Writer · Researcher · Narrative Designer
PhD Candidate, University of Otago
Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies
I write about crime fiction, queer geographies, and the formal politics of genre. I also write interactive historical fiction, co-host a literary podcast, and have a long-standing argument with the American serial killer novel.
About
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Otago's Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies in Aotearoa New Zealand, where I am completing a dissertation on Val McDermid's Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, titled "No Safe Distance When Making it British: Val McDermid's Tony Hill Series and the Transformation of the American Serial Killer Novel."
My research sits at the intersection of crime fiction, contemporary Scottish and British literature, queer theory, and the formal politics of genre. I am interested in what happens when American literary forms cross the Atlantic — how they are remade by new landscapes, new bodies, new political conditions — and in the writers who use genre fiction to do serious philosophical and social work.
Before the PhD, I spent a decade in financial compliance and anti-money laundering across Boston and Austin, then worked as a library specialist building LGBTQ+ community programming in northern Utah, and co-authored a chapter on tactical technical communication for SUNY Press. That grounding in institutions, communities, and the practical work of advocacy shapes the research.
I am also a co-host of Canon & Chaos, a podcast about canonical literature and the fandoms that have grown up alongside it, co-authored with my sister Kara.
Research & Publications
Conference Presentations
Creative Writing & Narrative Design
Podcast
I co-host Canon & Chaos with my sister Kara, a podcast about canonical literature and the fandoms that surround it. We ask what happens when you put a medieval epic next to a LitRPG dungeon crawler, when Austen meets Sanderson, when the books we studied in school turn out to share a DNA with the books we read under the covers.
Season One pairs The Odyssey with Dungeon Crawler Carl. We are two sisters with strong opinions, a deep reading list, and exactly zero shelf control.
The podcast is where the academic and the fan meet. Which is, I think, where the most interesting conversations about literature actually happen.
Curriculum Vitae
My path to the PhD ran through financial compliance work in Boston and Austin, public libraries in northern Utah, and a decade of community-facing work that keeps showing up in the research.
Download CV →Contact
Whether you're interested in my research, have a narrative design collaboration in mind, want to talk about crime fiction, or just want to argue about whether Val McDermid is the greatest living British novelist, I'd love to hear from you.