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Dear Brie-Ann:
Thank you for your letter about "Watch and Wake." I am absolutely thrilled that you liked the piece so much. It was huge fun to write.
As for stories set in the same world as this one, you'll find that Thirsty is in a very similar place ... a world of strip-malls and drive-thrus that is also populated by fantastical creatures and weird rituals. It is not quite as apocalyptic in its feel as the world through which the hapless Jim makes his way, but in its broad outline, it's the same kind of place. You might also check out a story I wrote called "Barcarole for Paper and Bones" in a collection entitled Shelf Life, published by Simon & Schuster, and another -- not set in the current time, but in a weird version of ancient Greece -- in a book called Sixteen, published by Crown, ed. by Megan McCafferty. Also, of course, I can't help but suggest that you write your own way toward that world. You clearly have a strong sense of that kind of place -- so build your own world!
I have just been asked to supply another story for the sequel to Gothic, and I was about to turn them down. I am kind of inspired by your enthusiasm, however, so perhaps I'll try to think of something else. It was certainly fun to try to write about that little town and its odd secrets. (Though I don't know if I could pull it off again.)
Don't wait for me, however. Set out on your own. It's yours! Whatever place you imagine, you are free to walk there and discover what else walks there by night.
Thank you so much for your letter, in any case. Feel free to drop me a line when you make discoveries of your own.
Yours,
mta