Category: Articles

Articles / Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Our Own Unique Affliction by Scott J. Moses

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: Our Own Unique Affliction

Author: Scott J. Moses

Publisher: Dark Lit Press

Genre: Vampire/ Occult Horror

Release date: April 26th 2023

Synopsis: Our Own Unique Affliction is the story of Alice Ann, a dejected immortal who longs for her life in the sun. Navigating guilt, loss, family, meaning, murder, and all that comes with the curse of living forever. An existential bleak, quiet until it’s not, hallucination on duality, rife with fangs, empathy, blood, and grief.


Content warnings from the author: “Alcohol use, suicidal ideation, self-harm, neglect, violence, and musings on the nature of reality. How little we know.”

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Articles / Blog Tour

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The Measure of Sorrow Blog Tour: Time and the deep, black lake: resurrecting a story you’ve given up for dead

Time and the deep, black lake: resurrecting a story you’ve given up for dead

Have you ever written a story you loved so much but just couldn’t get to work? A stack of pages (whether real or metaphorical) you look upon with pangs of regret each time you slide open your (real or metaphorical) desk drawer—that drawer where all the other trunkers lay, forsaken? Do you ever take it out to reconsider with a kind of conflicted longing, as you might think back on a past lover—a lover with whom things were both electric and ill-fated—wishing it would either reveal itself in all its naked glory, or stop calling and let you get on with your life? 

Some stories are just like that. And though it may be painful, to set them free we have to let them go. (Let them go, yes—but never, not ever, throw them away.)

I wrote the first draft of the title novella in my short story collection, The Measure of Sorrow, close on ten years ago. I wrote it in a white heat of ideas piling on ideas, of puzzle pieces attracted one to another that just fit, of sustained inspiration that took me deep down, away from the original story seed, and into places I’d never explored before. It was exhilarating. I loved it. But it didn’t work.

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Articles / Guest Post

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10 Tips on How Not to Lose Your Mind While Self-Editing Your Book

10 Tips on How Not to Lose Your Mind While Self-Editing Your Book

Editing your own work can be an overwhelming and mind-boggling task. The words may seem to swirl on the page, and the initial spark that ignited your passion for writing can fade away amidst the frustration. 

However, it needn’t be like that.

With a wealth of tips and tools at your disposal, you can navigate the journey of self-editing while preserving your sanity and emerge with a finished book to be proud of. 

Let’s dive into 10 invaluable tips that will guide you through this challenging endeavor and help you stay on track when creating a polished masterpiece.

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Articles / Interviews

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An Interview With Matt Micheli About Two Minutes with the Devil’

Do you want to play a game? Brave enough to take a risk? This one is for those who, despite the underlying dread, still dare to dabble with the darkness…Two Minutes with the Devil, the latest book from horror indie writer Matt Micheli takes us back to the 80s. When imagination ran rife, creativity coursed through our veins, and we never really knew if the legends were real…

Let’s talk to Matt to find out more about Two Minutes with the Devil.

“One part Stand by Me, one part Stranger Things, Two Minutes with the Devil is one helluva fun-yet-heartbreaking thriller, a throwback to when things were good… and evil.”

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Articles

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June 2023 Horrorscopes: The Creatures that Skitter in the Night!

Here in the Northern hemisphere, summer is upon us. Picnics, gardening, and, of course, up close and personal encounters of a whole range of terrifying insects! I, personally, love insects and arachnids, and nothing says summer more than the wonderfully atmospheric call of the cicadas. Yet, even in winter, these amazing life forms persist and survive. Sadly, as potentially “spooky” as many of these skittering creatures are for people, they are the ones that are more impacted by the activities of people, with large numbers of these species listed as threatened or endangered.

So, break out the citronella candles, put away the pesticides, and try to make peace with the legions of bugs all waiting to welcome you back to the great outdoors!

Disclaimer: As always, these are mock “horrorscopes” and should not be considered as predictive or indicative of any specific person or persons. The insects, bugs, and arachnids are very real, however.

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Articles

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Paying Markets For Speculative Fiction Authors | Top Open Calls May 22-June 2nd, 2023

Salutations, mythical tale-crafters! 🎉 Prepare your quills as we embark on a new magical journey through the enchanting realms of speculative fiction. As your steadfast loremasters, we’re devoted to discovering the most captivating enchanted forests—or, might we say, markets—for you, the daring bards of our time. With each moon cycle, we conjure up splendid opportunities to set your muses dancing and transmute your storytelling magic into real treasures! 📚✨

This week’s mystic scroll teems with golden insights as we unmask 🚀 Newly-emerging, top-ranking markets scattered across the infinite landscapes of speculative fiction!

Our arcane map of wonders is your compass to these gleaming prospects. You’ll uncover the precise details for these enthralling summonings conveniently placed via the hyperlinks beneath:

Let’s inspire your minds with an interesting tidbit about June: did you know that June is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth? As Juno symbolizes new beginnings, may your narratives this month usher in fresh perspectives and bewitch your readers with your creative births.

Your stories are the mystical creatures that inhabit our world. They trace your path through the realm of creative enchantment. So, let’s decipher our scrolls and bravely navigate the fantasy chronicles, one epic at a time! 🚀

To end on an uplifting note, remember this powerful wisdom from esteemed author J.R.R. Tolkien, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” So, let the strength of your unique imagination be your guide, and continue weaving. The realm of lore is eager for your stories!

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Articles / Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

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: Find Him Where You Left Him Dead 

Author: Kristen Simmons

Publisher: Tor Teen

Genre: Horror

Release date: September 2023

Synopsis: Four years ago, five kids started a game. Not all of them survived.

 

Now, at the end of their senior year of high school, the survivors―Owen, Madeline, Emerson, and Dax―have reunited for one strange and terrible reason: they’ve been summoned by the ghost of Ian, the friend they left for dead.

 

Together they return to the place where their friendship ended with one goal: find Ian and bring him home. So they restart the deadly game they never finished―an innocent card-matching challenge called Meido. A game without instructions.

 

As soon as they begin, they’re dragged out of their reality and into an eerie hellscape of Japanese underworlds, more horrifying than even the darkest folktales that Owen’s grandmother told him. There, they meet Shinigami, an old wise woman who explains the rules:

 

They have one night to complete seven challenges or they’ll all be stuck in this world forever.

 

Once inseparable, the survivors now can’t stand each other, but the challenges demand they work together, think quickly, and make sacrifices―blood, clothes, secrets, memories, and worse.

 

And once again, not everyone will make it out alive.

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Articles

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Indie Bookshelf Releases 06/02/2023

Got a book to launch, an event to promote, a kickstarter or seeking extra work/support as a result of being hit economically by Covid or 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.

 

Before you scroll down through the books however, please could you consider checking out this fundraiser for one of our community members, Cassie Lola Daley who has recently been made homeless due to rent rises beyond her control. Working, but still looking, she and her family need just a little bit more to see them settled. Click on the image to go to her fundraising page. Whilst she’s hit her target, I am leaving this up to help out. I know they haven’t found a place yet and they still need support. Thank you!

 

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