Rhymes with Camera: Endings & Beginnings
At the cusp of transformation: turning a podcast into a book
I’m someone who appreciates change. It’s not that I always like change; sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. But!
When change happens, it’s opening up the space for growth
(wanted or not), and I respect that. We cannot, as individuals
or as a society, thrive and grow without meaningful change.
RESOLUTION SEASON
This time of year always brings on a new focus that involves change. It’s that part of the zeitgeist I call “resolution season.”
I no longer make New Year’s resolutions, though I used to. It became an odious practice for me, though; another project heaped on all the others besetting a working mom.
Now I simply set goals and make plans quarterly, reassessing each time, and give myself a “word of the year” as a kind of beacon (which I won’t share here).
It’s funny… I also don’t think of January as the first of my year: I’m more at home with this idea in September (“back to school”), which matches no existing calendar that I’m aware of.
In fact, I’ve always thought about blocks of time in ways that are different than others, so much so that I’m going to explore this with a new film idea I’ll noodle with over 2025 (see Media, below).
I don’t begrudge those who make resolutions. I say “go for it.” (I’m especially proud of those who lean into Dry January.) This is how we grow, yes?
At any rate, these changes people are wont to make this month certainly make sense. “Eat less,” “Exercise more,” “Manage stress”… all good ideas after weeks and weeks of holiday-ing.
Other changes might be more personal, such as “less people pleasing” or “more naps” or “better strategies for dealing with social media.” (I like all of these, by the way!)
And let’s not forget the practical ones: “Save more money,” “Stay on top of the weeds,” “Keep better track of streaming subscriptions.”
In my case, the changes coming this month—indeed through the next three quarters—are baked into a publication schedule.
FROM PODCAST TO PUBLICATION
As you might know, I just spent a year with author Clay Vermulm producing the podcast, BENEATH THE RAIN SHADOW.
It’s a monthly show in which Clay and I challenge each other to story prompts that reflect themes that correspond with “Pacific Northwest Horror.” Then, between episodes, one or the other of us takes on the assigned prompt, writes a new story, then runs it past the other for a critique. At the following episode, there’s a chat about the (mis)adventures of writing our stories, a substantial critique, and more discussion sparked by the challenges of the writing life.
We do this for a variety of reasons:
to generate new work
to reveal how we write for listeners who are “process curious”
to share what a critique looks like to anyone who wants to know (readers and writers)
to give nonwriters a peek behind the curtain into the life of a couple of short story writers
to create a niche and platform for our own work
Now that season one is over, we have arrived at an ending (at least temporarily).
But as they say, when one door closes, another one opens.
The biggest change on my agenda in 2025 is not an ending, but a beginning, in which I work with Clay and others to merge stories in a new collection titled Rain Shadows.
NOW TO PREPARE FOR GROWING PAINS
I just updated my gCal with all of the dates for that agenda and, boy, it gets complicated. On my immediate horizon, there’s:
feedback to gain from critique groups, beta readers, and each other
revisions, and revisions, and more revisions
cover design
work with a developmental editor
work with a publisher (editing, book design/production, marketing)
acquisition of text for the foreword, introduction, and book blurbs
critique of others’ works (because it’s a two-way street, you give as well as get)
marketing plans (book trailers, preorders, social media, podcasts, book reviews)
book launch planning (conventions, bookselling appearances, readings, events)
Yeah, it’s a lot. So much that, at the very end of this journey, I literally put SLEEP on my calendar… but that’s not until August 18.
Yep, that’s eight months of trained focus. Miraculous to achieve for an ADHD girl like myself! Thank goodness I’m well-trained in publishing “traffic management.” One of my strengths is taking behemoth projects and distilling them down to the tiniest tasks, then putting my head down and getting to work (one benefit of ADHD is the hyperfocus, if I can properly sync with it).
As I stand at the cusp of this moment, having just started revisions on the first of my six stories on December 31, 2024, I’m poised to embark on an eight-month transformative journey with words, partnerships, and positive intentions.
GROWTH IS ALWAYS WORTH THE WORK
These are the kinds of changes I like, even if they are almost guaranteed to challenge me and my relationships (because making and adapting media with others is intimately collaborative).
Honestly, I cannot wait to see this book into print. Y’all… you’re going to love it if you love dark contemporary fiction!
I’m proud of the shadowy nature of the stories in Rain Shadows, which celebrates the high strangeness and gothic nature of the Pacific Northwest through a “varietal blend” of horror and the darkly psychological.
I think this will be a fun book for readers in the region but might also be an eye-opener for others living elsewhere who think a certain type of way about the PNW.
I also learned a lot about myself while writing these pieces, which certainly stretched me past boundaries I didn’t know I had.
Like—I actually can write fight scenes and naked violence (I just don’t like to).
WHAT’S NEXT?
So… we have a cover design already (reveal coming soon!) and a small base of support to get the ball rolling. The goal:
gather preorders starting with Crypticon
release Rain Shadows in June with a publication day on or around the opening of Stoker Con (this year in Stamford CT, June 12-15)
celebrate the book release through a local/regional tour
participate in opportunities to promote and share via Cascade Writers, Centrum, and WorldCon (which ends on the day before I can SLEEP, August 17)
You’ll hear a lot about these phases in my monthly Substack over the next few months. I hope you’ll show your support when we activate preorders and announce events!
Of course, this isn’t the only thing on my agenda. See below for more twinkles in my eye as I gaze upon 2025. Happy New Year!
Speaking of Crypticon…
… I’ll be a “counselor” at Camp Crypticon this year. Well, not a counselor… but a contributor! I’ve been invited to share my dark supernatural story, “Exfoliation,” in the convention’s annual contest anthology!
If you write horror fiction, please consider submitting your work to the contest. Deadline March 10, 2025: CAMP CRYPTICON 2025 writer’s guidelines
Ambling Along the Aqueduct
Also, check out my December 22 guest post for the Aqueduct Press blog series, “Ambling Along the Aqueduct.” I discuss how I overcame my fear of reading ginormous books (Perdido Street Station, anybody?) in 2024 and learned how to make audiobooks my friends.
My poetry film, LOOK UP, continues to find homes in international film festivals. It was screened for a fifth time in 2024 as a finalist in the “Films Inspiring Hope” at the Round The Globe Film & Music Festival in Springfield, OR on December 20, 2024 and is still under consideration in ten others.
I am thus inspired to make more films, most of them small. Here’s a short list of “wants” for 2025 (hey, these may or may not all come to life, but I like to aim high):
TIME GARDEN: a personal quest documentary inspired by Slow Time by Waverly Fitzgerald (starting now)
AT THE CROSSROADS: a short horror film using subjective POV (starting now)
Misc book trailers for Rain Shadows (starting late winter 2025)
TBD: my next poetry film (from an Intention Tremor short list, starting summer 2025)
DREAMSCAPES: The mini “Ask Me Anything” interview video I never finished in 2024 (starting summer 2025)
The best news of all? I’ve acquired some big girl camera equipment to get it done. Now, the doing just needs… doing.
Question: “How do you know when you’re done with a story?”
Answer: It’s not something I know for certain, more of a gut instinct.
I frequently (over)write in a frenzy, then let things sit and marinate, then come back days, weeks, or even months later with fresh eyes.
This not only helps me to see where work still needs doing in the story, but I can also be more objective during revisions.
That bit of time spent in limbo also allows me more time to grow as both a writer and human; when I get back to those works, I usually know something more than I did before.
Once it feels ready, I submit the work to my critique groups (I have two), with astute and generous members who usually ferret out things I knew I needed to fix but didn’t quite know how. Then I revise and submit when it feels like in my gut it’s done.
If the piece gets rejected a good number of times, I go back and revise again after a few months with fresh eyes, then submit again. This process continues until, finally, the story finds a home.
Eight out of ten of my stories, on average, become published through this process, which leaves me with twenty percent that either need to be revised yet again or, in some cases, retired.
I never get rid of anything I write, however. Sometimes it’s only the timing that’s not right.
CASE IN POINT
I have a pretty violent holiday story that nobody would touch 15 years ago because its topics were considered taboo. Times have changed, though. I’m submitting it now after light revision because there are more publishers seeking dark contemporary fiction than ever before. While my story’s still landing rejections, I’m getting feedback and encouragement that suggests the timing is better now, that there might be a home for this story after all.
DARK STORIES FOCUS FOR JANUARY 2025
One thing I hope to be better at doing this year (yeah, maybe it’s a resolution?) is to remember to support my writing peers more by buying, reading, and promoting their books.
To this end, I just added three dozen new titles to The Sellman Shelf in BookShop featuring speculative poetry, dark fiction and nonfiction from authors in the PNW. This time I focused on members of the Seattle chapter of the Horror Writers Association. You should check out these authors!
JP Barnett, Megan Bledsoe, Jennifer Brozek, Royce Buckingham, JW Donley, Van Essler, Jack Finn, Maria Giakoumatos, Sadie Hartmann, Craig Hurd-McKenney, Drew Huff, Brianna Malotke, Nicole McCarthy, Conor Metz, and Gordon B. White.
Might you have titles to suggest? Send them my way!
Might you have already read and enjoyed these books? Why not give their authors a nice review in BookShop? It really helps them to be found and appreciated by readers.
JANUARY: WHAT’S HAPPENING
Jan 6: BENEATH THE RAIN SHADOW final episode drops, Clay on the hot seat! [link]
Feb TBD: BENEATH THE RAIN SHADOW Season One in Review [link forthcoming]
Feb 19-25: Rainforest Writers Village Retreat [link]
Check out my detailed calendar
LINK LOVE
Beneath the Rain Shadow podcast
Jan: Meet Tamara & Clay
Feb: “Nurse Log” by Tamara Sellman
Mar: “Gåva” by Clay Vermulm
Apr: “Meow Meow” by Tamara Sellman
May: “Problem Child” by Clay Vermulm
Jun: “Hellmark” by Tamara Sellman
Jul: “The Mystical Menagerie” by Clay Vermulm
Aug: “Leave No Trace” by Tamara Sellman
Sept: “Welcome Aboard” by Clay Vermulm
Oct: “Shanghai” by Tamara Sellman
Nov: “Faultine” by Clay Vermulm
Dec: “Ghosting” by Tamara Sellman
Jan: “Things, Things, Things” by Clay Vermulm
Feb: Tamara & Clay Review Season One
Find me in Social media (see my new home bases!) [link]
GARDEN TO KITCHEN
Shaved Fennel Salad
I love the rich foods that we get to enjoy during the holidays but always crave something fresh as a palate cleanser.
When friends came over to trim the tree, we dove into a raclette experience (melting cheese on a tabletop griddle), but I wanted a foil for that.
While raclette is traditionally Swiss, I adapted it to a Mediterranean palate (artichokes, Portuguese chorizos, marinated mushrooms, roasted peppers), so I thought it might be good to lean Italian with a salad.
I saw bulbs of fennel at the store and devised this crunchy side dish which I’ve since made twice! Looks like I'll be growing some fennel next year as a result!
Hint: It gets better as it sits, so don’t be afraid to make it a day ahead.
Click here to access this recipe through the dedicated Garden to Table recipe page.
RESOLVED
As I mentioned before, I prefer project planning to making resolutions. Here’s a list of projects I’ll be working on in 2025.
Books
Rain Shadows
Eminent Domain (novel WIP)
Short story revisions (20 titles)
Nonfiction book “Sekrit Projekt”
Film
“Time Garden”
“At the Crossroads”
Poetry film (TBD)
“Dreamscapes”
Rain Shadows trailers
Intentions
I also like to assess habits and reset those intentions. For 2025, these include:
continued hiking/walking, including The Hiker’s 365, plus somatics via Unicorn Wellness and gym time goals at The Yard
continued herb, flower, and vegetable gardening—this year by lunation, with daily tasks—and including construction of a new “crossroads” garden
Shedding
Year of the Snake means I’ll be “shedding” in 2025, as in:
deep cleaning the household
reducing pointless busywork
auditing and updating websites and other virtual assets
adopting more streamlined social media practices
reducing media consumption that doesn’t nourish and energize
As for the concerns I have for the larger world… what happens happens. “Out of my hands” means “off of my nerves.” Yes, that’s my hermit self talking. [If you follow numerology/tarot, you also know that 2025 is a hermit year.] It’s also how someone with chronic illness practices self care.
Whatever happens, I’ll come out from my hermitage only when I’m ready.
And lest I forget:
Wishing you luck, safety, and peace in 2025 ~ Tamara
