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

Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Flash / Novella / Poetry

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Taking Submissions: Tales from the Silver City Saloon

Deadline: May 16th, 2025
Payment: Contributors Copy (as this is a charity anthology outside of that.)
Theme: Humorous, weird western science fiction

This is a humorous, weird western science fiction anthology, created in honor of Ken Rand. Ken was a fixture at Utah writing events, whether it was workshops, conventions, LTUE, or just hanging out. He’s perhaps best known for his The 10% Solution writing book, where he helps writers learn how to effectively edit their own work in order to greatly improve their stories. He also wrote a lot of weird westerns, science fiction, fantasy, and horror short works throughout his career, and almost all of his stories had humor in them.

We want humorous, weird west, science fiction tales and poetry (as long as the poetry tells a story, and long-form poetry would be awesome). Think The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr., The Wild Wild West TV series, and Cowboys and Aliens. Make your stories fun to read, make the characters interesting, and make us grin. The tales must have heart, must be solid stories, and must be positive in their outlook.

About the charity and more details for submissions:

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Articles / Interviews

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An Interview with Eric Rickstad

Remote Viewing with Eric Rickstad 

By Nikki Kirsch

 

Remote viewing is a fascinating phenomenon, and once I found out it was one of the topics of Eric Rickstad’s new series, I knew I wanted to interview him!

 

Grab a cozy, warm tea or coffee, settle in with your favorite blankie, and be prepared to be thoroughly freaked out at what the human mind just may be capable of…

 

Bio: Eric Rickstad is the New York Times, USA Today, Daily Globe, and international bestselling author of nine novels, published in numerous languages. His novel The Silent Girls has sold more than 500,000 copies. His other novels have been awarded a New York Times Best Thriller Of The Year, NPR Book Of The Year, Amazon Book of the Month, Apple Book of the Month, and two International Thriller Award nominations for Best Novel. 

 

His most recent novel, Lilith, is currently longlisted for the highly prestigious Aspen Word Literary Prize. His debut novel Reap was a New York Times Notable Book. He received his MFA from the University of Virginia as both a Henry Hoyns and a Corse Fellow. He’s taught in Emerson College’s MFA Writing Program, and at Boston University and The University of Virginia.  

 

He lives in Vermont with his wife, daughter, and son. 

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Articles / For Readers / Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

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: Murder by Memory
Author: Olivia Waite
Genre: sci-fi mystery
Publisher: tordotcom
Publication date: 18th March, 2025

Synopsis: A mind is a terrible thing to erase…

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes…

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Anthology / Events / Royalties

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Taking Submissions: Liminal Madness

Deadline: May 31st, 2025
Payment: Royalties
Theme: Stories where liminal space is a priority 

M Presents Publishing is looking for short stories for its forthcoming anthology: Liminal Madness. Liminal Madness is a slight departure from the straight horror that previous anthologies had focused on; while horror is definitely a theme in this book the stories can be about anything so long as the idea of liminal space is priority. Think of the popular Backrooms or any place that is an eerie transition between places, a place that seems normal yet there is something… wrong: a hallway in a school that is strangely silent or a staircase that seems to keep descending with no discernable bottom.

Liminal: adj: relating to a transitional or intermediate state, stage, or period
Liminal Space: noun: a state or place characterized by being transitional or intermediate in some way; informal: any location that is unsettling, uncanny, or dreamlike

Let your imagination run wild as these spaces envelop your mind, whether you’ve no-clipped out of reality or wandered off the forest path.

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Articles / Guest Post

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5 Things This Podcast Host Needs Horror Authors to Know

5 Things This Podcast Host Needs Horror Authors to Know

By: Ashe Woodward

 

If you’re a horror author, you’re likely more comfortable scribing alone in the silence of the blackened night. So it may seem like a direct gash in the face when it seems like everyone is telling you to “put yourself out there,” in the light of day, on a podcast, with an extroverted host spewing questions at you. 

 

I get it. I’m an author too.

 

But I’m also a podcaster, and you should know that being a guest on a respected podcast can do a lot for you. Not only is it great for exposure and book sales but it’s a way to build a sustaining brand around you and your future work. 

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 4-6-25

Greetings, children of the dark. Keeping it short this week to throw all the attention on this one thing: Our April/Spring window for short story submissions is now open! This is your call to submit, submit, submit! And you know what? It’s spring or autumn, depending on which end of the globe you live in, so let’s make a special call for some folk horror coming our way. It’s either planting or harvest season, so lean into those pagan motifs and get your outsiders into a closed community for some shenanigans. This is my greatest wish for this window. You have until 14 April to get something to us, and then we’ll close again until the summer. 

Until then, let’s celebrate the talented folks featured in this week’s edition of dark speculative fiction. For our main course, we’re following Bob Gielow’s media coverage of the apocalypse. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of a trio of regular contributors:

  • Kevin M. Folliard’s mid-air issues,
  • Robert Allen Lupton’s genetic manipulations, and
  • Weird Wilkins’s brush with the wild.

Over to you, Stuart.

Lauren McMenemy

Editor, Trembling With Fear

Hi all.

This week was two full days of training, which kept me as busy as last. That being said, the Trembling With Fear crew is officially done with proofing half of the next installment. I’ve almost got the sizing fully sourced to put in the request to have the covers finished size-wise, and then we can push forward! Huzzah! 

Now, for the standards:

  • Thank you so much to everyone who has become a Patreon for Horror Tree. We honestly couldn’t make it without you all!

Offhand, if you’ve ordered Trembling With Fear Volume 6, we’d appreciate a review!

For those who are looking to connect with Horror Tree as we’re not really active on Twitter anymore, we’re also in BlueSky and Threads. *I* am also now on BlueSky and Threads.

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Articles / For Readers

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Indie Bookshelf Releases 04/04/2025

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 Tuesday 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.

 

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Trembling With Fear

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Unholy Trinity: Dracula’s Castle by James Nemeth

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.

 

Dracula’s Castle

 

Jim Nemeth’s Journal

31 Oct. Transylvania—

The carriage dropped me at the castle at midnight. Dracula, clean shaven save for a long white mustache and clad completely in black, opened the door, bid me to enter freely and gave me a tour. 

Afterward, I presented my report. “Count, as your Airbnb rep, I have to be honest: the broken battlements, the cobwebs, remote location, lack of servants, the wolves…”

Dracula looked crestfallen. 

“Count, I think we have a real WINNER here!” I said.

The Count beamed. He approached as if to hug me, but instead bit me in the neck.

 

 

Hotep – Seth

 

The archeologist’s face turned to uncomprehending horror as he tried to stop the advance of Hotep-Seth, guardian mummy of the tomb, by thrusting and waving the blazing torch. Hotep-Seth would have laughed if he could as he lifted the defiler by the neck and repeatedly slammed his head against the stone wall. 

Hotep-Seth reached down and picked up the still blazing object that had for centuries been his greatest undoing. So many fiery deaths followed by phoenix-like resurrections. But no more. He gazed at his body, admiring the tomb priests’ work in rewrapping his form in fire-retardant gauze.

 

Nothing Under the Bed

 

Mrs. Grimes grunted as she stood erect from kneeling beside little Johnny’s bed.

“There’s nothing there, Johnny. No clawed and fanged hairy monster. Nothing. Now go to bed!”

“But mom,” Johnny started to blubber.

“No, Johnny! I’ve had it! Night after night screaming the house down! Now, come here. I want you to look.”

“Mom, no!” Johnny pleaded, tears running down his face.

“Do it, Johnny. Now. Or else.” 

Tears still streaming, Johnny kneeled down. His eyes refused to open.

“Open your eyes!” Johnny’s mother bellowed.

Johnny did and whimpered as the clawed and fanged hairy monster winked at him.

 

 

James Nemeth

I am a published author of both fiction and non-fiction. In 1993, I won 1st Prize in a national magazine’s short story writing contest for which novelists Ray Bradbury and Robert Bloch were judges. Winning held special meaning for me, as Robert Bloch remains my favorite writer and main literary influence. I have had essays, articles and reviews printed in a variety of magazines, including Filmfax, Mad About Movies, and Scary Monsters. I am the book review columnist for the revived Castle of Frankenstein magazine as well as the webmaster of the Robert Bloch Official Website (robertbloch.net). The year 2020 saw the release of my co-authored It Came From? The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Films, an examination of 21 classic fantastic films, and the books/stories that inspired them.