Stories by @taissaturner

The Completed Book of Classified Curses

As a teenager, Porter McNulty was a divisive figure due to "Ghost Gang," the paranormal investigation YouTube channel he co-ran with his best friends, Stacey Stanley and Reuben "Rube" Robbins. Despite an abundance of views and adoring fans, the group were no strangers to controversy, especially due to their unauthorized exorcisms and property damage. Now ten years removed from the incident that drove them apart, Porter is a beloved elementary school librarian in a microscopic town, enjoying the anonymity that a change of location and time passing brings. What better to bring the Gang back together and drudge up old memories than the new school principal claiming to be the reincarnation of their murdered cameraman?

So Thirsty

Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need a reminder she’s getting older, or that she’s feeling indifferent about her own life. Her husband surprises her with a birthday-weekend getaway—not with him, but with Sloane’s longtime best friend, troublemaker extraordinaire Naomi. Sloane anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and cozy robes and strategic avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront, like her husband’s repeated infidelity. But when they arrive at their rental cottage, it becomes clear Naomi has something else in mind. She wants Sloane to stop letting things happen to her, for Sloane to really live. So Naomi orchestrates a wild night out with a group of mysterious strangers, only for it to take a horrifying turn that changes Sloane’s and Naomi’s lives literally forever. The friends are forced to come to terms with some pretty eternal consequences in this bloody, seductive novel about how it’s never too late to find satisfaction, even though it might taste different than expected.

IN BETWEEN DAYS

Mabel and Mason Naylor are twins, though you may not be able to tell, since they refuse to bring it up to new people. Despite the similarities in their looks and mannerisms, the affluent siblings couldn't be more different; Mabel is levelheaded with a mean streak and Mason is fun-loving and flighty. Petty conflicts continue to divide them when their startup CEO mother passes and leaves the brunt of her estate to Mason — who was always her favorite, whereas Mabel was the apple of their father's eye. Down on her luck and seeking to provide a livable income for her girlfriend, Annie, and Annie's young son, Monty, Mabel signs up for a controversial new procedure that sends its users a year in the past to cover up shady government doings. Soon, though, she learns the challenge isn't in time traveling, but in coming back. After having spent "too much" time in the year before, Mabel returns to find that everyone but her has aged twelve months, Mason is on the run from the law, and Monty no longer recognizes her. Now even more desperate than before, she decides to push herself to do whatever it takes to remedy the errors she created — no matter the cost.

All the Smells You Cannot Stand

All-American girl Alice Nichols and oddball Salem Witt were best friends, once upon a time. The dynamic that had lasted nearly the entirety of each of their lives came to a head on an ordinary night. At a massive college gathering, Alice attempted a seemingly-innocent party trick, which led to the revelation that she can shapeshift into other people — so long as she bites into them hard enough to break their skin. Now, over ten years later, the two women have taken the paths they seemingly thought the other would follow. Alice works the night shift as a graveyard caretaker in her microscopic hometown, whilst Salem is a successful "mommy blogger," living with her husband and three children in Chicago. The two find themselves pulled back together when Salem grows rapidly ill with something linked directly to Alice's ability, around the same time as the former's husband turns up dead.

THE TECHNOLOGY ANTHOLOGY

A collection of eight short stories about, featuring, or focused on technology.

Dupe

Cassidy, Fiona, Monica, and Ruth, a group of former actors who played a fake band on a children’s tv show ten years ago, are targeted by an overzealous fan, who believes all of it was very real.

Eliza, Eliza

Tells the story of Ramona “Roman” Ruiz, an aspiring Hollywood executive who works a thankless job as a studio CEO’s personal assistant. She lives day to day on stolen kraft services and measly tips, eager to earn her big moment. When her boss assigns her the seemingly-impossible task of bringing down one of the biggest starlets in Hollywood by worming her way into her inner circle, Roman finds herself in over her head.

Irreconcilable

Samuel “Sam” and Edwina “Teddy” Ritter are prompted by the senior year of their son Sam Jr.’s high school education to try and mend their rapidly-dissolving marriage. Invited by the parents of one of Sam Jr.’s friends on a cruise ship, the on-board marriage therapists’ unorthodox methods quickly create mixed results for the couple, threatening to divide a further wedge between them. In the middle of it all, they start to lose sight of themselves.

Those Who Trespass Against Us

Rosepoint, a small town with a population of less than one-thousand people wedged between Michigan and Wisconsin, is irrevocably damaged when a series of animal attacks massacre the town’s flagship all-boys boarding school.

Dealt at the Deadline

A sports-centric dramedy that follows a fictionalized version of the Washington Nationals as they navigate the meteoric rise and epic fall of their well-crafted dynasty, as well as finding common ground with their sworn rivals along the way.

Scream (1976)

A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.

Dead Poets Society (Late 00s)

Maverick teacher John Keating uses poetry to embolden his boarding school students to new heights of self-expression.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Early 2000s)

One fake sick day sends high school senior Ferris Bueller, his girlfriend Sloane and his best friend Cameron on the adventure of their young lives, as they ditch school and take off on a raucous journey through Chicago as they stay one step ahead of their principal and Ferris's sister.

Will Win, Could Win, Should Win

On the turbulent campaign trail in the heart of the awards season, two films that, despite a pair of veteran character actors in both casts, couldn’t be more different, go head to head in the race for very similar categories.