Author: Lauren McMenemy

Hello, children of the dark. We’re now officially in the summer months, so how are you doing? Making the most of the good weather? I’m very much not as I’m still bundled up on the sofa with broken bones. It’s been really quite depressing, honestly; my mental health is taking a real dip. And then I was reminded that I committed, on a podcast, to have the first draft of my novel done by the end of the summer and that’s only three months away now and arrrghghgahsgsadg. Best get to work, eh?

How’s your WIP going? What are you working on? If it’s something witchy, you might want to check out the event I launched last week, looking at all things witches in fiction and non-fiction. Join us, won’t you? Follow my new thing over on Instagram at @societyofinkslingers. 

That should be enough to keep me occupied and off the couch, eh? So let’s dive in. 

This week’s short story is a gorgeously gothic seaside tale by Twelve House Books’ Scáth Beorh. This is followed by three delicious quick bites:

• Addison Smith’s granny has some peculiar talents,
• Melissa Ren watches everything, just out of sight, and 
• Don Money learns why it pays to be nice to strangers.

And a few reminders before I let you go: 

• We love a drabble. Please send them to us! 
• We also love three drabbles, connected by some form of thread. We call these Unholy Trinities, and our specials editor Shalini Bethala would love to see some more in the inbox.
• Ditto serials. Have you got a longer story that could logically be serialised into four parts? We have great need of these! Check out our submissions page for details, then send ‘em in to Shalini. Honestly, she’s lovely. She just has some super-dark reading proclivities.

Oh – and as a final word, I *think* I’ve caught up on all things TWF email now. But if you’re still waiting for word on something, please do get in touch and I’ll chase down an answer with great earnestness.

Over to you, Stuart.

We have a draft completed of one of our two Trembling With Fear releases! The Specials Edition is still pretty far out but, progress my friends! I’m excited to be able to share any kind of progress with you. 🙂 (Side note: Like Lauren above, I have writing deadlines for completing drafts of novels/novellas this year. Mine are, thankfully, a bit further out.) 

Outside of that, not much to say. Still planning the server move. Still slammed with the day job and school. 2 Weeks out for my day job to calm down a bit so, fingers crossed I can make it! 

If you’d like to extend your support to the site, we’d be thrilled to welcome your contributions through Ko-Fi or Patreon. Your generosity keeps us fueled and fired up to bring you the very best.

Hello, children of the dark. This week we’re scrambling a bit, because – as you’ll see below – Stuart got some big news and had some big headaches when it comes to this here site. So we’re keeping it short and sweet so we can make sure you get an issue this weekend and not… not get one? 

So here we go. An update from the boss man is below, but let’s dig into this week’s tremblingly good menu.

In our short story, Matias F Travieso-Diaz takes us deep into the Amazon. This is followed by three delicious quick bites:

• Victoria Huntley waits in silence and grief,
• Fiona M. Jones hasn’t yet built resistance, and 
• Kellee Kranendonk deals with my worst nightmare (spiders! argh!).

And a few reminders before I let you go: 

• We love a drabble. Please send them to us! 
• We also love three drabbles, connected by some form of thread. We call these Unholy Trinities, and our specials editor Shalini Bethala would love to see some more in the inbox.
• Ditto serials. Have you got a longer story that could logically be serialised into four parts? Check out our submissions page for details, then send ‘em in to Shalini.
• Finally, we still have submissions open for Shadowed Realms, the new Horror Tree anthology covering the non-pro markets. Details over here.

Oh – and as a final word, my current broken-bone-ness means I’ve personally been running behind on TWF emails and submissions. Shalini has been helping out, but I’ll get onto these things this week. Thank you for your patience. 

Over to you, Stuart.

We’ve had a TON of site problems this last week. It seems to have been ironed out for not but it hopefully has moved up our timetable to moving to the new host. We almost made an emergency move over the week that we weren’t prepared for and would have lost us email for a week. 

I had more to say this week, but, the site problems are pretty much eating up all of my attention, so hopefully it is all temporarily straightened out and this means that the move will happen sooner than later.

If you’d like to extend your support to the site, we’d be thrilled to welcome your contributions through Ko-Fi or Patreon. Your generosity keeps us fueled and fired up to bring you the very best.

Hello, children of the dark. How are the lighter days treating you? Every year, I get confused by how light it is in London Town right about now. It’s usually so dark and murky by the time I’m finishing up work for the day, but now it’s as bright as anything. I find myself accidentally working longer and longer hours, tricked by the sun. I’m sure it’s a capitalist plot to turn us all into worker drones.

This wouldn’t be so bad if I was at least earning the big bucks. Alas, as a freelancer in this market, those days are well and truly over. I am, however, using my time to build up something pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. Something new for the indie genre writing community. And something else for those who write in the occult realms, too. Big things afoot.

But anyway, you’re not here for my incoherent, broken-bone-influenced rambling. Let’s get onto this week’s trembling offerings, quick smart!

In our short story, C.M. Sumrall invites us to dinner for reminiscing – and revenge. This is followed by three delicious quick bites:

• Justin Hamelin deals with a haunted house,
• Ceferino Ruiz deals with grief, and 
• Mike Rader deals with a college prank.

And a few reminders before I let you go: 

• We love a drabble. Please send them to us! 
• We also love three drabbles, connected by some form of thread. We call these Unholy Trinities, and our specials editor Shalini Bethala would love to see some more in the inbox.
• Ditto serials. Have you got a longer story that could logically be serialised into four parts? Check out our submissions page for details, then send ‘em in to Shalini.
• Finally, we still have submissions open for Shadowed Realms, the new Horror Tree anthology covering the non-pro markets. Details over here.

Over to you, Stuart.

Hello, dear readers!

As we sail through the whirlpool of time, my current class is proving to be quite the adventure – an exhilarating ride of learning that’s keeping me on my toes! Also, it is really taking up ALL of my time as it is a lot more work than the other courses that I’ve taken so far. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we’re orchestrating our server’s grand migration to its new digital residence. Rest assured, we’re on track to have a move date finally decided upon by this time next week!

On another equally exciting front, our yearly anthology, a veritable treasure trove of gripping narratives, is steadily nearing completion. Soon, it’ll be ready to leap off the press and into your eager hands. I think. I hope. 

Now, here’s a gentle nudge for all you brilliant authors out there! Don’t forget to submit your best work to our ‘Shadowed Realms: The 2022 Indie Dark Fiction Anthology’. The deadline is creeping up as we approach the end of the month. For newcomers, this anthology aims to showcase the crème de la crème of dark fiction, ranging from 1,000 to 9,000 words, published in semi-pro and token-paying markets in 2022. Yes. This is a REPRINT anthology and is a wonderful opportunity to earn 1 cent per word for your reprinted work. We can’t wait to delve into your dark, compelling tales!

If you’d like to extend your support to the site, we’d be thrilled to welcome your contributions through Ko-Fi or Patreon. Your generosity keeps us fueled and fired up to bring you the very best.

I hope that you all had an enjoyable weekend, and an enjoyable read of dark fiction savor during your downtime!

Hello, children of the dark. This week’s edition is coming to you from a rather dated hotel somewhere in the west of England. Despite the broken ankle et al, I’ve been on a bit of a road trip this week with the other half. It was not a good idea to go on holiday right now, but it was also the best idea in the world. There’s something about the English seaside when a storm comes rolling in…

We’re out and about this week of all weeks because we had wanted to be at that marvellous festival of pop superstardom that is Eurovision, but thankfully we decided against trying our luck with tickets. Instead, we got as far away as we could, down in my husband’s ancestral homelands. ‘Tis wild and woolly in Cornwall at this time of year, and I love it. Partly because it reminds me of my own home, with the beachy vibes of South Australia, but also because it’s so steeped in myth and folklore. Everywhere you turn, there could be a ghost or a pisky (what they call pixies in these parts), just waiting to change your life. 

There’s also the marvellous Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in the tiny coastal village of Boscastle, which we visited today, the day I’m writing this. It was my second trip to the museum and I love this collection. It’s highly recommended if you happen to be in this part of the world – though it takes a lot of travelling to get here, if you don’t live very locally!

While you’re on your way, or contemplating your route, take a look at our trembling offerings for this week. In our short story, Paul R. Panossian stares into the watery darkness. This is followed by three delicious quick bites:

• R.A. Goli is playing in the wrong place at the wrong time,
• Victoria Huntley finds more than she should among shadows, and
• Alan Moskowitz deals with an unwelcome garden visitor.

And a few reminders before I let you go: 

• We love a drabble. Please send them to us! 
• We also love three drabbles, connected by some form of thread. We call these Unholy Trinities, and our specials editor Shalini Bethala would love to see some more in the inbox.
• Ditto serials. Have you got a longer story that could logically be serialised into four parts? Check out our submissions page for details, then send ‘em in to Shalini.
• Finally, we still have submissions open for Shadowed Realms, the new Horror Tree anthology covering the non-pro markets. Details over here.

Over to you, Stuart.

Whew. What a week. We’re still progressing through everything; nothing is quite in place yet. However, progress is being made! 

Make sure to submit to our Shadowed Realms: The 2022 Indie Dark Fiction Anthology! Time is coming to a close. For those unfamiliar with the anthology, in it, we’re looking for the best 1,000-9,000 word dark fiction published in semipro and token-paying markets in 2022! This reprint anthology will be paying 1 cent per word, and we’re very excited to start taking a look at your work!

For those looking to support the site, we’re always open Ko-Fi donations and always have our Patreon going.

As always, I hope you had a great weekend.