Tagged: Drabble

Greetings, children of the dark. Keeping it short and sweet for you this week; just the facts, or at least just the dark stories. Mainly because it’s been a busy week and today I’m off to be with all the other teen rebels at an Olivia Rodrigo concert in Hyde Park in London. Yes, I am in my mid-40s. What of it?

Here’s the dark and speculative stuff. For our main course, Maddox Emory Arnold haunts our very beings. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

• Dawn Colclasure’s forgotten house,
• Jessica Gleason’s spell-binding blood, and
• Corinne Pollard’s painful payments.

Oh, and I almost forgot: congratulations to Tiffani Angus, whose story “Oracle at Dairy”—which was originally published on these pages—has been shortlisted for the Best Short Story category at the British Fantasy Awards! Dr Tiff is also co-author of the Spec Fic for Newbies series of non-fiction books (also award-nominated) and an all-round good egg, so I highly recommend checking out what she does. 

Over to you, Stuart

Hi all.

First off, I’m thrilled to share the news that once again, we’ve hit the top 101 websites for authors according to Writer’s Digest!

I’m thrilled that we’ve once again had this armor of being a source for speculative fiction authors! 

Onto this week’s news. Not too much to report. I made a little progress in a few areas for the new layout, the new newsletter source, etc. However, all of them need a big sitdown from me, and I need to plan a day or two off work to really knock these out, I believe. 

As previously stated, our next goals are to get the newsletter swapover done, the new layout put in place live, and finish Trembling With Fear: Year 8, which is this year’s release. Fun fact, that last one we’ve got a digital copy to start proofing. Hopefully, that’ll begin soon! 

Just a reminder that Trembling With Fear: Year 7 and More Tales From The Tree: Volume 5 are now available for order! Again, a huge shout out and a big thank you to all of the authors who contributed to it and all of our editing staff for helping push this one live!

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.

Greetings, children of the dark. I’m currently melting here in south London, mid-way through a heatwave forecast to last through to next week. And I’m not happy about it. So, to save you my grumping all over the internet, I’m going to hand over briefly to the editor of our summer special, John Nugent—because, yes, it’s almost that time. Some of you have already been sending in your dark tales for the summer season, but it’s time to do the official big call-out. John would like your best and darkest ASAP; submissions officially close in mid-July. Here’s what will get him to stand up and take notice (aside from a hockey mask and a machete by the lake, of course):

“Game changers for me include strong prose, weird elements, and scares that feel earned,” says John. “I also like twists on the classic tropes!”

Get your sun-drenched darkness to us, and see if John feels that scare is earned… And remember, you can meet the whole TWF team over here, in case you’ve ever wondered who’s behind the emails.

OK, back to the reason you’re here: the dark and speculative stuff. For our main course, JH Tomen takes us into a world where ghosts are very real—and very unwelcome. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

• Santiago Exemino’s maternal needs,
• Yanina Sanchez’s hungry entity, and
• Alejandro Gonzales’s password issues.

Over to you, Stuart

Hi all.

Wow, what a busy week. I’ve been working quite a bit on a new section that we’re adding to the site and preparing for the new layout, as well as working on the pieces of the new layout that we haven’t quite completed yet. While most of this isn’t visible quite yet, one thing that you will notice is that our menu has slightly changed at the top of the site. Previously, it was a bit fractured, but now all writing opportunities can be found under ‘Opportunities,’ and a couple of outdated links have been removed. We’ll be making a couple of other changes here as well in the near future!

As previously stated, our next goals are to get the newsletter swapover done, the new layout put in place live, and finish Trembling With Fear: Year 8, which is this year’s release. Fun fact, that last one we’ve got a digital copy to start proofing. Hopefully, that’ll begin soon! 

Just a reminder that Trembling With Fear: Year 7 and More Tales From The Tree: Volume 5 are now available for order! Again, a huge shout out and a big thank you to all of the authors who contributed to it and all of our editing staff for helping push this one live!

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.

Greetings, children of the dark. I’m sure there’s quite a few of you either currently at StokerCon, or watching proceedings from afar and wishing you were. I’m certainly in the latter. All the fun horror stuff happens Stateside and it’s not fair! 

Given the dark fiction community is otherwise occupied this weekend, I’m going to jump straight into this week’s menu of short, dark, speculative fiction…

Actually, before I do that, one thing: thank you for hearing our plea and helping us to feed the Drabbler. Alas, this is an ongoing concern, so please do keep ‘em coming! And also remember what best satiates that Drabbler appetite: a complete story in 100 words, with a beginning, middle and end. Not just a vignette, or a thought, or a hint of a scene. It’s got to be a recognisable story structure to get through the gate and into the Drabbler’s belly. We’ve noticed – and this is across the short stories as well as the drabble submissions coming into TWF Towers recently – that there are plenty of solid ideas, but they’re getting let down by execution. And we really, really want to not execute the idea, so please keep at ‘em until they are a full story. 

OK, back to the dishes. Our main course is an ominous bit of dark fantasy flash from Alex McNall. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

• Kendra Recht’s good bones,
• Isa Ward’s snowy visitor, and
• Kamran Connelly’s drive for revenge.

Good reading, one and all – and enjoy your solstice next Saturday, if you celebrate such things. 

Over to you, Stuart

Hi all.

Just a reminder that Trembling With Fear: Year 7 and More Tales From The Tree: Volume 5 are now available for order! Again, a huge shout out and a big thank you to all of the authors who contributed to it and all of our editing staff for helping push this one live!

Our next goal is the newsletter swapover and the new layout going up on the website.  

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.

Greetings, children of the dark. I’m battling to focus as I write this, for the alarm is sounding ever so loud. It’s been there, in the background, for a little while now, but today its volume is approaching deafening. I fear the time has come. The Drabbler is getting hungry.

You see, we must submit three tiny tales of 100 words each every single week to the Drabbler, otherwise it will rise and come for all of us in TWF Towers. Yes, even the boss man is not immune to this. Please, please help us. Submit your drabbles. Help us stock the cupboard beyond the coming week. We need your help, or we may start to disappear ourselves…

Ahem. Anyways, let’s be professional and present to you this week’s menu of short, dark, speculative fiction. Our main course comes from Charles Williams, who brings us a comic take on ComicCons the world over. Have you paid for your photo with the star yet? That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations—including no less than two warnings to be careful summoning demons, and one warning about dealing with the fae—of:

• DJ Tyrer’s fair folk,
• Geoff Holders’s skipped reading, and
• SG Perahim’s midlife crisis.

Oh – and yeah, I buried the lede a bit. The latest anthology is now available to order! I’m sure the boss has details below, but just searching for TWF on the river place. Two separate volumes await, covering everything we published on the site in the fine year of 2023. 

Over to you, Stuart

Hi all.

Folks! I’m on vacation this week, so I really haven’t gotten anything done. I’m actually typing this as one of my kids is passing out and the other is slowly zoning out after a day full of water park shenanigans. Hurray for an actual vacation! While I’ve been on vacation, that doesn’t mean we’ve been idle. I’m so thrilled that Trembling With Fear: Year 7 and More Tales From The Tree: Volume 5! I’d like to shout out a big thank you for all of the authors who contributed to it and all of our editing staff for helping push this one live! A bit late but late is better than never! (We’ve already started working on the editions due this year and are aiming for the end of summer. Hopefully.)

I think we’ve got the newsletter bugs figured out for the new platform, it will be at the top of my list to finalize when I’m back from vacation.

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.

Greetings, children of the dark, on this first day of June, and the first day of summer here in the northern hemisphere. Otherwise known as the height of my allergy issues: thanks, pollen! So while I bunker down inside and stare at the lovely weather from my window – no, seriously, I was at a music festival last weekend and could actually *see* the pollen it’s so bad in London this year! – I’m going to be working my way through the rest of the short story submissions awaiting word. Stay tuned, dear submitters.

There’s also, hopefully, news on the much-overdue 2023 anthology being shared below by the big boss man. 

So, through bleary eyes and stuffy nose and general malady, I present to you this week’s menu of short, dark, speculative fiction. Our main course comes from Tahla Ahmad, and takes us right into that space where folklore meets warzone. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

• Autumn Bettinger’s case notes,
• Kevin McHugh’s mail call, and
• Nicolette M. Ward’s bleary memory.

And one final plea, before I go mainline antihistamines: the drabble cupboard is getting awfully bare again. Please, send us your tiny tales of terror, ASAP!

Over to you, Stuart

Greetings, children of the dark. I’m writing this to you just before I head off to explore another of London’s Magnificent Seven cemeteries. What on earth is that, I hear you ask? Well, it was a programme in the Victorian era to create cemeteries that were also nice place to escape and relax, and so we have a bunch of “garden cemeteries” around the outskirts that once not only were home to the dead, but to picnicking Victorians. And yes, it’s as weird as that sounds.

However, I do love a good graveyard, and when I discovered my evening plans were around the corner from this one, I couldn’t resist: my day was rearranged so I could do this. And I cannot wait. The sun is sort-of out, it’s sort-of a nice day, so why not take myself to catch a vampire on a Thursday afternoon?

Before I can let loose, though, I must present to you this week’s menu of short, dark, speculative fiction. Our main course is a Black Mirror-esque tale of prisons and forgiveness that might not be so rosy, straight from the brain of Kidron Grifter. That’s followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

• CK Butcher’s childhood warning,
• SG Perahim’s prophetic publishing, and
• Jean E McIntosh’s diving diva.

Over to you, Stuart