“I am quite agoraphobic. I don’t travel easily. If I can get into a library—public libraries or even a bookstore—I feel safe.” —Susan Howe

Ended up sending out a poem this eve. Been slowly working on new pieces on the sideline of the work on the new book (one of the characters is a poet, so I've been re-upping my chops). Don't think I've actually had a poem in the magazines since the 90s.

Taking a break from the book tonight to work on a trio of short stories.

A Polar Bear walk-off! The Orioles have done it! O's win 6-5 over Blue Jays, who took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th inning. Quite a finish here.

Let’s do this, Orioles!

Spent the morning writing and I had the sudden realization that given that most of my work is set in Maryland in the 80s and 90s, it is highly likely that a character from one book has been in the vicinity of a character from another book at one time or other. At a diner. In a grocery store. Etc.

Back on my hustle, sending short stories out to magazines.

Starting a publishing company in this day may seem like a shout into a shrinking void. We, however, are refusing the digital mandate to fall deeper into algorithms and the monetization of attention, and believe more of us are out here, trying to return to books. Meet our team:

Well, it's not much but it's cool — some tantalizing new snippets of the VU at the Fillmore in May 1966. diva.sfsu.edu/collections/...

Dreamt I was writing a book about a retired exorcist who was working in a strip mall at an aerobics studio.

Dog time.

I'm pleased to announce the 2026 table of contents of Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy (published by @marinerbooks.bsky.social), as selected by guest editor @olivieblake.bsky.social and me. LitHub reveal: lithub.com/here-are-the... TOC: www.johnjosephadams.com/projects/bes...

The Orioles replaced the player pics on their scoreboard tonight with photos of adoptable dogs 😭

Lots of mentions of Shirley Jackson in the chat today, got me thinking it was a good evening to binge The Haunting of Hill House. youtu.be/3eqxXqJDmcY?...

Shirley, man. She didn't soften for anyone. That story was a crucible of middle school/early high school: the people who got it became my people.

Easy: The Lottery. First thing I read as a kid that opened me up to the moral possibilities of horror. Read it in middle school. Though I didn't think in those terms in middle school. #HorrorWritersChat

Give me a whole anthology of updated Poe. The recent Fall of Usher series was great, but go full on Tales from the Crypt with it and you'll have my butt in a seat!

The Pit and the Pendulum is my favorite short story, and I think this is the only kind of sequel I would endorse.

I think it would be fun to choose absolutely classic stories, particularly 19th century, and then write totally over the top, shark jumping, campy sequels. The Pit and the Pendulum II: Now with more Pendulum Turn all of classic horror into the equivalent of Jaws 2. Or Jaws 4. #HorrorWritersChat

As a kid, you are in a world of imagination no matter how cruddy the context. I like tapping into that. That includes the way we process (as kids) things like adverts and marketing copy as kids. Bad sequels. Overhype. The ways people talk about things that are popular in culture. #HorrorWritersChat

My name is Shelly. Writing a lot of ensemble horror recently. Ghost stories. My earliest "horror" memory was sitting in a Chevy dealership in 1978-ish as a toddler. There was a magazine open to an advertisement for Jaws II. Terrible movie. Fantastic advert.

I could watch the Orioles get base hits the other way all day and I’d be happy.

John and I are probably going to do some sort of reading in the near to mid future. This will be an actual reading of words from a page, aloud. As opposed to the time we put together a bunch of friends onstage to read silently in front of an audience.

Do I still have time to run away with a carnival?

RIP Sonny Rollins, perhaps my favorite instrumentalist ever. He hadn’t performed or recorded in several years due to health problems, but a world without him is poorer indeed. Fortunately, he left behind so much music.

Kyle Bradish called that the Orioles' "best game" this season, and Colton Cowser said it is one of his favorite Orioles games ever. A gritty, crazy, 13-inning win? That can be a stimulant, perhaps, for Baltimore

Zombie Runner

Toss O’Neill in the Harbor.

Moooooooooo!!!

Keegan Akin is destroying my life.

At the bookstore. You need anything?

I’m starting to think baseball should only be played in the rain.

Have started working on a new book. Only three chapters in—long hand. But it’s starting to develop a feel that’s different from the one I just put down. That’s the hardest thing—not carrying over the ghosts of one book to the next.

Dang.

Finished writing the book.

Wouldn’t it be funny if we all just stopped using the internet?

It’s going to be a very long baseball season. Proof point: It has taken the Orioles nearly six months to get through the eighth inning of tonight’s game alone.

Positive Spin: At this rate, we’ll be able to afford Gunnar Henderson.

I’ve now caught up on lost editing time caused by three days on business up in Canada last week. I’ve edited through Chapter 18 and have designs on finishing up in 10 days.

Maybe the Orioles should try playing drunk.

In some ways I prefer editing to writing. Though when I’m editing my own work, the only way to do it is to pretend I wasn’t the writer.

Seven chapters deep in the first round of editing. Not going as fast as I’d like, but that’s on me. With any luck, I’ll finish Part One today. That’ll leave about a month of work to do. Two weeks if I don’t sleep.

If ever in your career, you took a position player deep during a blowout, and you wind up in the hall of fame, there should be an asterisk next to your name. Fight me.

Taking position players deep is just tacky.

Birds by a billion.

Oh, what the hell.

I told you. Ad-Ley.

Finished the first complete draft of the new book. Now, it’s time for baseball.

Adley is back.