I’m not really one for the word best when it comes to art or people, not at all. I don’t think there can be a best comic, novel, film, T.V. show, poem, short story, video game, and so on. This last week only affirms that point of view. There are too many amazing and diverse stories in the world for a best, but I am one for recognizing good work.

I am so proud of the work the entire team has done and continues to do on the Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters series. I am stoked that it won the first ever Nebula Award for Comics.

I share this award with Anna Wieszczyk who brought my words to life with her amazing illustrations and visual storytelling talents!

And Matt Krotzer whose lettering and design adds that extra magic to every page.

Plus Mike Judd as editor who keeps me on the right path.

Shout out to our proofreader Katrina Roets and the crew over at MNS including Cristian Docolomansky and Joel Rodriguez. And Blake Morgan who did a ton of behind the scenes work on this book!

The Killing Stone is book two in the series, Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters, where Shel, a supernatural spellcaster inspired by the mother of science fiction, rescues other misunderstood and mistreated monsters. In this volume, Shel and her monster squad team-up with a new student, an onyrō, to confront the infamous nine-tailed fox of Japanese folklore to correct past wrongs and resolve deadly grudges.

We are in good company with the fellow nominees in the comics category - Carmilla: The Eternal, The Flipside, Fishflies, Second Shift, Helen of Wyndhorn, Strange Bedfelllows, and The Stoneshore Register. I read and admire every one of these comics! They are all amazing and need to be experienced.

Do I think Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: The Killing Stone is the best comic made in 2025? As I said, I don’t believe in bests. I believe in communities of amazing creative lifting up all kinds of quality comics. I believe there are many titles that deserve this award, definitely all of our fellow Nebula nominees.

I do think The Killing Stone is a pretty darn great graphic novel that should be enjoyed by those who love Mary Shelley, monsters, friendship, and working through anger before it works through you. I am so honored that it was recognized in a room of professional SFF writers. I will cherish the memory of that night always.

I was able to share the night with the absolute legendary writer, N.K. Jemisin, recipient of The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, the talented Toastmaster, Tananarive Due (who won a Bram Stoker Award while doing her Nebula duties), the winner of the first poetry Nebula, Jennifer Hudak, and so many of the other talented Nebula nominees and winners. The room was not only full of thoughtful writers doing provocative work but also exceptional human beings trying to make this world better, encouraging each other to do the same, profoundly displayed by the winner of best novella, Amal El-Mohtar, in her acceptance speech that challenged the room to use their voices to stand up against genocide and war crimes. God, I love SFF!

Watch Ceremony

There will be plenty of people, maybe some of my peers, who will say a different comic creator should have won this Nebula. I know they will say it because I can hear my own internal demon saying it in my head. But who should that creator be? There are at least 20 SFF comics that I adored this year (probably 10 more I haven’t read yet), and I think they are all worthy of all the awards. So, of course, there are many alternate outcomes with a different winner… but we are on this timeline, and on this timeline, Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: The Killing Stone has the Nebula. A historic one at that, the first Nebula for Comics.

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Our book was definitely the nominee published by the smallest indie press. It was the underdog in this category. The series is completely independent and funded by readers who wanted to see the story brought to life, readers who believed in it when it was only a pitch and a few pages of art. Each page was made with love for SFF, comics, and monsters.

Currently, the team is working on book three, When the Sirens Cry. We are able to do that because our amazing supporters pre-order our books before we’ve finished them because they also believe in our monster school. This Nebula belongs to them, too!

Finally, because I got super overwhelmed and emotional giving my speech, I didn’t get the chance to talk about what is most important to me—how my husband Michael Judd and my daughters, Eva and Iris, are not only my daily inspiration but I could absolutely not write the stories that I write without their constant love and support. I wrote this middle grade series for my daughters. It would not exist without them. They are everything that makes writing joyful for me.

To more joy and comics this year!

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Before we jump into this infamous and very, wrongly done monster, I’ve got a few things to share with you.

I’m going to the Nebula Conference taking place in Chicago, June 3-7th. If you are in the Chicago area, please consider attending the below event. I’ll be there for meet-and-greets and book signing with other Nebula finalists and amazing science fiction writers like N.K. Jemisin. I’m grateful to be part of it, and would love to see you there!

Can't Make it but Want a Signed Copy

For anyone attending the conference, I will be doing a workshop on Friday morning, June 5th, where we’ll be digging in to adapting your novel or short story into a comic. Definitely, come start your day with me.

Our podcast, Monster V. Monster will launch June 2nd. I am really so excited about this one. Definitely go give it a follow wherever you get your podcast. There will be a great episode involving Grendel’s mother where we do give this famous entity a name and rewrite Beowulf a bit in our monster encounter.

For paid subscribers, you can watch a sneak peek of episode zero at the end of this newsletter.

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Grendel’s Mother

Grendel is the main baddie from the Germaic heroic legend, Beowulf set in a pagan Scandinavia. In this type of story, society is pitted against the wild and monstrous. The poem is very old, composed sometime in the 8th century and passed down orally until it was finally written down around 1000 CE.

The monster, Grendel, is one of the central antagonists, and Beowulf is the heroic protagonist. Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate, wrote one of the top translations of Beowulf. When I met Heaney, my obsession with these monsters was cemented. There is also a pretty funny book, Grendel, told from Grendel’s perspective by John Gardner, as well as the feminist retelling The Saga of the Wyrd-Wife, Susan Signe Morrison. Stories told from the monster’s perspectives are my favorites. They have a tendency to reveal deep, dark truths about the culture that the original work does not address. This is very true of Beowulf and the one-sided, male-centric nature of all heroic legends.

In Beowulf, Grendel has been attacking the Dane’s mead hall, Heorot, killing men for the last twelve years. Hrothgar, the king, has been unable to defeat the monster.

Enter Beowulf, a warrior trying to prove that he is the ultimate hero. He is a bit too cocky for my taste (never been an actual fan of the character Beowulf, but love the poem). He decides he will kill Grendel barehanded. Beowulf rips off Grendel’s arm, killing him and then hangs his arm from the wall of the mead hall. This act is incredibly disrespectful and a bit gross but par for the course in these types of blood feuds.

That’s when one of the greatest misunderstood monsters of all times, joins the skirmish. Grendel’s Mother is heartbroken by the loss of her son, and she definitely has no issue engaging in bloody vengeance. She owns a sword built for giants. With that sword, she travels to the mead hall where she kills Hrothgar’s advisor and takes Grendel’s arm back to her lair.

The wandering, murderous monster slew him/ in Heorot; and I do not know where that ghoul,/ drooling at her feast of flesh and blood,/ made off afterwards. She has avenged her son….now another mighty/ evil ravager has come to avenge her kinsman….I have heard my people say,/ men of this country, counsellors in the hall,/ that they have seen two such beings,/ equally monstrous,/ rangers of the fell-country,/ rulers of the moors; and these men assert/ that so far as they can see one bears/ a likeness to a woman….These two live/ in a little-known country, wolf-slopes, windswept headlands,/ perilous paths across the boggy moors, where a mountain stream/ plunges under mist-covered cliffs,/ rushes through a fissure (Beowulf)

She avenged her son, and we’ve been told she was slain by Beowulf, but who and what was this magnificent creature, really? She is referred to in the Old English text as an ides which can be traced to the words noblewoman or female guardian spirit/goddess or a combination of both.

She is also called an Alglaecwif which can mean monster woman or monster wife but it can also be translated as female warrior. So rather than a monster, Grendel’s mother could be a Valkyrie, the Nordic choosers of the slain, depicted as warrior women on horses with spears.

Or, maybe, instead of monstrous or supernatural beings, she and Grendel represented a neighboring tribe who had beef with Hrothgar? And with each drink of mead, the story of their enemy became more supernatural and the feud more epic until they were finally slaying dragons, at least in their minds and stories. Good mead can do that to a group, transform its petty feuds into epic poems.

She is also referred to as Merewif which could mean lady of the water, water witch, woman of the water, or sea goddess. She could be connected to the Nordic goddess, Ran. Many of Beowulf feats do involve the ocean and swimming, defeating sea creatures, at least nine of them according to the hero himself. One of his central antagonists being connected to water makes a great deal of sense.

After she attacks the mead hall, Beowulf tracks her down by swimming through a snake-infested lake to her monstrous lair. He is initially losing the fight against her because his sword, Hrunting, is powerless against this mighty warrior. She almost defeats this hero but Beowulf ends up using her own sword against her, beheading her. Her blood melts the sword and Beowulf takes it home. Eventually, Hrotgar steps down and Beowulf becomes king. He rules for 50 years until a dragon kills him (he and his warrior buddy kill the dragon in the process). This epic poem is very much a man conquering the monstrous wild story, and in sections, it can also be read as a masculine force conquering a divine feminine one.

Grendel’s mother definitely had some type of supernatural if not divine power, and it does seem to be connected to the water and sea creatures. She is also connected to the descendants of Cain, so there is a possible connection the original fallen giants, the Nephilim. Proof of this lies with her sword made for a giant that she uses to slay the king’s advisor, Aechere, and then Beowulf uses against her.

No matter what her form, Grendel’s mother definitely believes in an eye for an eye. Blood for blood. She loved her son and stops at nothing to avenge him. So, for me, I associate her most as a supernatural warrior like the Valykyrie with some divine powers. It is hard to attach a worthy name to a formidable spirit such as Grendel’s mother. Brimhold, the name given to her in Morrison’s retelling, is a strong contender. However, I lean more toward a name like Alga or Angla, somewhat inspired from Alglaecwif. I am also drawn to Mera inspired by Merewif since she is clearly connected to the water as well. Like many female entities throughout time, Grendel’s mother most likely has many names and many forms due to her complex nature. Her remaining nameless in this poem for thousands of years remains a mystery.

What many in the human world do not know is that there are other endings to this story, ones that scholars have not yet discovered. There could very well still be a version of this poem where Grendel’s Mother, with a strong and powerful name, defeats Beowulf and rules the lands until the dragon appears to challenge her. That is a version I want to see in the future.

Upcoming Wicked Tree Press Events:

June 2, 2026 - Monster V. Monster Launch - Virtual

June 3-7, 2026 - Nebula Conference, Chicago

June 13, 2026 - The Last Bookstore Spring Takeover, Downtown Los Angeles

July 23-26, 2026 - San Diego Comic Con, San Diego

August 27-31 - Worldcon, Anaheim

Watch Episode Zero of the Monster V. Monster podcast before anyone else! We did this episode live on Substack a few weeks ago.

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Monster V. Monster Podcast

Monster V. Monster is a half monster-centric conversation, half actual play podcast. Hosts Jessica Maison and Matt Harry welcome a guest and pit two monsters against each other, and role-play the encounter to see who will reign supreme.

By Jessica Maison

Monster V. Monster (MVM)

Two Monsters.

One Epic Encounter.

Who Will Triumph?

Monster V. Monster is a half monster-centric conversation, half actual play podcast. Hosts Jessica Maison and Matt Harry welcome a guest and pit two monsters against each other, and role-play the encounter to see who will reign supreme.

The show officially launches on June 2nd. We would love your early support so please go give us a follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Click for All the Links

I’m in love with the show’s logo designed by Juliane Crump! Who doesn’t love Godzilla and Medusa?!

A few guests to expect on the show are — Josh Pruett (Last Kids on Earth, Dr. Who), Ray Utarnachitt (Legends of Tomorrow, Stranger Things, Tales from ‘85), (Bl…

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Please enjoy Origins #2, the prologue of The Killing Stone, on me.

Happy reading, and thank you for being part of the comics community!

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The pre-order links are up for the eBook of Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: The Killing Stone! It’s available on most platforms and releases on May 12, 2026 — now a Nebula Award Finalist!

Amazon

Other Platforms

If you love the library like I do, please reach out to your local branch and request that they order it either as an eBook or Hardcover or both! It really helps when you let your library know you want to see the series on the shelves, digital or physical. That way, even more readers of all ages can access this magical world filled with marvelous monsters.

Definitely, feel free to check out a preview of the book!

Preview The Killing Stone

You can next find me in person at Comic Con Revolution on Saturday, May 16th at 1:30 PM. I’m doing a panel there with some other great publishers called “Who Needs a Publisher?! Go From Fan to Creator, On Your Own Terms!”

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Catchphrase: “Dance, Magic, Dance, Magic . . . Wrestle!”

Goblins have been on my mind. It all began with the journal entry on Changelings and another fairy-themed comics project I’m working on. Both of these things drove me to read The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Crime Story by Angela Bourke. I have definitely been away with the fairies this month which led me to hobgoblins and goblins, then right past oni to land on dokkaebi.

Dokkaebi are the Korean version of the goblin or oni. These magical creatures are ogre-like goblins/spirits who are mostly harmless but very mischievous. They love a good dance party in the woods with lots of delicious drink and food. They often show up to dance in festivals. They are accompanied by glimmering light, sometimes tall plumes of blue…

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It’s my first time at a Chicago convention so I’m pretty excited to introduce new fans to our books and comics, especially Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: The Killing Stone. With the recent Nebula nomination, I hope comics and speculative fiction fans are as stoked about this graphic novel as I am.

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This original horror flash fiction piece is about the terror of transformation inspired by a real life monster found in nature - the Tachinid Fly! The story is part of the Spring Fever horror writing event hosted by and the .

THE THEME : Horror in bloom. Buds bursting, new life waiting to shiver up from the soil.

When my children were young, we were obsessed with butterflies, still are, really. During our early insect adventures, we witnessed a particularly gnarly parasite annihilate a Monarch chrysalis. We were forever changed by this brutal infestation. I hope this bit of fiction does the terrible, tachinid fly justice.

If you get grossed out easily, this one is not for you.

Parasitize

Opposing mandibles masticate matter, toothed jaws crunching cellulose, grinding and pulping plant flesh. This voracious chomping strips …

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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) announced the Nebula Award Finalists. I am a nominee for Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: The Killing Stone for comics writing, and I will forever be stunned by it.

Check out the Announcement

I absolutely adore the graphic novel series I create with Anna Wieszczyk and team. It can be enjoyed by most ages. It explores themes of loss, family, anger, forgiveness, and friendship. It is not just about monsters, it’s about what we let control our happiness, and who we allow to matter and not matter.

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If you feel so inspired, post on your pub about your day, and check out our growing mosaic of many lives.

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The lies told about them have only grown bolder and louder since 2019, and the horrors have only gotten worse. These lies and the hatred behind them have won a true monster two elections. These lies have built concentration camps in the United States of America. These lies have allowed a masked, roving, unaccountable force to terrorize our cities. These lies are tearing the soul of this country apart.

The lies about immigrants need to stop …

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The changeling from Celtic traditions are some of the most insidious and strange creatures from folklore. The Celtic changelings are connected to faeries, malevolent and powerful creature who can cause humans a great deal of suffering. These changeling share similarities with ones from Nordic folklore because of geographical proximity and intermingling during the Viking era, but the Nordic changelings are connected to trolls. Changeling folklore is even more similar between Ireland, Scotland, and Wales but again, there are differences such as the Scottish concept of the tithe to hell. However, all Celtic changelings are delivered by faeries to replace a stolen, human, typically a baby. The changeling is rarely a convincing replica of the missing baby, and in the 19th Century across the British Isles, horrific deeds were committed to rid homes of these complicated and tragically misunderstood “monsters”.

*trigger warning - the changeling folklore is connected to domestic violence and ch…

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Honestly, I spent a big part of January trying to survive during the longest, darkest month. I am sure many of you did the same. I managed to do so by fulfilling all the Origins 3 orders. Sending out those comics and goodies was definitely fuel for the soul.

February has involved putting the ol’ nose to the grindstone and finishing writing a variety of comics and short fiction pieces.

On that note, the script for the next Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters graphic novel has officially been sent to Anna Wieszczyk. With the prologue completed, we are now jumping into the main part of the book.

The third book is titled Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters: When the Sirens Cry. Yes, there will be sirens! Three of them! T…

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For this Monster of the Week entry, we will be traveling to Japan to meet the formidable and mysterious yōkai, the jorōgumo. This spider creature is a shapeshifter who transforms into a beautiful woman with a taste for human flesh.

The yōkai has also been depicted as a beautiful woman who can control many fire-breathing spiders or a beautiful woman who can breathe fire and control spiders. Joro translates to prostitute but is also associated with the women who waited on female royalty. The jorōgumo is called many names—the bride spider, the binding bride, the spider woman, whore spider, the harlot spider, entangling bride spider…

…based on these names, I can’t help but feel like some people have serious issues with not only spiders, but women as well.

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This entity is closely connected to the Trichonephila Clavata or Joro Spider. These orb-weavers spin massive golden-colored webs in the fall. The female spiders grow quite large, sometimes bigger than a…

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This is a reminder that I’ll be doing a live reading here on Substack tomorrow (Friday) at 10:30AM (PST)/1:30 PM (EST). I will be reading my original short story, The Devil’s Compass. This spooky reading should take about fifteen minutes.

The Devil’s Compass is a spooky story about how the trickster, Mephistopheles, made his own bargain with the devil a long time ago.

I am one small part of an entire weekend of authors sharing their amazing short fiction LIVE. The even is hosted by Erica Drayton and the team at Top In Fiction for the TiF Summit.

I am familiar with many of the talented writers participating, and this event promises to be an epic time.

See you tomorrow!

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The Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters series continues to bring me and the team joy. I’m grateful to be working on the third book with the always inspiring Anna Wieszczyk. It was beyond thrilling to deliver the second book, The Killing Stone, to readers this year. We will continue to work tirelessly to expand the universe and grow the audience for this series. Additionally, working with Carla Wyzgala on a variant cover was just killer. She’s an amazing artist and cool human.

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The wraith is a spectral, skeletal entity that acts as an omen of death, at times, maybe even a dark guardian for those who need to be scared straight… but always something that is very hungry, desperate to connect with the mortal realm or connect a mortal with its realm.

One of the most terrifying of creatures that always tingles my spine is the wraith. During the time from the Winter Solstice to the Epiphany, liminal spaces open up and we are connected more closely to the spiritual realm. The world feels magical, divine, and a bit spooky during this season. The chances of seeing a spectral wraith definitely increase so it makes sense writers would create stories to warn us about them and to teach us lessons about ourselves.

A Christmas Carol has been my favorite Christmas story …

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This year, I’m participating in a tradition called 13 Wishes or 12 Magical Nights inspired by Rauhnächte and the 12 Nights of Christmas, mystical times in many cultures.

The 13 wishes tradition can begin on Winter Solstice and end on Jan. 1^st or start on Christmas Eve and end on the Epiphany (January 6^th). What’s most important is that it lasts twelve nights. These nights represent the Rauhnächte, the time between years, a tradition from German and Celtic traditions, but also the Twelve Nights of Christmas. These nights have always felt liminal, magical, a time where we’re all a bit closer to the divine, the spirits, and our ancestors. It’s a time to learn and let go of the past so that we can set intentions for the future.

I’m starting my 13 Wishes today on Winter Solstice.

I invite you to join me.

Here are the basics:

1. Reflect on 2025 and release what should be left behind.

2. Write Down 13 wishes/dreams/intention…

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La Llorona in the Machine, the first book of our award-winning series, Mary Shelley’s School for Monsters, has officially dropped in eBook form!

Prepare for haunted tech, monster drama, and a story you’ll want to last forever.

Available everywhere ebooks live!

In book one, Mary Shelley, Medusa, and La Llorona collide in an adventure that transcends both the matrix and the spirit world.

Download your copy today!

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Today is a day of YES.

Yes, we will treat ourselves or someone we love!

Yes, we will support our community!

Yes, we will shop at small businesses!

Wicked Tree Press would love to be part of that day!

Today and until December 2nd, every order from our company will come with spooky holiday wrapping and a personalized holiday card. Bonus stickers will also be added!

Shop Now!

Every order made directly from our website really makes it possible for our small company to create more books and comics.

Thank you for supporting small businesses today and always!

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