Sometimes two sentences are all it takes to change everything.
For YDL’s 2025 Short Horror Story winner, Jessica Herring, two sentences became the spark that reignited a passion she’d set aside for years. After her landslide victory in October, she’s surprising herself with a new goal: turning that short into a full-fledged novel.
Like many writers, Jessica’s love affair with storytelling began early. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an author, penning her first story at just 13—a tale about a woman who married a man without knowing his dark past.
But life gets busy. Dreams are packed up and stored away.
After meeting her now husband in Utah, relocating to Michigan, and starting a family, Jessica has had her hands full. She homeschools all four of her children and has created a home that pulses with creativity. Her kids are involved in theater and dance, and the family regularly attends musicals and plays together. When she’s not shuttling kids to rehearsals, she fills her time with singing, dancing, and baking.
“We’re really big on putting ourselves out there as a family,” she said.
Then came the call for story submissions. What started as a fun exercise became something much more significant: permission to write again.
“I had a friend tell me they wanted more of the story, and I did too!” Jessica said.
TILL DEATH DO US PART is evolving into a thriller romantasy—a genre-bending tale that’s taken on shades of a Hades and Persephone retelling. She’s already written 13,000 words and counting. Her writing process fits into a busy family life. During the day, she records ideas in her phone’s notes app whenever creativity strikes. At night, after the kids are in bed, she writes.
“I’ve been staying up so, so, so late!” she mused. “I’m really just taking the road as it comes.”
Her influences reflect her taste for the atmospheric and unexpected. She’s a massive Harry Potter fan and loves YA fiction and dystopian romantasy. The darker aesthetic of Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe runs through her work, lending it a gothic edge that distinguishes her voice.
Her story is a reminder to us all: unpack the boxes in your attic. You might surprise yourself with what you find.
YDL’s 2025 Short Horror Story winner, Jessica Herring, and her winning story (below).
