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

Articles

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Indie Bookshelf Releases 06/11/21

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? 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.

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. 

Events

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

 

CCX2 New Brand 2021 - with Zoom

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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]    

 

Latest Book Launches

Horror Tree Sponsor* and Patreon Releases!

1st June

*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.
 
 

May

12th SIX! by [Mark Cassell]14thBefore He Wakes by [Mark Allan Gunnells, Crystal Lake Publishing] 14th A Place Beyond the Storm (AFTER: A POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVOR SERIES) by [David Green, Eerie River Publishing] 14th Dark Bites: Volume I by [Rick Hipson, Wayne Galbraith]

15th 18th Howls From Hell: A Horror Anthology by [HOWL Society, Shane Hawk, Alex Wolfgang, Christopher O'Halloran, J.W. Donley, Solomon Forse, Amanda DeMel, Lindsey Ragsdale, P.L. McMillan, Grady Hendrix]21st It Calls From the Sea by [Eerie River Publishing] 24th Dr. Marvellus Djinn's Odd Scholars

25th The Fearing: The Definitive Edition by [John FD Taff, Anthony Rivera, Ray Garton] 25th 27th The Mummy Kills The Brides by [Erik Handy] 28th May be an image of 1 person and text that says "TOM DEADY OF MEN AND MONSTERS"

28th Contents May Unsettle by [David Court, Lance Fling] 28th 28th The Collector by [Jeff Thomson, Albert Moss, S.E. Griffin, D.E. Grant, Christi Reed, Scott M. Baker]29th

June

1st Malignant Summer by [Tim Meyer] 1st WITH TEETH (Preorder)1st 1st Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by [Eric LaRocca]

1st Sacrament (Father of Lies Trilogy Book 3) by [Steve Stred] 1st 2nd Castle Heights: 18 Storeys, 18 Stories by [P.J. Blakey-Novis, Tony Sands, MJ Dixon, Freddy Beans, Monster Smith, Richard Rowntree, Anna Dixon, Alice Henley, Jack Joseph, Annie Knox] 3rd The Void Ascendant

5th Paths Best Left Untrodden by [Kev Harrison] 7th The Walking Son by [Eddie Generous] 9th Spiffing: A Cosmic Horror Novella by [Tim Mendees]14th

15th Ride or Die by [James Newman] 18th 24th  25th Dismal Dreams by [Red Lagoe]

TBA

July

20th 23rd Beyond Human 29th Absolute Unit by [Nick Kolakowski, Crystal Lake Publishing]TBA

September

May be an image of text that says "WRITERS WORKSHOP OF HORROR 2 ANNE STEPHEWKING RICE STINE LITTL LANSDALE RAMSEY CAMPBELL ROBERT SAYS&.IT LEBBON MORTON RICHARD CHIZMAR STEVE RASNIC TEM ANN ANDERMEER ESSAYS AIRD EDITED BY BRAM STOKER AWARD-WINNER MICHAEL KNOST"

Happy reading.

Steph

 on behalf of Stuart and the Horror Tree Team

 

Trembling With Fear

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Unholy Trinity: Neighborhood by J.M. Van Horn

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.

Brother

Sarah groaned in frustration when a tug on her ankle jerked her out of her dream. A good dream. It wasn’t every day she had a chance to hang with favorite singer. 

The covers were pushed back and she rubbed away the sleep her eyes. She saw who woke her up.

A young boy with red hair and freckles smiled. “Moring sis. Time to get up.”  He tugged on her ankle again before dating out of the room.  

She watched him leave, not trying to move out of the bed. Unsure what to do because she didn’t have a brother. 

Parents

Danny was up earlier than normal but Saturday morning cartoons wouldn’t be missed. Walking past his parents’ door, a crashing noise startled him. Curiosity got the better of him. Danny leaned to get a better look through the door’s gap. 

Two figures swayed in the middle of the room. They looked like his parents, except for now hair and severely wrinkled skin, like they had been in the tub for too long. 

Danny gasped. The things heard him and shambled toward him. He stumbled back to his room to call someone for help. Maybe Sarah would know what to do.

Ward

The squeak of the bed springs brought Trevor out of his slumber. His ward was awake, perhaps from a bad dream. 

The weight shifted as the young one twisted and turned a few times before flopping down on the mattress.

Trevor wiggled his tentacles around the small form, hoping to bring it comfort with slight vibrations. The young human would be back to sleep soon, then he could sneak out to look for them. Those who could change forms.

He would do whatever it took to protect his ward. They would find it difficult to take control of the neighborhood. 

J.M. Van Horn

 J.M. Van Horn thwarts criminals during the day and writes a blend of horror and urban fantasy at night. His incredible wife and amazing son are his driving force along with the absolutely absurd dreams and/or nightmares that help fuel him. There are endless levels of horror and you should take time to explore them.

His published works can be found in places like Sirens Call, Erie Tales, and Ghostlight, the Magazine of Terror. You can find more information about him at his Linktree page.

Articles

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An Interview With Michelle River of Eerie River Publishing

Hi Michelle, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and Eerie River Publishing?

My name is Michelle and I am about 90% black coffee (mostly room temperature) and 10% tsunami. Which is a lot like Eerie River Publishing. A caffeinated force pushing itself forward regardless of the obstacles in its path. I have always been a huge horror fan, from the moment that my sister and I watched Dolls in our cousins basement when we were way too young, to the late night horror movie sessions as teenagers, to the family (yes family) seances in my parents house as a young adult. The dark and macabre have sung my name and the sound was sweet to my ears. I didn’t always know I wanted to write horror, but it has been a huge part of my life for so long it only made sense that I find myself here in the end. Or the beginning, as it were. 

 

Eerie River, is a small publishing house that publishes anthologies of horror and dark fantasy. This year we also began to release single author novels, starting with SENTINEL by Drew Starling, which just came out May 14th. 

 

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Anthology / Events / Pro

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Taking Submissions: Life Beyond Us (Early Listing)

Submission window: July 1st – August 20th, 2021
Payment: 8 cents per word
Theme: Astrobiology, alien life, life detection and its social impacts
Note: There are only two open slots so competition will be rough!

What are we looking for?

What would life be like if it evolved in a cold ocean beneath an impenetrable shell of ice? Or on a world obscured by haze, with no view of the universe beyond? Is there a common template for life, or can we expect to find preciously fragile silicon creatures drifting in seas of liquid nitrogen? How would finding alien life change human societies on Earth?

Life Beyond Us explores worlds beyond—and within—ours, with the aim to publish brilliant SF and promote science understanding and critical thinking. The book is connected by the theme of astrobiology: searching for life wherever it might arise in the universe.

We’re looking for original short stories exploring the unknown: life forms we’re not familiar with on Earth (from extreme environments, to those right beneath our noses) and beyond our planet; strange life’s discovery, peculiarities, and the ethical questions arising from these. Alien life does not have to feature there; consider exploring the implications of finding a potentially life-bearing environment in space, trying to answer a burning question about habitability, or exploring the far past or future of life in the universe. If alien life does appear—microbial to huge, ‘stupid’ to ‘intelligent,’ perceptions similar to ours or very different—the perspective doesn’t have to be human.
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Artwork / Flash / Flat Amount / Magazine / Ongoing Submissions

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Ongoing Submissions: Hexagon Magazine

Payment: $5CAD for accepted poetry and cartoons, $10CAD for flash fiction, $15CAD for works between 1,001-4,999 words, $20CAD for accepted written works over 5,000 words, $30CAD for Graphic Stories and $110CAD for cover art pieces.
Theme: All forms of Speculative Fiction

Hexagon SF Magazine wants to ensure that the submission process is easy for creators. We try to respond to all comments, queries, and concerns within a few days. Please do not query regarding the status of a submission until 6 weeks have passed. If for any reason the submission form does not work correctly, please feel free to send us your submission via email.

#BlackVoicesMatter #BlackLivesMatter

Our submission response times are typically between 2-14 days.

What we are looking for

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Articles / Interviews

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An Interview with Willow Croft, “Bringer of Nightmares & Storms”

Interview with Willow Croft “Bringer of Nightmares & Storms”

By Angelique Fawns

 

Willow Croft can spin a delightfully devilish short story, and is a self-professed animal nut. Croft and I both had stories published in the most recent issue of Econoclash Review. The world of gritty pulp fiction tends to attract male authors, but as more and more of us women add our poison pens to the craft, it will be interesting to see how the genre will evolve. Though Willow and I live in completely different parts of the world, I am amazed by how much we have in common (she has actually met one of my number one musical idols!- more on this in the actual interview.)

Willow had some profound insights into the power of writing as a life raft, and how she finds inspiration in the act of creation. Even if she is creating words that echo in the realms of horror….

 

AF: Why do you call yourself the “Bringer of Nightmares & Storms?”
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Events

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Story Worms: Lessons from Lockdown

As the world begins to emerge from lockdowns—tired eyes blinking, hair unkempt, fashion more questionable than ever—it’s normal that things feel different. It’s bound to feel like things have shifted: the world, ourselves. We may have changed our focus, or shifted our priorities. We may be feeling that everything is futile, or we might be filled with new passions and vigour. There’s no right or wrong. We feel what we feel.

There are hints of normality, but it’s still wrapped up in an overall strangeness. Change can be difficult, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Don’t think that you have to instantly bounce back, slipping flawlessly into the life you had before. Take your time. Reflect. Breathe.

I’ve just returned to the slimming group that I’m a member of; a tiny slice of my previous life restored back to me. In our first session, our consultant asked us two questions: “What do you want to leave in lockdown?” and “What do you want to bring with you out of lockdown?” She encouraged us to think of bad habits we may have adopted through the pandemic, or lifelong habits that, through the filtered lens of lockdown, we had reconsidered. She also urged us to find good habits that we wanted to continue, or something we wanted to start doing from now on.

And it got me thinking about these questions in regards to my writing.
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Articles

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Secrets to Write Scary Stories Based on Neuroscience

Secrets to Write Scary Stories Based on Neuroscience

People love scary things, from spooky campfire stories to true-crime TV shows and to extreme sports. As long as we have some control over a threat, we can enjoy it. This is just a weird feature of human psychology.

Although many people love to be scared, it doesn’t mean that writing scary stories is easy. Horror novels have a lot in common with other types of fiction. Different kinds of fiction stories often revolve around heroes who face threats or difficulties. Many stories are about people in dangerous situations.

At the same time, horror stories are different from other types of fiction because heroes face threats that seem impossible to overcome. Many horror stories have supernatural or superhuman elements. In scary stories, threats and danger are not just a background for other things but the main elements that make these stories interesting for readers.

Many horror writers often get stuck staring at a blank page and having no idea of what could make their story special. The truth is that all famous writers, including Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, and R.L. Stine faced the same problems and had the same questions when they were writing their very first stories.
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