MENTOR OF THE YEAR SPEECH

As I’ve shared previously, I was awarded the Mentor of the Year distinction for the Horror Writers Association, which I am insanely proud of. The ceremony was this past weekend at StokerCon 2026 in Pittsburgh. For posterity, I thought I would share my acceptance speech here:

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Thank you so much to the Horror Writers Association Board and to Mentor Administrator Greg Faherty for granting me this notable distinction of Mentor of the Year. I am absolutely honored and thrilled to receive it!

I love mentoring and working with new writers, so being awarded this acknowledgement for my efforts is dearly prized.

I used to teach at the University of California, Riverside campus for many years, until my program was closed. I found teaching to be one of the most validating and heartening experiences of my life, and I still miss that connection with students very much. The downside to teaching at the university level, however, is often I could have thirty or more people in a class, and multiple classes held simultaneously.

At that size, there’s not often opportunity to work in great depth with students, to build long-lasting relationships.

And that, I feel, is one of the strongest upsides to mentoring. It gives chance for individuals to work closely together. To grow together. For as much guidance and knowledge as I can provide to my mentorees, I also gain that back from them in kind. It’s lasting friendships, and for most of them, I still keep in contact now, even if just passing occasional notes. And I hope they all know that as I follow them on social media, or hear news of their accomplishments, I’m still continually cheering them on in the background with as much enthusiasm as when we were first paired together.

For my own writing journey, I started in 2010, academic articles that I thought I could publish in major news magazines. But I floundered there and ended up just self-publishing them on the old Yahoo publishing Pay-Per-Click model, for those old enough to remember that!

And, speaking of “remembering,” I remember so clearly when I began writing, the sense of feeling alone, being on the outside of the publishing industry. I wanted to write, but I also wanted to know that I had a voice that would be read, that people could find even the tiniest value or interest in. Mostly, it was a lot of self-doubt, uncertainty, and fear of failure. I started also writing speculative fiction stories, and my first acceptance, as glorious as that was, came in February, 2011, which I always think of now as the starting point of me “writing fiction with the goal of publication,” and also the date I decided to take writing seriously. And, by seriously, I mean that I wanted to publish, not articles or content for others, but to publish what “I wanted to write” and, what I wanted to write was… HORROR!

Even having solidified “the dream” to write at that point, I still didn’t know anyone, nor much of anything, about the industry. Fortunately, after some random Google-searching, I learned about Horror Writers Association, and I was approved to join February 3, 2012 by none other than Jim Chambers (still toiling in HWA volunteer duties today!). And I was absolutely jubilant to become involved with others who write dark and weird fiction.

Four months later, I was fortunate enough to be assigned Weston Ochse as my own HWA mentor, and he was absolutely instrumental in my growth and understanding of both writing and publishing, as well as accountability to help raise up others. Wes passed away a few years ago, and it was heartbreaking. He was an amazing break-through author, military hero, and mentor of the first-degree. So, read him, and don’t forget his name.

And also, from his words, “pay it forward.” I’ve learned much on my own, through research and experience, and through a lot of failures, but I’ve learned tenfold more through the relationships, stories, assistance, and uplifting from HWA members over the years.

Besides Wes, I am also forever indebted to others who have mentored me over the years, even if not in any “official” capacity, such as Lisa Morton, Gene O’Neill, and Stan Swanson, not to mention the general learned knowledge from my local HWA Los Angeles chapter with John Palisano and other Southern California members.

Additionally, a few other recommendations for newer authors looking to fast-track their knowledge through insight and guidance would be to follow: Jonathan Maberry, Mort Castle, Tim Waggoner, and Christopher Golden (as they’ve been guiding me over the years whether they knew it or not), who have industry wisdom and are vocal about sharing it.

Lastly, thank you certainly to HWA founders Robert McCammon, and Joe and Karen Lansdale, who, without them, none of this would have been possible.

Without guidance, friendship, and support of HWA over the years I would have given up writing. I can only hope to continually pay it forward to other new writers, and to keep them inspired for as long as I can.