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

Articles

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3 Reasons Why Using Real-World Locations Can Improve Your Writing

We always hear about how many famous movies, video games, comics, and other fictional worlds were based on or inspired by real-world locations. We have Panem from the Hunger Games that resembles Ancient Rome; there is also the game, Dark Souls, where one of the locations in the game was heavily inspired by a cathedral in Milan; also, fans of  DC Comics know that Gotham City is an exaggerated replica of New York. 

 

What do these fictional worlds have in common? They can be enjoyed visually by the audience- no extra effort needed; which is easier and convenient for creators as well. How about written literature? Is it more worth it to write about a world or a space that you have to imagine from scratch? Let’s dive more into these questions in this article. 

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Events / Flat Amount / Magazine

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Taking Submissions: Enchanted Conversation: 2021 October Issue (Early Listing)

Submission Window: September 1st-3rd 2021
Payment: $50
Theme: Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.

Hi there! We’ll no doubt write more about this later in the next year, but for now, what follows below will tell you all you need to know.

And the theme? It’s “Healers, Midwives and Cunning Folk.”

(No more submissions are being accepted for publication in December of 2020–but we will be publishing stories that have already been accepted.)

The following is relevant to all submissions for 2021, and the first submission window opens Jan. 1. More below.

 

Writing opportunities for 2021 include:

 

New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered.

 

Essays: Nonfiction articles about any aspect fairy tales and folklore are being sought. The term “essay” just means you’ll be writing about fairy-tale related matters in a nonfiction article.  Creative nonfiction is welcome. You do not have to stick to the theme, but you can.

 

Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome.

 

Please read the following in its entirety before submitting.

 

Want to know what is likely to get published here? There are well over 10 years of stories, essays and art on this current site. It’s the best place to start if you want to be published here.

 

HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT

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Articles / Guest Post

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How Language Skills Can Help to Become a And Popular Writer

How Language Skills Can Help to Become a Popular Writer

 

“I want to be a writer!”

 

You might have said this phrase as a child, especially if you were (and still are) in love with books and the imaginary world they create. 

 

You’d be surprised, but writers are among the top 10 jobs American kids dream to get when they grow up (according to Zety’s survey):

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Events / Magazine / Pro

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Taking Submissions: Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores September 2021- EARLY

Deadline: September 2nd, 2021
Payment: 8 cents per word for original, 2 cents for reprints
Theme: Well written original work in science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch, in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world.
Note: Reprints welcome

 

 

Submissions Schedule

We have a new submissions schedule as of June 1, 2020:
The first and second day of every month, 12 am of the 1st to 12 am of the 3rd, E.S.T.
Only one submission per person.

For reading impaired individuals, our submissions manager and ‘forget password’ have a captcha compatible with screen readers.

We pay 6¢ per word for new fiction, 2¢ per word for fiction reprints, 2 – 6¢ per word for new fact-based work, 1- 4¢ per word for reprinted fact articles.
For new poetry, we pay $1 a line, reprints would be 50¢ a line, up to 40 lines. We’ll look at longer poems but that would be a hard sell, and words over 40 lines would be paid at 6¢ per word.

We began The Kepler Award to recognize and encourage writers of excellent science fiction and fantasy stories that creatively extrapolate on known science in constructive and exciting ways. You can learn about The Kepler Award here.

You can read a copy of our standard contract here.   It can be varied as needed to include the rights of translators, voice actors, etc.

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Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Creation of Chaos, Vol III: 13 Nightmarish Visions by Pete Altieri

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: Creations of Chaos, Vol III: 13 Nightmarish Visions
Author: Pete Altieri
Genre: Horror, Short Story Collection
Publisher: Blunt Force Press
Release Date: June, 2021

Synopsis: A family gets together for their final Thanksgiving dinner and each person at the table wants someone else to die. A man wakes up drenched in blood in his girlfriend’s apartment with the police beating on the door and her corpse cooling in the bedroom. Four friends take a train ride that goes 666 miles an hour headfirst into an inferno. If an old, mute grave digger at an asylum weeps for the dead who have no one to mourn for them, who is crying in the cemetery at his funeral? What horrors are awakened when grave bells are ringing in the cemetery on the Day of the Dead? 

A chilling collection of 13 short stories of horror and suspense from author, Pete Altieri, includes the novella, A Dreadful Life. This also includes “October House”, and “Carnival of Atonement”, two previously published short stories with different endings.

I love a good collection of bone-chilling stories, and this one does not disappoint. Pete Altieri knows how to horrify, disgust, and shock. Some of the stories are ultra-gory hack and slash showcases, while others are wild ideas developed in new and exciting ways.

My favorite within the collection is “The 666 Express”, about a group of friends who are on a maiden train voyage which travels from Dallas to Denver in one hour. Coincidentally, the train runs 666 miles per hour along the rails at blistering speeds, and infernal shenanigans ensue.

Just like any other collection, some stories are hit or miss. But this one had more hits than most collections out there. You won’t regret one minute spent within the pages of Altieri’s horrifying yarns.

I give this horror-gem collection  out of 5 ravens

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.

Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 08/15/21

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!

There has been enough noise in our new house this week to raise the dead but thankfully my graveyard neighbours have slept through the disturbance. We’re having our old boiler and water tank ripped out and updated. Not the best atmosphere for writing – I’ve been continually expecting the ceiling to come down on me – and the weather hasn’t been the best to sit outside but I managed one short tale. I also had the chance to talk to Wendy N. Wagner on Shane Douglas Keene’s Shotgun Logic podcast. Editor-in-chief at Nightmare magazine, she has boundless energy and enthusiasm for the genre and is also a wonderful author in her own right – check out her The Deer Kings, a great coming-of-age/supernatural page-turner. If you’re curious about the level of submissions to Nightmare, now’s the chance to find out!

The current episode being aired is with John D. Taff, another great writer who’s recently taken to wearing the editor’s hat. I’ve had the privilege of reading Tor Nightfire’s Dark Stars, which is out next March, BUT I must urge you to read The Bad Book. This particular anthology is, I feel, a masterclass in the art of short story writing. I bought the ebook of The Bad Book but I will be buying the print version – and that is something I don’t often do!

The first story in Trembling with Fear this week is Ice Cold Lemonade by Kevin M. Folliard, a writer who I continue to rate beyond the realms of Horror Tree. Just desserts are delivered to a greedy—in more ways than one—CEO. The finale reflects back on the preceding section in a very clever way and makes you look at it with new eyes. Another aspect I like is the way the reader’s senses are engaged, vocabulary choice drawing you in to feel heat and thirst.

For Entertainment Purposes by F.M. Scott reminds you it’s always a good idea to read the small print. You never know what you might have signed yourself up for.

Hen Fenyw by Nicolette Ward is a wonderful bit of Welsh mythology with the creepiest last line ever.

Setting the Perfect Scene by Brian Maycock is a lovely horror-sci-fi mashup, and how can you not feel a little love for the robot. Its heart is in the right place after all!

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

Hello all! We’re having some caching issues which are causing issues with both our contact form and our calendar view. I’m aware of it and will hopefully be looking into it over the next week. I just finished up another of my MBA courses SOOO… I’ve got some free time at the moment.
Just a reminder, our October Specials edition is open and we’re looking for Halloween-themed shorts and drabbles! You can find the details on our Submission Page.
Finally, If you’ve purchased ANY of our Trembling With Fear releases, please do leave a review. You can get to ALL of them easily from this link!

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Articles / Blog Tour

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‘Ink’ Blog Tour: How Does the Flash Fiction Contest Work? by J. Scott Coatsworth

How Does the Flash Fiction Contest Work?

 Q&A With Director J. Scott Coatsworth

 

Every year, Queer Sci Fi holds a flash fiction contest, and hundreds of writers enter their stories. Once the dust clears, a brand-new anthology magically appears, filled with flash fiction goodness. Of course, there’s no real magic involved. Just hard work and experience. So let’s pull back the curtain a little, shall we?

How do you choose the theme each year?

Each year we rotate the honor among our four admins – Scott, Angel, Ben and Ryane. That judge comes up with 3-4 options – always a single word – and we discuss it in the group and choose one of them to be that year’s theme. Generally speaking, we like themes that are topical, that are open to multiple definitions/interpretations, and that don’t favor one of the four speculative fiction genres—sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal or horror—too much over the others.
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Articles

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Indie Bookshelf Releases 08/13/21

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.

Got a book to launch, an event to promote 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.

Services

Editing: Michael David Wilson, This Is Horror Founder and Editor In Chief, podcaster, and writer (The Girl in the Video) is currently offering his freelance editing services. “Michael David Wilson invented the fine-toothed comb. His attention to detail is second to none, and he has a wonderful understanding of structure. This is a guy who knows how good writing works.”—Ray Cluley, author of WATER FOR DROWNING Michael has over ten years of editing experience and has edited books by Josh Malerman, Pat Cadigan, Stephen Graham Jones, David Moody, and many others. He’s worked with various publishing houses and small presses including Rebellion Publishing and Broken River Books. Prices start from £0.01/word. For further information go here: michaeldavidwilson.co.uk/editing/. Contact Michael: [email protected]

Editing, critiquing, artwork – Eugene Johnson is a man of many talents, an award-winning editor, filmmaker and artist. He will be will be selling his art, book covers, book art, logo designs, making prints, offering short story critiques/edits, special book projects like a coloring book he’s creating with another author and more for a small fee. Initially to fund desperately needed repairs on his car, once that is complete he hopes to turn his focus towards helping others that need support. Join him in his endeavours in getting this help to those who need it. Contact him via https://plaiddragonpublishing.com/ and he can also be found on https://www.facebook.com/eugene.johnson.14855. If you’d like to help him get his car fixed that bit quicker, please drop in on his Fundraiser set up by friends. (I think another link will be set up in the near future regarding his services and I’ll update it here when that happens.)

Editing – Elle Turpitt, elleturpittediting.com, is facing redundancy. Help her by considering her as an editor. She is available for all editing work – short story, novella, novel, or chapter extracts. She also has a Ko-Fi (ko-fi.com/elleturpitt), or if you’d rather send a little gift to help her smile at a stressful time, she has a wishlist set up for this month (amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls). All support is appreciated. 

 

Writing and Editing Services from Ben Long. Go to Ben for ‘Killer Copy, Creative Content, and Eye-opening Edits’! Ben is ‘a passionate and engaging freelancer with 2+ years of experience in a variety of writing and editing endeavors. He is also a regular contributor to several online brands in the horror niche.’ You can find out more about him here https://readingvicariously.net/services/.

 

Events

Please send us details of any online panels, conventions, festivals and workshops and we’ll list them here.

Buzz Book Expo 2021 4th – 5th Sept. Showcases horror novels and novellas due for publication Sept 2021 to Dec 2022. Organised by Mary Sangiovanni, Somer Canon, Matt Wildasin and Katie Southard. Click the image for more info.

 

 

Charity Anthologies

 Tales Of The Lost Volume Two- A charity anthology for Covid- 19 Relief: Tales To Get Lost In A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY FOR COVID-19 RELIEF by [Gaiman, Neil,, Hill, Joe,, Johnson, Eugene M,]  Flashes of Hope by [Anna Taborska, Dave Jeffery, Amy Grech, Matthew Davis, John Cady, Emma Lee, Gwen Weir, Ken Goldman, Alyson Faye, Theresa Derwin]    

May be an image of text

 

Latest Book Launches

Horror Tree Sponsor* and Patreon Releases!

Trembling With Fear: Year 4 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis] Trembling With Fear: More Tales From The Tree: Volume 3 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis, Catherine Kenwell] Trembling With Fear: Serial Killers: Volume 2 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis, Catherine Kenwell]

*All Horror Tree sponsors are able to claim a spot at the top of our listing during the donation of their sponsorship. Please use our contact form for more advertising pricing.
 
 

They Slipped Through the Net!

      Dark Words: Stories of Urban Legends and Folk Lore by [Dandelion Publishing, Leonie M. Smith, Steve Clark, Simon Paul Wilson, Eygló Karlsdóttir, Alexander C. Bailey, Gavin Dillinger, Richard Gerlach, J.C. Walsh, Cassie Daley] ABC's of Terror, Volume 3 by [Dawn Shea, Chris Miller, M Ennenbach, Patrick C. Harrison III, Gary McDonough, Ruthann Jagge, David Green, Trisha McKee, Mark Young, Steve Thompson] The Web of La Sanguinaire and Other Arachnid Horrors by [Ronald Kelly]

June

The Creeping Void: Terror on the Highlands (AFTER: A POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVOR SERIES) by [Tim Mendees] Savage Island by [Brian Moreland] Apocalypse, Zombie (Guardians of the Apocalypse Book 6) by [Jeff Thomson] 

 Side Roads: A Dark Fiction Collection by [Rachel A. Brune]

July

Non-Practicing Cultist (Short Sharp Shocks! Book 75) by [Scott J. Moses] Milk Kisses & Other Stories (Short Sharp Shocks! Book 68) by [Ross Jeffery]

Lambs Among Wolves by [Russell James] The Samaritan by [Dave Jeffery] A Gift of Death by [Daniel J. Volpe]

Dead Men Tell No Tales by [Jeffrey Kosh] After the Fall (Underground Book 5) by [Stephen Herczeg] Brand New Dark by Beau Johnson

Picture Separating You: A Self-Help Book for the Lost, Lonely, and Psychotically Obsessed by [Jason Carson] Demons Never Die: A Collection of Artwork & Flash Fiction by [P.J. Blakey-Novis, David Paul Harris]

Immortelle by [Catherine McCarthy] 

Abhorrent Siren by [John Baltisberger]  Slattery Falls by [Brennan LaFaro] Only The Stains Remain by [Ross Jeffery]

J is for Jack-o'-Lantern (A to Z of Horror Book 10) by [Daniel R. Robichaud, Dona Fox, Sofie Wilkes, Robert P. Ottone, Rob Robson, Ariel Dodson, Donna Cuttress, Tori Danielle Romero, Sarah Jane Huntington, Jack Joseph]  Beyond Human Back from the Dead: A Collection of Zombie Fiction by [C.M. Saunders, Greg Chapman]

 Absolute Unit by [Nick Kolakowski, Crystal Lake Publishing]  They Come in the Night by [Lynn-Cee Faulk]

The Bad Book by [John F.D. Taff, Philip Fracassi, Sarah Read, John Langan, Kristi DeMeester, Alan Baxter, V. Castro, Errick Nunnally, Todd Keisling, Giuseppe Balestra] South by Southwest Wales by [David Owain Hughes] The Horror Collection: Extreme Edition by [Matt Shaw, Kyle M. Scott, David Owain Hughes, Nic Brady, Natasha Sinclair, Matthew M. Clarke , Kevin J. Kennedy]

August

1 Berserker - Green Hell: Sometimes War Is Beyond Hell by [Lee Franklin]1 Pariah in Paradise 1 1 Totally Tubular Terrors by [Jenna Moquin, Rebecca Rowland, R.C. Mulhare, Steve Van Samson, Rob Smales, Barry Dejasu, Mary E. Hart]

3 The Final Gate by [Wesley Southard, Lucas Mangum]4 5 5 Devil's Night by [Curtis M. Lawson, Joe Morey]

8 DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST: A TRUE STORY OF TERROR by [Michael Anthony Gagliardi]6 Oblivion in Flux: A Collection of Cyber Prose by [Maxwell Ian Gold, Crystal Lake Publishing]16 Pandemic Unleashed by [Skywatcher Press, Matthew Hollis Damon, Marie Lanza, Rich Restucci, Claire Davon, Victoria Hancox, Hillary Lyon, Kara Race-Moore, Rachel W. Roth, Richard Clive] 17 Below by [Kev Harrison]

26 The Girl in the Attic by [Jon Athan] 31 Jedi Summer by [John Boden]

September

1 The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales by [Eric LaRocca] 1 Writers Workshop of Horror 2 by [Michael Knost] 6 Picture 7 Grimoire of the Four Impostors by [Coy Hall]

10Floaters by [Garrett Boatman, Crystal Lake Publishing]21 The House of Little Bones by [Beverley Lee]22 28 Midnight From Beyond the Stars by [Gabino Iglesias, James Newman, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tim Curran, Lee Murray, Ronald Kelly, Samantha Kolesnik, William Meikle, Kenneth W. Cain]

30 Kill Kit Killers: Premeditated murder, proved with their kits TBA 

October

1 Gorefest: Extreme Horror Anthology by [Wrath James White, Stephen Kozeniewski, Armand Rosamilia, Wesley Southard, Jay Wilburn, Jonathan Butcher, Jack Bantry, Robert Essig, Patrick C. Harrison, K. Trap Jones] 1 A House At War: House Arrath Book 11 

November

12 With Benefits: What's a bit of fun between friends?

Kickstarters!

MEMENTO MORI – A Horror Noir Graphic Novel MEMENTO MORI – A Horror Noir Graphic Novel. A 64-page full-color story about the serial killer who resurrects Victorian Post-Mortem photography into a modern work of art.

Project image for Fright Unseen Launch Pack

Happy reading.

Steph

 on behalf of Stuart and the Horror Tree Team