The Horror Tree Recent Markets, Articles, Interviews, and Fiction!

Articles / Reviews

 by 

Epeolatry Book Review: The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: The Thirteenth Child
Author: Erin A. Craig
Genre: YA Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 24th September, 2024

Synopsis:Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.
When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.
But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?
From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love? The Thirteenth Child is a must-read for fans of dark fairy tales, romantasy, and epic fantasy alike.

(more…)

Events / Magazine / Pro

 by 

Taking Submissions: Dust & Dark Magazine Issue #1

Submission Window: October 1st – 31st, 2024
Theme: Haunting, atmospheric and unsettling stories full of subtle menace and pervasive dread
Payment: £0.07 per word

Dust & Dark is a new quarterly magazine showcasing the best in original horror fiction. We will shortly be inviting submissions for our debut issue, scheduled for release in Spring 2025 following a Kickstarter campaign early next year.

What we’re looking for

We’re in the market for short, scary stories between 2,000 and 7,000 words in length. The majority of stories we publish are expected to be between 3,000 and 5,000 words.

We’re looking for stylish, atmospheric horror fiction, and we take a broad view of what that means. We’re interested in clearly defined characters, evocative settings, tight pacing and compelling plots. But most of all, we’re looking for stories that leave a lingering sense of unease after we’ve read them. We’re much more interested in expertly rendered dread than straightforward shocks.

We also see horror very much as part of the speculative fiction spectrum, and if your story has something to say, it’s likely to stand out in our submissions pile. Don’t just scare us: surprise us, intrigue us, open us up to new perspectives.

We are particularly keen to feature writing from a diverse range of voices, and we especially welcome submissions from writers of colour, disabled authors, LGBTQ+ authors, neurodivergent authors and anyone from a background or community underrepresented in publishing. If our submissions process presents any accessibility obstacles for you, please contact us to discuss any necessary accommodations.

Our debut issue will be dated Spring 2025, and while it isn’t a themed issue, stories with a particularly autumnal or wintery feel may not be the best fit.

Please also note that we will be publishing in British English. We will amend non-British spelling (color, flavor, etc.) unless there is a narrative reason not to.

Stories in translation are welcome as long as they have never previously been published in English. Please ensure that any translators are credited in your submission.

You are welcome to submit work which has been simultaneously submitted to other outlets, however, please let us know immediately if it is accepted elsewhere so that we can withdraw it from consideration.

(more…)

Articles

 by 

Indie Bookshelf Releases 09/13/2024

Got a book to launch, an event to promote, a kickstarter or seeking extra work/support as a result of being hit economically by life in general?

Get in touch and we’ll promote you here. The post is prepared each Thursday for publication on Friday. Contact us via Horror Tree’s contact address or connect via Twitter or Facebook.

Click on the book covers for more information. Remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page – there’s all sorts lurking in the deep.

 

(more…)

Trembling With Fear

 by 

Unholy Trinity: The Threads of Ruin by Michael Adamas

Our church worships at the altar of the Unholy Trinity. Its gospels are delivered as a trio of dark drabbles, linked so that Three become One. All hail the power of the Three.

 

I.

 

A black powder was falling from the sky. 

Terry stared at the precipitation in confusion; it was too warm for snow, and why would it be dirty this far from civilization? Her gaze turned toward a maple that was dusted with the substance.

The tree was dying before Terry’s eyes. Its leaves had gone brown and fallen. Pustules bubbled up under the bark, splitting it apart. Jumping back in shock, she saw the grove of pines behind her home decaying with the arrival of the terrible substance.

Terry crumpled to her knees, helpless, as the death came to her forest.

 

II.

 

Lucas squinted, trying to make out the approaching figures through the gloom. The boy was sheltered in the burnt remains of a house on what used to be a nice street. He adjusted his oxygen mask, letting out a muted cough. 

The figures drew closer. Raiders, searching for spoils in a land of poisoned earth. Three of them, and armed. They scattered like the vultures they were and picked greedily through the suburban ruins.

When he was sure that they wouldn’t see him, Lucas picked up the backpack he had loaded with supplies and slipped away, disappearing into the wasteland.

 

III.

 

The planet’s surface was littered with bones. Twisted, mutilated skeletons of trees stood among them, massive grave markers for the species lost. The biologists had seen the sight before on several worlds already.

The taller of the two scanned the soil with several instruments held in his many sets of arms. “Xymethian fungus, without a doubt,” he confirmed, waving his antennae wildly.

The second biologist opened communications with their ship. “Confirmed, the Plague has eradicated this world.”

They sadly entered the shuttle airlock. As the anti-fungal gas surrounded them, they prayed that next time, they would not be too late.

 

Michael Adamas

Michael Adamas was born in a barn and raised in a house. He spends long afternoons in the woods and creates art in his free time. He lives in Ohio.

Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flat Amount

 by 

Taking Submissions: Starship Librarians

Deadline: November 15th, 2024
Payment: $50 CDN and a Contributors Copy
Theme: Tell us about the librarians of the future and their key role in humanity

Fortune Favours the Bold

And that means seeking out diverse voices and visions. We value the opportunity to work with authors and artists of different races, gender, ages, religions, and identities. Fiction gives us the unique ability to experience new cultures and perspectives. Come explore with us.

edited by Shannon Allen and JR Campbell
Badgered and beleaguered, the front line of the culture wars, enduring book bans, budget cuts, and ruthless political theatre, it’s a tough time to be a Librarian. Yet if there is to be a better tomorrow, it will be built on the art and wisdom of today. Building community, preserving knowledge, sharing art: simple principles demanding resolute determination and sincere empathy from those staffing the desks and stocking the shelves.
And the Librarians of tomorrow?
Does anyone still believe that an algorithm can fill this vital, sensitive role? Librarians function above the digital revolution’s reach. Have we realized databases, search engines, and other tech tools can never replace human librarians? In the hands of a master, such tools might increase their abilities, but the great cathedrals of knowledge and monuments of literature will never be ruled by the soulless. You can’t code empathy, program taste, or script inspiration. It’s time we recognize society should never replace empowered Librarians.
We are looking for stories about the librarians of tomorrow. Whether essential crew in the grand exploration of the space, defenders of knowledge in bleak radioactive tomorrows, or idealists in the halls of Neo-Alexandria, we want to check out your stories.
A bold Commander, brilliant science officers, resourceful engineers, but no starship crew is complete without a librarian!

Rights and compensation:

(more…)

Articles / Reviews

 by 

Epeolatry Book Review: To Coventry by T.C. Parker

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: To Coventry
Author: T.C. Parker
Genre: psychic mysteries, werewolf and shifters suspense
Publisher: Nefarious Bat Press
Publication Date: 1st March, 2024

Synopsis: The young men of Coventry are dying, violently and bloodily, and nobody seems to know why. There’s no obvious reason for their deaths, and no connection at all between the victims.
Enter Sunny: demonic, immortal and bored to distraction by her new life in London. She needs a new challenge – another reason to get up from her fainting couch and grab the world by the throat. And the Coventry murders might be just what she’s looking for. A chance for her to channel her inner sleuth, dust off her fedora and, if she’s lucky – gather the suspects together for a shattering final denouement…
A pitch-dark comic-fantasy murder mystery with a light touch and a lot of anger, To Coventry takes the Hummingbird story in an unexpected direction – and brings a whole new meaning to some very old nursery rhymes…

(more…)

Events / Magazine / Semipro

 by 

Taking Submissions: Weird Horror Magazine November 2024 Window (Early Listing)

Submission Window: November 2nd – 15th, 2024
Payment: 2 cents per word with a $25 minimum
Theme: Horror and weird fiction

OPENS: November 2, 2024

CLOSES: November 15, 2024

We are seeking horror and weird fiction from 500 to 5,000 words, firm. Query first if your story is over 5,000 words. We are a home for the strange, the macabre, the eerie, the esoteric, the fabulist, and the gothic. The darkly numinous. The odd. We are not interested in extreme horror. Do not send science fiction or fantasy.

(more…)