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.


Gods, spirits, and old tales

Poems for the moments that don’t fit

On writing, making things, and building a creative career

A strange sensation, prickly and painful, under my ribs. Shortening my breath tingling underneath tightening my stomach, an unusual kind of pain, anxiety they call…

‘Come on, get up! Wake up, come on, it’s started again! Move! Let’s go!’ The blast shook the house. Mother pulled me out of the…

1.0 Introduction Throughout his work Edgar Allan Poe is guided by the idea explained in his “Philosophy of Composition” where he says that the best…

Today has been one of those days. The thermos opened in the bag somehow. All the papers, the wallet, the phone, the AC remote, drenched…

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.