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

Reviews

 by 

Epeolatry Book Review: The Rules of the Road by C.B. Jones

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 Rules of the Road 
Author: C.B. Jones
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Ionosphere Press
Release Date: 24th August, 2021

Synopsis:

Do you ever wonder why it is you sometimes see a single shoe on the side of the road? What happens if you don’t hold your breath when you pass a cemetery? Why should you pay careful attention to that strange speed limit sign, the one that reads 67 MPH?

When an amateur journalist encounters a mysterious radio program while driving alone one late night, he is presented with a set of instructions with potentially fatal consequences. After escaping with his life, obsession takes hold and he is determined to find out who is behind the broadcast and who else it has affected. His investigation leads him to speak with travelers and truckers, vagabonds and vacationers, models and rock stars, each with their own sinister encounter with the strange program. His search draws him into a world of deadly discovery from which there is no turning back.

So settle down and buckle up. Stay alert for the signs to survive. Do not adjust that dial. Prepare to be a lucky—or unlucky—listener to “The Rules of The Road.” What will the static settle on for you?

Have you ever stumbled upon some random AM radio station while driving through the middle of nowhere? Extra points if you were traveling along a long desolate road in the middle of the night. Usually, it’s just some lower power signal of a fire and brimstone preacher, or some local sports talk broadcast. But there are always urban legends of some strange recording of ominous noises or some pirate signal broadcasting some guy ranting about chem trails and the secret cabal of lunch ladies across the Midwest.

Well, Rules of the Road by C.B. Jones stirs up those same feelings of unease through a collection of short stories wrapped in one framing story, a la Clive Barker’s Books of Blood. With each story you get another piece of the puzzle, another clue as to what is going with this strange radio broadcast sharing, ‘Rules of the Road’, which, if you don’t follow, may have deadly consequences. I’ll give you one example. If you come across a single shoe lying beside the road, you must stop and place one of your own socks within. What happens if you don’t do this? Probably something bad, really bad. So, why take a chance? What’s one less sock?

This book is an unsettling trip through the horrors of modern Americana. Discover the things that scare those who call the road home, like missed cellphone calls, social media, and the loss of self, Geo Metros (super creepy), mysterious phone numbers on bathroom stalls, and the ever-pernicious boiled peanuts!

My personal favorites from this are ‘Landslide’ and ‘What’s Your Name?’ Both take wonderfully unexpected turns.

So, if you like books similar to Brotherhood of the Wheel by R.S. Belcher or the Lost Signals anthology edited by Max Booth III, be sure to check out this new release from up-and-coming horror author C.B. Jones.

out of 5 ravens.

Available from Amazon.

Articles / Guest Post

 by 

How To Start Writing Your Own Horror Blog

How To Start Writing Your Own Horror Blog

A horror blog is an excellent opportunity to combine your passion for such a genre and be useful to other lovers of the horror world.  Surely you know what fans of this genre want to get, and this is a starting point in blog creation. If you do not know where to start your blog, then in this article, you will find tips that will help you start writing horror stories and trigger readers’ interest. 

Top 5 Tips How to Start Your Horror Blog

Newbies in such a direction as horror blogging face difficulties to start content creation. Even though there are a lot of those who prefer horror topics, this direction requires a reasonable approach to conquer their audience. Below you will find tips that will help you to start writing a horror blog.

Determine the Purpose of Your Blog

Before you start creating a blog, it is worth it to determine the goal. Maybe you desire to write horror stories? Maybe you are dreaming of making horror or book movie reviews? 
(more…)

Reviews

 by 

Epeolatry Book Review: The Heron Kings by Eric Lewis

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 Heron Kings
Author: Eric Lewis
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Flame Tree Press
Release Date: 23rd April, 2020

Synopsis: After a warlord slaughters her patients, Sister Alessia quits the cloister and strikes out on her own to heal the victims of a brutal dynastic conflict. Her roaming forest camp unwittingly becomes the center of a vengeful peasant insurgency, raiding the forces of both sides to survive. Alessia struggles to temper their fury as well as tend wounds, consenting to ever greater violence to keep her new charges safe. When they uncover proof of a foreign conspiracy prolonging the bloodshed, Alessia risks the very lives she’s saved to expose the truth and bring the war to an end.

‘The Heron Kings’ has us dive headfirst into a fantasy world at war. In it, two factions contest the rights to rulership in a kingdom divided, and instead of focusing on one side or the other, we get to see what happens to the commoners who have no stake in the game. The world that Eric Lewis gives us is rich and highly developed with characters who aren’t 2D and really stand out.
Right as the tale begins, we get to see that nowhere in this world is safe, including a religious haven for those who have come to be healed. As we begin, we meet Alessia, a healer and nun who has lost her faith. She strikes out on her own and sees that the failed world she has lived in is even worse than she had known. Gathering a band of survivors together, she is ultimately put in charge of their fates as well as the fates of countless others. Her primary frenemy is Ulnoth, a man set on revenge, having lost his family to the war. Neither of these characters is necessarily that likable, but their motives are easy to relate to, and the tale, on the whole, is compelling.
We’re also delivered complex characters on the opposite side as we meet the brutal General Taurix, who is leading the charge for one of the kingdoms, and a spymistress Vivian. Unfortunately, the central two leaders of the conflict aren’t fleshed out that well though the intrigue of the war overshadows everything going on, and there are mysteries within mysteries as to what actually kicked off this brutal conflict.
I should stress, this is brutal as the novel is full of gore and situations that won’t be for the squeamish. Though I will add that none of it was shoehorned in, and all was needed to properly set the tone of living through war.
Overall, I enjoyed this new world that Lewis created and felt that things wrapped up nicely. There is room to expand the story though this could just as easily be a completely self-contained work. With how brutal some of the scenes are, it won’t be for everyone, especially those who are looking for happy endings. As war tends to be, even when things end, they are messy and bloodthirsty things that have a negative impact on everyone and everything they come in contact with.

 

I give this collection  out of 5.

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.

Trembling With Fear

 by 

Trembling With Fear 09/05/21

Please note: We are temporarily closed to short flash stories (unless for one of the Specials) but open to drabbles, unholy trinities and serials. We hope to reopen later in the year once we have caught up with the publication of those already accepted. Please also remember to read our guidelines, especially on word counts!

Time is flying and this is the first September where I don’t have to go back to school, something I can’t quite get over. Instead, I am looking forward to autumn with a quiet joy as most horror writers do, this is very often the time when our work gains more notice by virtue of Halloween (remember our Special, folks, if you want to submit to that) and those long dark nights.

This last week I was able to trigger the pre-order for the Daughters of Darkness II anthology which I wanted to match with Mary Shelley’s birthday of August 30th. As amazon says give it 72 hours – but I knew it was faster – I pressed the button halfway through the 28th. A few hours later it was live. I wish that amazon would allow you to set the date when pre-order is to go live, otherwise you end up telling people not to say anything if they notice so you can get a proper announcement done! As they say, timing is everything and that was pretty rubbish 😊 I also managed to get that short story done for the 1st Sept. Probably won’t be successful as I had to push to do it but at least I managed something. And it’s a piece I can return to in the future if it doesn’t hit the requirements.

Reading this week has been The Bridge by J.S. Breukelaar, a recent guest at Shotgun Logic. I didn’t do that podcast as it would’ve been 2 a.m. in the UK! I still read the book however. A deep, absorbing dark fantasy with elements of Greek mythology, I really enjoyed it. Next to read is Priory by Becky Wright. I have also developed a habit of reading a non-horror book –  when I can – at the end of the day, to switch off from the genre and keep my reading ‘wide’. I’m currently revisiting Scandi noir with Hakan Nesser’s The Root of Evil.

This week, Trembling with Fear leads with The Run by Alec Thomson. A beautifully poignant piece, rich with atmospheric setting and gentle empathy for an end of life situation. What would a mother do for her son, or a son for his mother? A simple run becomes a last gift.

The Colony by Jonathan Worlde gives us a little sci-fi adventure in a place that appears almost too good to be true.

Omnipotent Apathy by Jake Fitzgerald takes us into the teenage mind, a seething cauldron if ever there was one, and gives it form. That last line is so true!

Our Sighting by Kevin M. Folliard is a nice example of be careful what you wish for? Do you want to prove the existence of aliens? Then go looking. But will you come back?

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

A week into the MBA program and my biggest accomplishment (aside from starting a short story and submitting a drabble) was to really catch up on Horror Tree backend work. E-mails have been responded to, short stories and drabbles read. A short story has been edited for one of our Patreons. Now, onto more things!

Trembling With Fear is open for our Halloween Edition until October 13th, so be sure to get your stories in! Full details can be found here.

Offhand, if you run a website and would like to write an article about Horror Tree or Trembling With Fear, we’d really appreciate that! Please reach out with any questions for facts in the article (who does what, when sections were started, etc), any promotional artwork, or with a link once it is live so we can feature it on the site and on our social media.

Have a great week everyone! 

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

(more…)

Articles

 by 

September 2021: Tarot Cards for Writing Inspiration

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

September 2021: Tarot Cards for Writing Inspiration

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

There’s a certain appeal to the magic and wonder of carnivals and circuses, isn’t there? Unless it’s the nocturnal circus whose lights blaze to life just as you’re pumping gas at a remote rural gas station, that is. Or the haunting tones of carnival coming from the empty field out behind the dingy roadside motel you just checked into for the night. So, for September’s reading, let your imagination soar with the aerial performers of the Big Top as you create tales of gothic gloom and doom.

 

Photo courtesy of Canva.com

Setting: Six of Pentacles (Reversed). The main character finds themselves evicted due to the lingering financial impact of the pandemic. With very little money, and nowhere else to go, the character has to pack what they can in a backpack and go on the road looking for work. With no fixed address, work is hard to come by, but the character manages to pick up odd jobs here and there. When they come across a motel in the middle of rural farmland, the character decides to spend the money for a room and the opportunity to take a hot shower.

  (more…)

Reviews

 by 

Epeolatry Book Review: Blood & Bone, ed. A.R. Ward

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: Blood & Bone: An Anthology of Body Horror by Women and Non-Binary Writers
Author: Various, ed. A.R. Ward
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Ghost Orchid Press
Release Date: 22nd September, 2021

Synopsis: Since the earliest creation myths, womens’ bodies have been a site of conflict, venerated and feared in equal measure. In this collection, talented female and non-binary writers let rip with twenty-two powerful, visceral body horror stories that explore, celebrate and dissect (sometimes literally) femininity and the female experience. The stories traverse difficult and sometimes controversial ground, digging into subjects like eating disorders, the beauty industry, pregnancy, infertility, body dysmorphia, domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse–all done with passion, humour, and creativity. Approach with an open mind and a strong stomach.

According to the website TV Tropes, body horror is horror “involving body parts, parasitism, disfigurement, mutation, or unsettling bodily configuration, not induced by immediate violence,” which may give you an idea for what’s in store within the latest anthology from Ghost Orchid Press, Blood & Bone: An Anthology of Body Horror by Women & Non-Binary Writers. Most of the stories in this anthology hit the above threshold definition of body horror, with few exceptions. 

In the Foreword, Alex Woodroe mentions, “One of the greatest things about body horror is that it’s unlikely anyone reading this anthology right now is doing so by accident. You know what you want.” I have to hand it to Woodroe, going in to this anthology I had expectations for the types of stories that I would encounter, and I wasn’t let down. Being an anthology about both women and bodies, I expected tales of pregnancy, motherhood, self-image, identity, and troubled relationships. This anthology delivered on all of those expectations. 

 “Siphonophore,” by Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin, opened the collection on a high note. The creative use of point of view and beautiful prose took a tale we all know and created something interesting and original. 

Caitlin Marceau’s story, “Gastric,” took on issues of body image and self-esteem and combined them with gaslighting in a heartbreaking story about a woman who is repeatedly told how she should look and feel. 

Another highlight of this collection was Evelyn Freeling’s “What Goes Down, Must Come Up.” Freeling puts a fresh spin on her story with creative use of second person point of view. This story was at turns intense, disgusting, and heartbreaking. 

“Knit, Purl,” by Nicole M. Wolverton was another horrific tale. Very early in the story, I knew the direction the narrative was going to take, but the inevitability of the outcome didn’t detract from my enjoyment. It was a horrifying accident that I couldn’t tear my eyes from. 

The last story I’d like to mention is Nico Bell’s “Written on her Skin.” This story about the way people speak to (and about) women was absolutely stunning.  

This collection is for more than just fans of body horror. This collection speaks to the deeper horrors that women face on a regular basis, just by virtue of being female. While I didn’t enjoy all of the stories equally (as to be expected with any anthology), the stories listed above make reading the book well worth your time. 

out of 5 Ravens.

Available from Amazon.

Artwork / Flash / Flat Amount / Ongoing Submissions / Online

 by 

Ongoing Submissions: Flash Frog

Payment: $25 per story or piece of art
Theme: small, brightly colored, and deadly to the touch

Flash Frog is…
the newest online flash fiction magazine featuring stories under 1,000 words. We like our stories like we like our dart frogs: small, brightly colored, and deadly to the touch.

Flash Frog is open year round.

(more…)

Trembling With Fear

 by 

Unholy Trinity: Legend of the Moon Children by Martin P. Fuller

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

The wounding

It was once part of our molten world, ejected and exiled when our solar system was young. Apart, but still linked to the chosen ones.

The planetoids revenge

The small gods challenge failed, consumed but not before ripping part of it conquerors body away, where it orbited, waiting, brooding, demanding a blood price.

The mystic light emerges

As the Moons rock cooled, a power grew. A weird force which oozed out of its heart, drifting towards the wounded Earth on reflected light.

Union of the light

The special light could not be filtered by dark storm cloud, or rock or roof. It found the special children, the wild, and changed them.

II

The curse of the moon gift

The Moon, torn from the body of the Earth, retained a link of mystic evil. Sunlight reflecting from its surface,  gave out more than just photons. The light sought out the Moon children with a gift of change. Tooth, claw, fur, jaws of razor teeth, and a maddened insatiable savagery.

 

The worship

The Moon loves the wolf and the wolf adores its Mistress.  The savage that is man fears the wolf, knows of the bite and the tearing sickle claw. That terror draws the Moon’s attention and dark influence. Certain mortals bear the dark honour of being disciples of the lunar queen.

III

The law of the werewolf

You cannot hide from the light or its malign influence. It seeks you out, invades your trembling mind, controls sinew and muscle. Bone bends to its command, reshaping, reforming. And the desire for the smell and taste of blood, the crush of teeth through flesh dominates your thoughts. Be wild, progeny of dark nature, seek out the living and survive. Never forget to give thanks to the  Goddess who watches over you in the darkness. Howl out your vicious hymn, scratch your mark in the landscape. You that were once human, wear the skin of a worshiper of the  moonlight. 

 

Martin P. Fuller

Martin P. Fuller lives in his shoebox house in West Yorkshire. He was in his previous exitances: –

 a beer salesman, a pall bearer, a car delivery driver, and oh yes… a police officer for over 34 years.  

He started to write in 2013 after attending a creative writing class and since then has become a writing course junkie. 

Discovering his dark side, Martin has had a number of stories published in Trembling with Fear and several other anthologies including Deadcades published by Infernal Clock.