P Squared Books

horror

Everything Is Bad For You

Recently, I went on a work trip in the Southeast. I was staying in a hotel by the airport, at a chain I'd stayed in when I was last in the area. I remembered it being nice for the price point. This time, when I checked in, the

horror

THERE HERE

One morning, I ended up at a coffee shop. At exactly 7:59 am, a college-aged couple appeared. The boy was tall, inked with vaguely tribal-looking tattoos, and sporting a rotator cuff recover sling. The girl was petite, blond, and wrapped in the requisite athleisure wear tights. I was impressed

nature

Anemoia

During COVID, the place I lived was shut down. Before COVID, it was a busy, tourist loved place. It was the kind of place in which you never really found any solace, unless you were in your house, and even then, a tourist might wander into your yard and snap

horror

Neighborhood Watch

Recently, I went to another location for work. I was assigned a housing unit in a long term contractor RV park. I don't have an RV, so they put me in a little single wide with a view of the highway and a distant mountain range, and I

horror

The Wildest of Wildlife

The other week my husband and I were driving off a mountain at nightfall. We were on a dirt road in a grazing allotment, meaning, there were cows milling around. And at night, we knew they would clump up on the road and we'd have to drive right

books

Book Triggered Memories

This morning I was, pre-coffee, looking at the covers of the books I'd read this year. I realized a few of them, while not being my favorite books, had in fact solidified themselves in my mind due to where I was while reading them. This was interesting to

horror

Life As A Meme

This summer, I had a day off by myself, and my husband dropped me a pin and told me that if I hiked to it, I would see a lot of elk. He did tell me that there was a 'sorta tough uphill four-wheel drive road' I'

horror

Hair Cuts

I am one of those people who will wake up one day and know my hair is too long. Like, one moment it's fine, and then next, I need a haircut. Right. Now. And this happened to me recently. I called the hair cut place by my house,

friends

The Nicest Gift

This summer, I took a week off. I traveled to multiple states, saw people I hadn't seen in years, and my parents came to visit. People would leave my house midday, and someone else would show up to spend the night. I was exhausted, but I had a

family

It's 2025...

Recently, I went to breakfast with a work colleague. It was a social/work meal, and when we got to the work stuff, it got really depressing. Let's just say that 2025 has not been a good year for my line of work, and it only continues to

desert

Heavy Metal Is Forever

Recently, I was with my parents and we drove by Hole N" The Rock on our way out of Moab. It's hard to miss, painted white letters, feet high, bright against the orange sandstone. My mom asked what it was, and I told, I had never been

beach

Tourist Traps

Recently, I found myself wandering down the Santa Monica Pier. I had never been there before, and while I knew it was a tourist trap, I wanted to see it. It was, classic Southern California beautiful, the green palm trees striking against the white sand and deep blue ocean, the

music

But I Never Win Anything

Years ago, I read the Wheel of Time series. One of the characters in it, Mat, is lucky. Like that's his thing. He either gets really good luck or really bad luck, and he just roles with it. It's kind of an interesting thought, that luck

desert

Beauty You Don't Deserve

When I was a teenager, I was lucky enough to go to Spain on a language immersion. I went in the late winter/early spring and while I was there, Semana Santa happened. Coming from an area where churches were buildings that I passed, and every now and then was

horror

No, Thank You

It was day two of writing the first book I've ever been paid to write. And like every new project, it was slow going. I was finding a lot of ways to procrastinate. Walking around the house. Greeting the cats repeatedly. Looking at my stupid phone. So, I

family

#Cottagecore

Recently, I was hanging out with my cousin and she told me she loved cottagecore. I asked her what cottagecore was, and she told me it was doing things like canning peaches or squeezing lemons to make the air in the kitchen smell good. Looking it up, Wikipedia told me

family

Goth Girl Diner

I've always liked breakfast food, and because of this, I love diners. But they are a little risky. There is a fine line between a dive diner that is amazing, and a dive diner that will give you the shits. And if you don't have local

family

It's Crazy in Here

Recently, I was in the Deep South, and one of the things about the Deep South is that there are Publix grocery stores. And in said Publix stores, you can buy Publix subs. These were made famous in my friend group by a friend from Florida who loves Publix subs

family

Check Your Fuel

One weekend my brother came to town. We were considering things to do and saw a monster truck rally was happening at a nearby fair ground. And for the low price of $23, we could go see it. We did not hesitate to buy tickets. Neither of us had been

art

A Two Book Deal

As many of you know, I like to write. In fact, I've been writing my entire life. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a writer and publish books. Throughout the years, I've had varying levels of success in that, but I'

friends

Jesus Take The Wheel

Recently my husband and I visited some friends. Said friends have a three-year-old who likes hockey. The three-year-old is also learning to ice skate. At least we were told the three-year-old was learning to skate, and we were invited to go skating together. Not thinking through anything, I agreed to

family

Cosmetology School

One day, I was driving through town, and my husband was in the passenger seat. We drove past the cosmetology school. "You think we should quit our jobs and go to cosmetology school?" my husband asked. It is common for my husband to ask if I think we

desert

PINERS

One summer, my friends and I were camping, and we decided to go swim at a little desert pond. To get there, you had to drive a criss cross of dirt roads across the high desert. You knew you were close to it when a group of towering cottonwoods and

cats

The YOLO Approach

Some of you probably remember, back in another life, I had a baking blog. I was going through a difficult time and decided that I would deal with it by learning to bake. The plan was that I would bake a thing a week, and then give it away (in

horror

I'm No Mathematician but...

In my early thirties, I developed these cool things called allergies. I had no idea what they were for about six months. I actually thought I was dying. I had brain fog, migraines; I just always felt ill. Then I realized my symptoms were related to air quality (thanks random