Tagged: Elyse Russell

Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 01/16/2022

Welcome back to Trembling with Fear, our online flash zine. Many thanks to those who responded to our call for drabbles! We had a number but keep them coming!

I’m sat here waiting for the glazier as I type. The damage to our house caused by Storm Arwen back in November is finally getting looked at – the fixing will be in a couple of weeks though! Another plus has been the release of my latest novella, Paused, which I hope people will like. Initial feedback has been pretty good. I’ve a few writing projects on the go but rest assured, the 2021 TWF anthology is one of them!

Latest reads? Chad Lutzke’s Cannibal Creator, not something I would normally pick up but I’m glad I did as I discovered what a great storyteller he is. It also prompted me to finally read Of Foster Homes and Flies (a heartbreaker) and Wormwood (brutal in parts but poignant) which he co-wrote with Tim Meyer. All three of these books are novellas. I also took Kenneth W. Cain’s A Season in Hell.

Trembling with Fear starts this week with Personal Reflections on Bloody Mary by Jennifer Lee Rossman. Written in a casual tone, it sprinkles little asides and snippets as if chatting to the reader directly. It explicitly refers to our understanding of Bloody Mary, as something we can dismiss as no more than childish belief and then undermines that completely by introducing a much darker, and ultimately horrific, element. A skilfully told tale.

Captain of the Dead by Dee Grimes takes us out to sea for a survival story, but who ultimately survives is the twist.

Salon Secrets by Elyse Russell brings in my own personal horror – the trip to the hairdresser which necessitates small talk. It’s where gossip spreads and secrets are learned, or you’d think so.

Water Babies by Jonathan Worlde is a great, almost humorous twist on an alien invasion.

Steph

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

Progress on the new layout and changes are slow, but they are happening! 

Interested in writing for the site? For those who love speculative fiction- we’re always open to guest posts, blog tour stops, ongoing column writers, book reviewers, and author interviewers! Please reach out on our contact page!

Last time on the following for now: 
Just a reminder – we lost about 300 subscribers when switching from Mailchimp to Sendfox is to add an opt in form on the main HorrorTree page again (top right if you’re in desktop mode or under the “more” section if you scroll down quite a ways on mobile. I’ve also added one to our contact page AND you can also subscribe directly to our newsletter right here. Our newsletter is compiled weekly by the extremely talented Holley Cornetto and contains our favorite posts from the week, more original free fiction from around the web, and any site news we have to share with you!

We also have a new perk coming to our Patreons soon which Steph is putting together. A perfect time to sign up! (Especially with having lost a couple on the new year.)

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 08/29/21

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!

A quiet week in the scheme of things: final proof read of Daughters of Darkness II and upload to amazon, novella has been sent to beta readers and of course Horror Tree – always Horror Tree! My current target is to try and get a short story written for a submission call which closes on Sept 1st. Will I manage it? Hopefully.

I’ve also been looking at marketing, which I hate doing, but if any of you are interested, I’ve discovered Publishers Weekly has a free site for indie authors – BookLife. I haven’t gone into it all of it yet, beyond uploading my project, ie one of my books, in this case The Five Turns of the Wheel. This site allows me to submit my book to PW for possible review, although there are no guarantees. There is the option to pay for a PW review but that is something I never opt for – I don’t pay for reviews and I don’t submit to anything which charges a payment to read. If you want to check it out, go here https://booklife.com.

Our first story this week in Trembling with Fear is Eloise by Matthew Gorman. This is an atmospheric chiller incorporating what appears to be a dream – or is it? Crows are one of my favourite creatures that automatically brings menace to a piece and their role in this tale is a prime example.

Critic by Chris Chapman is a brutal response to those who delight in picking up on continuity errors. Be careful how – or where – you speak out!

On the Road Again by Dale W. Glaser is a bleak childhood tale which hides a lot in its telling, conveying so much without being specific.

Sealskin by Deborah Sheldon finishes on a last line which turns a thoughtful piece into something much more sinister.

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

 

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

Not much to report on this week. On the Horror Tree front, as many of you remember we were in Writer’s Digest’s Best Websites of 2021 in the May/June 2021 issue. Well, they’ve made it official online now as well by including us in the ‘Writer’s Digest’s Best Genre/Niche Websites 2021‘ post that has now gone live. NEATO!
Outside of that, on the personal front I have a drabble coming out in Black Hare Press’s ‘666’ anthology and have been getting a lot of words in for 2 short stories and a re-write of a novel that I’ve got in the works all while having started my next class for my MBA program.
Have a great week!

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 08/22/21

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!

Peace is restored, the dust has settled (and been hoovered up!) and the house is almost normal. The past week has seen completion of my novella, which is now resting before a final read through and then out to beta readers, but mostly all things Daughters of Darkness II (from Black Angel Press). This collection of four women writers is due out October 1st and is a format we will probably continue in the future. There are so many talented female writers out there who barely get a look in when it comes to publication in the horror world, we hope can provide a boost for some.

I’m quite pleased that Horror Tree has consistently published the work of women writers and if it appears we’re going through a ‘male’ phase, then that’s because there were no submissions by women at that time. One thing I’ve noticed is that a few of our male writers send in batches of drabbles which we then spread out over the year – some of them are even scheduled into next year. I have yet to see any of our women in horror writers doing this as regularly! Remember you can send in three drabbles at a time (they don’t have to be for the Unholy Trinity) and these can be followed up quite quickly with a further submission. You don’t have to wait! Just bear in mind we spread out your submissions over the year. 😊

G.A. Miller leads the stories this week in Trembling with Fear with his The Timekeeper dwells on our preoccupation with time-whether it be past, present or future. I particularly liked the idea of the hourglass as it was revealed to him and the implication of treading on grains of sand when he walks to the door. A nice touch of showing.

Boo Hag by Elyse Russell is a nightmare poem with a last line which is so blunt and matter of fact it adds a great contrast to the murderous intent of the hag.

Soul Song by Catherine Berry uses the sense of sound to full effect in creating this atmospheric little piece.

Thaw by Ken MacGregor misdirects you at first, makes you think the worst of the protagonist, especially with his murderous attitude towards family and lover – until you discover his reasoning.

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

 

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

Hello all! Last week I reported on issues with our calendar view and contact page. Both of these should now be resolved! I’m still playing catch-up but should have some more for you soon.

On huge bonus for those who like to feature the site and have either had their open calls or original fiction appear here, we now have graphics for that!


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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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 07/25/21

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.

As we continue to bask in the glow of summer (poetic version) or melt in the pressure cooker (reality), life has taken a tiny step forward. If you live across the border in England that is, where some restrictions have been lifted. Here in Wales we have to wait a bit longer. And even then, some things will remain for the duration of the pandemic.

Regardless of the politics and personal views on the matter, I think looking back over the behaviour of both government and individuals will certainly feed into the stories we write. To be restricted in what you do, where you go, who you can see, touch, hug is a degree of micro-management of personal life I never thought we’d experience. Writers and poets have a part to play in exploring and developing these themes, holding up examples of ‘what if’ for society to consider and use as a challenge to the law-makers, ensure that what we are told to do is for a genuine reason and not dictatorship by the back door.

Writers – authors, poets, journalists – are dangerous creatures, it’s why many non-democratic governments imprison them on trumped up charges. Writers have a place as social commentators and freedom fighters as well as entertainers. And genre writers, especially horror, hold a unique place in that they can really dig deep into the psyche and explore the darkness that could so easily erupt in a world of ‘what if’. Use your anger, your frustrations to birth a story and give the world a wake-up call.

There have been people asking if books set in a pandemic will be popular, will people read them. I’ve not been put off. But in particular, I think there will be a growth in dystopian literature as we try to work out exactly how we feel about this lived experience and what we can or can’t tolerate, the polarisation of views, the censorship and self-censorship of speech. Life has become a tightrope and I think horror writers are perfectly poised to explore this world of extremes. I love dystopian work and it would be great to see a touch more at TWF.

The first story in this week’s Trembling with Fear is The House of Dennis Eath by Tom Hook. I’m glad my experiences of house buying did not feature a character such as Mr. Eath and I don’t think I’d have signed on the dotted line but sometimes the price is just too good. Or is it? Lovely chill in the last sentences directing the reader to think only one thing.

Desert Vengeance by Ken MacGregor is a great story for this heatwave – or not, if you consider the consequences. Nicely brutal.

Kraken by Elyse Russell paints a picture of roiling ocean life, some great imagery here.

When Darkness Falls by Dee Grimes brings us another monster of the deep. Terrific description of the creature also shows its intent – without telling. Lovely.

 

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

This week, we’re trying something new on our newsletter! I’m trying to step back a bit in preparation for having help for it while I’m away for a couple of weeks coming up. So, Holley Cornetto will have written this one and it’s worth checking out! (She’ll be doing a few of the upcoming ones as well!)
All of this year’s Trembling With Fear copies are now available both in physical and digital format which you can find below! Please, if you’ve ordered these or previous installments, do leave a review on Amazon!

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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