After a sentient circus captures Evelyn and turns her into the Circus King, she must find out how to access her memories and escape the psychic hold of the entity that rules the show.
Typehouse Literary Magazine is a writer- and artist-run literary journal based in Portland, Oregon and founded in 2013. Edited by Val Gryphin, they aim to offer a fresh, unique perspective of the human experience, with a focus on underrepresented voices.
My short story “The Serpent Queen” is a horror tale centered around a girl forced to make an impossible choice in an ancient, snake-centric ritual. This is a character that’s been in my head for a long time, inspired by many childhood summers exploring the ruins of Crete. I’m excited she’ll be out in the world soon!
Welcome to my weekly roundup, where I scour the Twitterverse for trending SF/F/Horror writerly highlights of the week. For the Twitter version of this newsletter, please visit here.
“Extraordinary tales of terror that are as grim as they are delightful.” — Kirkus Reviews
“… clever, unsettling stories … push the boundaries of conventional horror.” — BookLife Reviews (Editor’s Pick)
My mean girls/creature feature story, “The Color of Friendship,” will appear in the forthcoming CHROMOPHOBIA: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror from Rooster Republic Press. It’s described by the editor as having “major CREEPSHOW vibes” and I could not be more pleased!
Edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich, the Horror Writers Associations presents their eighth annual Poetry Showcase, featuring original dark poetry. With cover artwork by Robert Cabeen and poetry judges Sara Tantlinger and Angela Yuriko Smith, this year features the first Crystal Lake Poetry Contest winner and poems from members of the Horror Writers Association.
I’m honored that “A Woman’s Weapon,” my poem about an obsessive biologist with a dark secret, debuts in this collection!
**Update 2022** I am beyond thrilled“A Woman’s Weapon” 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
My short climate fiction story, “From Sea to Shining Sea,” appears in Dread Stone Press’ FIELD NOTES FROM A NIGHTMARE anthology.
Description from the editor: Pollution. Extinction. Warming. Sea Levels rising…Mother Nature heard our crimes and found us guilty. Field Notes from a Nightmare is an anthology of ecological horror, containing 18 stories from some of the strongest voices in indie horror. Edited by Alex Ebenstein with a foreword from New York Times-Bestselling author Tim Lebbon. Cover art and interior illustrations by David Bowman.
Read more about the anthology from Dread Stone Press here.
2020. I don’t think any more needs to be said about the year that will haunt many of us for a lifetime. Here’s hoping we can bring about a healthier, safer and kinder world in 2021.
This was a productive year of writing for me, even though it didn’t feel like it. Writing was an escape from the news and world events; writing was the only way I felt like I was able to survive this year’s chaos and uncertainty without completely losing my mind.
I wrote seven new short stories (down 50% from last year), mostly at the beginning of the year. Though I wasn’t able to attend workshops or conferences this year, and skipped NaNoWriMo, the time at home let me focus on some bigger projects I had on the back burner. Once the pandemic hit and I started working from home full-time and having a toddler home all day (read more about how having a kid helped me with writing in last year’s recap here). I switched to tackling two novels I’ve had in the works and finally finished them (!). I also made progress on a new one and had several acceptances of new stories and reprints.
Six Guns Straight From Hell 3: Horror & Dark Fantasy From the Weird Weird West is now available and debuts my zombie story, “Death’s Horse.” The collection is edited by David B. Riley and J.A. Campbell, with a cover illustration by M. Wayne Miller. The Weird West is one of my favorite subgenres for a variety of reasons (you can read why in an article I wrote for Aurealis Magazine, more details here). “Death’s Horse” features the plight of gunslinging, monster-hunting Melinda Putman, first introduced in “Dusty Arrival,” cover story for Andromeda Spaceways Magazine in 2018. Weird West stories in this collection include tales by David Boop, C.W. Blackwell, Kristal Stittle and many others.
Description from the publisher:
Saddle up for a wild ride through the weird, weird west. As you ride our trails you’ll want to keep one eye on the path ahead and one over your shoulder cause there’s a bushwhacking monster creeping up behind you. If your horse gets eaten by a monster, you might be able to get a ride on the midnight train, as long as you don’t mind sitting with ghosts. If you don’t catch the train, maybe the devil can give you a lift back to town. Just be careful which place you head for, because the folks in one town are about to die. Staying on ranches ain’t much safer, especially at one girl’s birthday party. Then again, even going to outhouses can be deadly. If you happen to visit the local brothel, be sure and treat the ladies right or you’ll pay dearly. And Tombstone is no place to get your picture taken if you want to keep your skin.
Excerpt from “Death’s Horse”
Death rode in on a horse made of wood and bones, its joints screeching with every pound of its hooves against the sand. Death, otherwise known as Elliot Red-Eye Carson, raised his rifle, the sun a smudged glow behind him like someone had burned the sky with the end of a rolled cigarette.
“Found you.” Carson leveled the rifle at Melinda’s forehead. He wore a hat the color of day-old puke, with rags to match. He and the horse smelled of sewage, rot and all manners of decay.
“You look a little different, El.” Melinda eased her finger off the trigger of her six shooter and set it gently down. Beneath the wide-brimmed hat and duster she wore year round, her skin dripped from the heat. Even at sundown, the desert was hotter than the hubs of hell this time of year.
“Quit stalling.” Carson yanked his monster closer and Melinda wondered, as she had plenty of times before, if this would be the day she died. “Give me what’s mine.”
Read more in Six Guns Straight From Hell 3. The book is available from Mysterious Galaxy bookstore or other independent booksellers, as well as on Amazon.
I’m pleased to share a fun print interview that Nico Bell, fellow horror author, conducted via email. In this Q&A, I reveal why the Weird West is one of my favorite subgenres, what I’m reading, and why my browser history would raise a few eyebrows. I also talk a bit about my current writing projects, including THE FINAL HOUR, a fantasy novella inspired by The Labyrinth; DARK TRAILS, a fun supernatural western; and two weird science stories.
The end of the year is always a good time to take stock of accomplishments of the past year and reflect on upcoming goals.
In general, 2019 was packed with exciting books, TV and movie releases in horror and other genre fiction. There are plenty of lists out there detailing some of the standouts (here and here, for example). Overall, the wealth of genre stories hitting mainstream audiences is encouraging for those of us who toil in realms of the fantastical and strange.
Personally, this was a productive year of writing for me. I wrote a number of short stories in 2019 as well as two novellas. With a demanding full-time job and wild two-year-old to take care of, I found it more important than ever to carve out writing time.
KC Grifant 