Chaos, Poetry, and a Finished Draft
Apr 04, 2026 5:01 pm
April has arrived, and with it National Poetry Month. I will once again be posting a poem a day over on my website; the first few poems are already up if you want to check them out. I've got a few interesting prompts on the list, including a couple picked by my readers group, and I'm looking forward to see what my brain comes up for this one: Gargoyle at Vespers.
With the new month, the chaos that was March is over, which went out for me like a catnip-crazed lion rampaging across everything. Printer problems, car repairs, tech issues, supply issues, and a broken zipper on my winter coat tore through the last two weeks of the month. There were a few screaming into the void stress relief sessions, I assure you.
However, somewhere within the bedlam, I managed to finish the first draft of Adventure at Reichenbach, story five of Heyward and Andersen, and got some more written in the bonus story, The Return of the Fiancée. I am somewhat back on track with my schedule, so the last story and print collection will be out this year. I am sad to see the end of the series (at least for now) but I did send them off with a literal bang.
I will also be working on getting my serial fiction set up on Laterpress, which I've neglected, and editing book one in my Obsidian Blade series. I'll have more on those things in the coming months.
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The Shadows and Ink Podcast
The March episode with author Mia Dalia has aired, where we chatted about her books, subverting tropes, and a bit about Women in Horror. Our upcoming April 20th chat is with author April Henry, where we will talk about serial killers and genealogy.
Check out the link below to see the latest episode.
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Giveaways and Books To Browse
Not-So-Innocent April Reads
Ends May 1st!
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Fairy Tales & Myths Retold
Ends April 30th
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Books, Brooms, and Bedlam!
Ends April 30th
HORROR
Blood Point by Alexander Lane
When widowed father Josh takes his daughter Holly and a gang of old friends to Ireland for his 50th birthday, he hopes for laughter, memories and a chance to heal.
But in the quiet village of Kinnitty, something ancient is stirring. Holly becomes obsessed with a mysterious pyramid, but when blood is spilled on its door, a cursed spirit awakens.
One by one, the gang are pulled into a nightmarish struggle against a malevolent banshee, bent on revenge for her betrayal thousands of years ago and determined to use Holly as her vessel.
Josh faces an impossible choice as he fights to save his daughter or lose her forever to an evil from a time of legends. His only hope is a local police woman, descended from Celtic witches who fought the banshee two centuries before.
Atmospheric, terrifying, and laced with Irish folklore, Blood Point is a haunting tale of grief, love and the monstrous cost of second chances.
This edition also includes a sample of the first Nightmare Vacations novel: Blood River. In the lush jungles of Borneo, dedicated volunteers struggle to save endangered orangutans, but what began as a noble mission quickly spirals into bloody chaos.
Writing A Wrong by Eric Beaty
Writing Can Be Deadly
When a successful novelist steals the story idea of a jealous competitor, the wronged writer pens a vengeful story.
Note: This is a review request copy
Mystery of the Paris Catacombs
by Grant Kelly
Beneath Paris, the City of Light, lies a shadowy underworld: the Paris Catacombs. Stretching over 200 miles, this labyrinth of tunnels holds the bones of six million souls—and countless unsolved mysteries. The Mystery of the Paris Catacombs takes you deep into this eerie realm, uncovering tales of whispered voices, shadowy guardians, and urban explorers who vanish without a trace.
From chilling encounters with the supernatural to the Catacombs’ dark history of rituals and secret societies, this book explores the haunting allure of one of the most terrifying places on Earth. Perfect for fans of ghost stories, history, and unsolved mysteries, this tale promises to leave you captivated, haunted, and longing for more.
Will you dare to descend into the dark?
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FANTASY
Ravenous Mother's Tales - An Artist
by J. R. Kendiro
The Mother. A titanic organism, humanity's home and ravenous god. Housing sprouts like fungus from flesh, wrapped in membranes, supported by cartilage. No stone. No metal.
Within her pulsing bowels, twin sisters Kawe and Kamva are trained as forbidden artists, shaping beauty from living pigments and sentient bacterial colonies. But in a society where creation is rebellion and artists are barely tolerated, their radical new technique draws the dangerous gaze of the ruling nobles.
Swept into a brutal game of power and politics, the sisters must navigate a court as treacherous as the breathing walls around them. As ambition warps loyalty and secrets fester beneath the skin of their world, they’ll face the ultimate cost of their craft—and each other.
The Mother feeds the child. The child feeds the Mother
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PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
The Night You Should Have Left by Elara Voss
A Blood on the Board Prelude
Morris Hale has spent his career studying people — their weaknesses, their habits, the moments they don’t realize they’re exposed.
Driving for the Quinn estate is supposed to be simple.
Keep the schedule. Keep the silence. Don’t cross the line.
But Elara Quinn does not behave like other women.
She plays chess in underground rooms where men twice her age lose more than money.
She swims alone without looking over her shoulder.
She never raises her voice.
She never asks for protection.
And she never explains what she knows.
When Morris mistakes proximity for permission, he believes he’s taking control.
He doesn’t see the matte black car.
He doesn’t hear the warning until it’s too late.
He doesn’t understand that some silences are not invitations — they are measurements.
Because in this world, you are not removed for what you do.
You are removed for believing you could.
The Night You Should Have Left is a dark, psychological prelude to Blood on the Board — a story of entitlement, correction, and the moment a man realizes he was never the player.
Only the piece.
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Vintage and artsy designs on a variety of products
Scifi, fantasy, and horror designs on a variety of products
My shop on Redbubble featuring a variety of products.
Including evil chicken merch.
(with books and book merch)
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Find me on:
Website | Facebook Group | YouTube | BookBub
My Amazon page | My Books on StoryOrigin
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That's it for this edition. And I'll return next month with more updates.
