Z. S. Roe

THE PRODIGAL PASTOR’S KID – What it Means to be the Atheist Son of a Pastor

My dad is the pastor of an evangelical Christian church.

I, however, am an atheist.

For a long time, I assumed my lack of faith as a pastor’s kid (or PK) made me something of an oddity. And then a month or so ago, while listening to CBC Radio One’s show Tapestry, a guest mentioned a stereotype that paints PKs as being more likely to abandon their faith than kids of regular church-going parents.

To which I did a sudden and surprised about-face. Continue reading →

1st PLACE WINNER: “Gums and Gauze” by Z. S. Roe

Happy to announce that my short story “Gums and Gauze” has placed first in the Canadian Authors Association (Niagara Branch) FIFTEEN STORIES HIGH short story contest. The story was inspired by a dream of my sister’s about a pelican plucking out all of her teeth. Chilling, right? Which got me thinking, and then (as tends … Continue reading →

Life in Glass — Blood and Poetry

Since I was sixteen, I’ve lived a life in glass — a life of clean cuts and sharp edges; of broken windows and shattered mirror; of blood spatter and stitches… Continue reading →