Valarie Kinney

I first met Kate online in an Internet forum for a book we both loved. She was witty and clearly creative, and while we struck up a friendship almost immediately, eventually I developed more feelings for her. But I’m the sort of dorky guy…

The girl was young, sixteen. So was the boy. The girl’s name was Eliza. Her hair was a wild mess of brown curls, and she liked bright colors and big earrings and chewing Doublemint gum. The boy was Jimmy. He was a nice boy with greasy blond…

September is an important time of year, not only because the leaves are changing color, or the kids have gone back to school (FINALLY), or because every fast food joint you pass is advertising the return of pumpkin spice goodness. Guys,…

I love having the ability to work from home. I love being able to write for a living. For the most part, I really enjoy being able to move my schedule around a little bit to suit the needs of my family. It’s great that I can take my job…

Every time I do a book signing, I get asked the same questions. Every. Single. Time. At first, I thought some of these were jokes, but the asker turned out to be serious. While I can understand why some of these (Is that really your name?)…

If you knew me, which you probably don’t, but if you did, you’d know I almost always love the villains best. My favorite Supernatural character? Rowena. Everyone was buzzing about Affleck as Batman in the new movie, and I was jumping up and…

Last night’s episode of The Walking Dead was emotionally heavy, and throughout the show one common theme remained consistent: the price for innocence. Denise and Eugene both paid a hearty price for attempting to shed their innocence, and…

That day the cough started was the same day the first black spots appeared. Celeste didn’t draw any connection between the two events because the spots weren’t noticeable at first; two were the size of pencil dots, near the interior of the…

As an indie rock band out of London, England, the Treetop Flyers are quickly gaining popularity. Though they’ve openly struggled a great deal with grief and loss over the last few years – obstacles that have clearly found their way into…

Ben Abraham is a cinematic folk singer out of Melbourne, and is well on his way to becoming a household name. With his previous history as a screenwriter fueling his current songwriting and singing abilities, Ben Abraham is paving a new way…

I’m not entirely certain how I turned out this way. My childhood was typical, and I spent plenty of happy summer hours outdoors, catching frogs in the creek and trekking through the forest. But always, always, there was an emptiness inside…

“Built from heartbreak, forged on love.” That’s the first line of the bio on Eagle and the Wolf’s website, and it sounds like the beginning of a bit of poetry I’d like to hold. Sarah Humphreys and Kris Morris make up the Australian based…

I am a writer. Sometimes I type it out, but rarely do I say it. When I am out and about and meet someone new, the conversation invariably turns to careers. New Friend might state, “I’m a phlebotomist. What do you do, Valarie?” And I say…

Slime. It covered her body in thick, mucous-like strings. It plastered her hair to her face and ragged clothes to her body. She stumbled along in the sewer, tripping occasionally over rocks and rubbish. Filthy, toxic water lapped up against…