This is a space for the stories that linger. You’ll find Slavic myths retold, original poetry, book reviews, and honest writing about the creative life — the work behind the work, and the life behind the work. Old stories have always carried something we haven’t quite named yet. That’s why we keep returning to them.


I approached Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead with the particular wariness reserved for books that arrive already garlanded with praise. The Pulitzer. Oprah’s Book Club. Raving reviews online. The kind of unanimous applause that makes a reader suspicious before they’ve even cracked the spine. I was wrong to hesitate. The Boy Behind the…

Gods, spirits, and old tales

Poems for the moments that don’t fit

On writing, making things, and building a creative career

In this review of The Artist by Lucy Steeds, I explore the novel’s setting in 1920 Provence, its central characters Edouard Tartuffe, Ettie, and Joseph…

In Slavic lands, winter was never just a season. It was a presence. It arrived quietly, without ceremony, settling into forests and villages like a…

I began writing before I understood why I needed it. My first journal arrived when I was six, and I used it to record the…

When my cat Jerry developed bladder stones a few years ago, our vet stressed how important it was to make sure he stayed well hydrated.…

I’m Erna — writer, poet, devoted cat lady, and a marketer who came to it the strange way, through stories. Slavic mythology sits at the heart of this space, alongside original poetry, book reviews, and honest writing about the creative life.
Pull up a chair. There’s always something worth reading.
Beneath the Surface is a poetry collection about the things we don’t say out loud — the secrets, the weaknesses, the quiet monsters of everyday life. Read more.
New myths, new poems, new stories — whenever they’re ready.