My cosmic horror story, “The U Train,” appears in Tales of Sley House 2022, now available! This anthology features lots of unsettling and creepy horror stories divided into three themes.
In “The U Train,” four strangers find themselves on a subway platform, waiting on a train that shouldn’t exist. But as they try to find out why they’re there and how they might escape, they realize that when the train arrives, a fate worse than death might be waiting for them.
The story was also produced as an audio drama, which you can listen to for free at one of the links below.
Happy December! I hope you had a fulfilling Thanksgiving and are gearing up for a fun and restful holiday season. If you’re stumped on gift ideas, I’ve included some tips on horror and book gift suggestions below.
In personal news, I am beyond thrilled that my poem “A Woman’s Weapon” (published in HWA’s Poetry Showcase Volume VIII) made the recommendations list for the upcoming volume of Ellen Datlow’s esteemed Best Horror of the Year! You can peruse the full list here.
Also I highly recommend Bookshop for great gift ideas for supporting independent bookstores. Better yet, browse your nearby indie bookstore!
Lastly, check out the social media pages of your favorite indie authors. Chances are that they (or their publishers) are having sales this month.
Upcoming short stories
I am thrilled to have another story appear in an upcoming Tales to Terrify episode. “Unrest,” a gothic horror tale about a cemetery taking revenge on a monster, first debuted in the anthology DANCING IN THE SHADOWS: A TRIBUTE TO ANNE RICE.
I’m honored to have 12 new horror, scifi and/or weird west short stories published this year. These are eligible for award nominations, and several of them are free to read. Complimentary copies (PDF) of the others are available upon request. Hope you enjoy!
-Published in Chromophobia: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror from Rooster Republic Press -Description: A mean-girls, creature feature about a lake house trip gone sideways, this story is described by the editor as having “major CREEPSHOW vibes.” -Words: 3,400
“The U Train” (available online as an audio story)
-Published in Dancing in the Shadows: A Tribute to Anne Rice and forthcoming in a future episode of Tales to Terrify -Description: An unnatural force at the local cemetery seeks to avenge an act of murderous violence. -Words: 2,400
“All Aboard” (available online)
-Published in 34 Orchard magazine, issue #6 -Description: A new pandemic forces those exposed to carry out their quarantine at sea, where strangers are less than charitable. -Words: 1,200 -Note: “All Aboard” is available to read for free at the magazine’s website (pdf): https://34orchard.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/34-orchard-issue-6-autumn-2022.pdf
My Weird West monster action story, “The Fall of Denafas Manor,” debuts in this epic Western horror anthology from Cohesion Press. Edited by Amanda J Spedding and Geoff Brown, SNAFU: DEAD OR ALIVE is the latest addition to the SNAFU anthologies, some of which were adapted for the Netflix series LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS.
“The Fall of Denfanas Manor” is an original story featuring gunslingers Melinda and Lance as they rescue a kidnapped victim from a relentless supernatural family. You can read an excerpt below.
As a side note: Melinda and Lance have their own novel-length adventure forthcoming in MELINDA WEST: MONSTER GUNSLINGER (Feb 2023, Brigids Gate Press).
It’s October, the best month! When when the “Halloween People” come out to play and when the pumpkin spice flows freely. I hope you’re finding fun and spooky ways to celebrate.
Read on for book updates, my first reading of the season and a new article on Weird West writing tips.As always, I hope your bookshelves have been full and your reading time uninterrupted!
New article! 5 Tips For Writing a Horror Weird Western
My Weird Western story, “Old Habits,” is now available in Queer Weird West Tales (QWWT)! Edited by Julie Bozza, the anthology is a diverse collection of international Weird West adventures.
“Old Habits” description
To save her girlfriend from a monster’s infectious venom, Topaz must confront her tumultuous past and ask the last person in the world she wants to see for help—her ex.
Topaz is a side character in my upcoming novel MELINDA WEST: MONSTER GUNSLINGER. She was so dynamic and intriguing, she practically demanded a spotlight in her own story. This tale focuses on Topaz’s adventures after the novel, expanding on her newfound love as she faces a reckoning with her past.
The anthology includes my mean-girls, creature feature story “The Color of Friendship.”
Reactions to “The Color of Friendship”
[This story has] major CREEPSHOW vibes, the kind of story that ought to be introduced by the Cryptkeeper…Grifant’s gnarly ode to fractured friendship is the first story to feel as though it could’ve been ripped out of the pages of an old EC horror comic.”
Editors
KC Grifant’s “The Color of Friendship” conjures impressive atmosphere as a woman continually looks for whatever is swimming in a nearby lake during her friends’ weekend getaway.
…Four friends escape on a scenic getaway to a lakeside cabin, but simmering about the gray-green water are unresolved grudges and petty jealousies, the stench of which quickly becomes “rotten…bordering on putrid.” Grifant makes hearty use of the verdant setting as her protagonist discovers a strange and ravenous creature…In the isolation felt within a pack of mean girls grown up, there is a monster lurking just under the surface, both literally and metaphorically.