Author: Stephanie Ellis

I’m moving! I hope. Two possible dates given as I write this. If things get slightly delayed in terms of responses from me for TWF, this is why. Hopefully the move goes smoothly and I get internet sorted relatively quickly, but who knows, the way this year has gone! In the meantime, the boxes around me are multiplying. I’m still trying to write but this is all very distracting.

I’m also another year older. Fifty-seven yes, but age is completely irrelevant in the writing industry as far as I’m concerned – nobody is ever too old.

Before we go to the stories, here’s my usual weekly reminder to check out the submission guidelines for TWF. Also remember we are currently closed to short stories (unless for one of the Specials) but open to drabbles, unholy trinities and serials.

Our first story in Trembling With Fear this week is Mare Factory by Daniel Purcell. I really enjoyed the way it was told, almost as if in confidence, inviting you in to join in the horror and madness as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Find Me by Toshiya Kamei continues to introduce us to a story fixed in another culture which I love. I don’t even mind looking up unknown words, it keeps things fresh and broadens my knowledge.

Parting by Patrick Winters is an ending with a difference, beautifully written.

Puddle of Blood by Kim Plasket is a piece submitted as prose but the formatting gave it a poetic form and I read it as such. The idea of this puddle being observed and not claimed, waiting for the guilty party is something that particularly grabbed me.

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

For those who have asked, the entire house situation has gone sideways. I’ll shoot out an update when we know exactly what is happening. Needless to say, that has been all time-consuming as of late.
That being said, you may have noticed the site responding quite a bit quicker! We’ve got both new resources on the back end and the front end which will hopefully have response times up. If you do come across any strange things, do reach out so we can make sure they are fixed asap! Our temporarily new front page layout will likely be able to go up quicker due to these speed increases. Huzzah!

As to Trembling With Fear, we’re eagerly looking for new drabble and the new anthology (I know that I’ve said this before) is getting much closer! 🙂

I hope you all have a great weekend and upcoming week!

In amongst my writing time, I always try and find bits of software or learn new skills which I can use for those ‘non-writing’ aspects of our lives, eg promo and marketing.

With this in mind, I went back to creating graphics for an anthology I’m in and discovered this ‘Free Online Book Mockup Maker’. Normally, I download book mockup .psd files and loading them into GIMP and have to faff around with layers and things – bear with me! This site is so much easier – choose the design you want, eg Kindle or standing book, upload the cover, choose .png (so you can change the background) or .jpg and that’s it. It downloads your image. So easy and means more of us can make decent looking promo images for our work without having to fork out money we don’t have. I hope you find it useful.

Before we go to the stories, here’s my usual weekly reminder to check out the submission guidelines for TWF. Also remember we are currently closed to short stories (unless for one of the Specials) but open to drabbles, unholy trinities and serials.

The first story this week in Trembling with Fear is Murder by Lake by J J Munro is particularly enjoyable because it takes us to another setting. Different backdrops are more than welcome, it allows you to weave in extra elements to your story that might not sit so well in the standard setting and gives standard tropes a ‘fresh coat’. The first paragraph directs you to the different geography as well as indicating what will happen there but it also contains a very casual, almost friendly sentence when the main character references his sister’s death and follows it up with how she ‘let me inherit the family estate’, as if there was no effort involved. Flat sentences, banal words, throwaway comments juxtaposed against horror often strengthen the effect of the darkness described.

Grey Matters by Rickey Rivers Jr has a nice, almost sardonic voice directing its hapless human towards a trap.

Just Another Bad Dream by Connor Long-Johnson clashes apparent safety and reassurance against something so wrong.

The Song of the Forest by Alyson Faye turns the tables on a hunter in a short exercise on how to craft wonderful imagery with only a few words.

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

Whelp. This weekend my house has been up for sale. In my area, a LOT of houses have had offers in on the first weekend. Please wish me luck for all the craziness it took me to get here.

Moving on, Trembling With Fear is, as always, currently on the lookout for new Drabble! We have a few through the first week of June (and a spattering past that for authors who have sent in a few ahead of time) though we always like to have a bit more of a cushion. Please send in your 100-word stories!

The next TWF physical release has inched closer with more artwork in our inbox AND the temporary redesign for the website is steadily moving forward. More on all of the above SOON!

National Poetry Month has been and gone but before poetry disappears from the main stage, remember we will accept dark/spec fic poems in TWF. For contract purposes they are treated exactly the same as the drabble, even if their word count is higher. I do like poetry!

Before we go to the stories, here’s my usual weekly reminder to check out the submission guidelines for TWF. Also remember we are currently closed to short stories (unless for one of the Specials) but open to drabbles, unholy trinities and serials.

This week Trembling with Fear starts with Crosstown Scherzo by F.M. Scott introduced me to a new word, and yes the definition given is not made up, though Finis Egg might be! Vance faces accidents and omens on his way to work. Does he pay attention or just dismiss them. A good build up of tension as the omens stack up the closer he gets to his office.

Curiosity Kills a Marriage by Radar DeBoard has a locked trunk, so far, so typical but the twist is a nice difference.

Man-size in Concrete by R.J. Meldrum brings us creepy sculptures for his monthly offering. You could almost imagine an inventive gang boss being behind this.

The Second Wave by Mike Rader actually reflects horrors which do happen. How many news stories have we heard which tell a similar account.

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

Tomorrow is the last day of my current course in my MBA program. After this, I’ll have a little over a month off. So, while this would normally give me a pile of extra time added to my plate, I am in the process of moving as well so we’ll see if that gives me any actual time or not. That being said, there has been movement on both the potential site upgrade (with a mini-upgrade happening soon) and the next TWF physical release. More details soon!