach. His desire to fully know her is exacerbated by his trained sense of curiosity that comes from being a journalist. Can we ever fully know another person? Their secrets, motives, intentions? Yusef seems to think so, and he becomes consumed by his quest.
I was delighted that one of the oldest science fiction magazines in the world picked up this story, they published it in an anniversary edition, and their readers connected with it. One person got in touch with me on social media to say that once they started reading it they couldn’t stop. Another reached out to say I should turn the piece into a novel. I will certainly consider that.
Then the story received some great reviews as well. Maria Haskins says, “[Bridget Has Disappeared] is a wonderfully crafted, evocative, and profoundly haunting story.” And Interzone Magazine Fans say, “[Bridget Has Disappeared] is an intimate portrait of mysterious disappearances which mask an incredible secret. Smooth and delicious prose worth savouring.”
The story will be included in Unshod, Cackling, and Naked, out in January.
I Am Goddess – If I Die Before I Wake, Volume 7, Sinister Smile Press
Society asks women to be and do so many things—mother, caregiver, cook, maid, wife, lover, friend, employee, daughter—all while smiling, being physically fit, and exemplifying what society considers “pretty.”
This long story is an example of transgressive fiction, which characterizes much of my work. It is one woman’s journey to be and do all of those things, and also her terrifying response when she finally decides she is done. It ended up in a wonderful anthology put out by Sinister Smile Press.
Reviewer Mort Stone of The Mort Report had this to say: “I AM GODDESS by Tamika Thompson, which is the third story in this book, is probably the least gory of the lot, but it is possibly the best written one. Powerful – highly recommended."
I Am Goddess will also appear in my collection out in January.
The Door in the Attic – Dread Stone Press
This flash fiction piece was chosen in November as part of Dread Stone Press’s Dose of Dread series, and it asks one question: What do you do when you find a red door in your attic, one that beckons you to enter? It is a claustrophobic tale about the curious and the unheard.
You can read the full story for free at Dread Stone Press.
Revisiting Hallorann: The Double Killing of Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining – Ginger Nuts of Horror
I rarely write about race/racism, but this essay about the racist rendering of the lone black character in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining has lived inside me for decades, and I’m grateful I finally got a chance to share my thoughts:
“If you are going to kill the man, fine, drive that ax through his heart. But Kubrick first stripped him of his wit and wisdom, made him care about this white family more than he cared about his own (whom we never seem to learn about), and had him sacrifice himself without hesitation.”
I thank Ginger Nuts of Horror for letting me share my thoughts. You can read the full essay for free on their website.
I’m Scared of the Hallway – Dark Recesses Press
This flash fiction piece explores our fear of dark spaces. It was first published by Dark Recesses Press, and you can read it for free on their website.
