Weekly Posts from The Horror Tree for 2/11/22
Feb 11, 2022 9:51 pm
Hi there,
Word of the week: holier-than-thou - characterized by an attitude of moral superiority.
Hello, readers. I’ve been thinking a lot about social media lately. For authors, it’s often a necessary evil. I’ve seen many writers on Twitter or Facebook post apologies for stepping away, or for a period of inactivity. I know we all want to build an audience and communicate with our community, but curating an online presence can be exhausting. We are fortunate to have many excellent and welcoming people in the writing community, but no one should ever make you feel like you owe them your time (except, perhaps, your family). Sometimes the pressure is overwhelming. There is no shame in stepping away or taking a break when the drama gets to be too much, or if you just need to unplug.
As always, you can find me (Holley Cornetto) lurking on Twitter @HLCornetto. Now, onto the latest articles on writing from around the web.
Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Update (This section updated by your fearless editor and chief, Stuart C.!):
Hi there!
We're almost halfway through Women in Horror Month and there is still time to contribute! Authors, reviewers, editors, readers, fans. If you have a topic that you'd like to talk about, we'd love to share it with our readership! Please reach out here at contact@horrortree.com or use our contact form.
Leaving this in for another week. We added a new Newsletter Sponsor position on Patreon. This is for someone willing to cover the expense for switching back to Mailchimp. It would come with a permanent ad in the newsletter (such as you can see below this) and I'm open to discussing other perks if you have something in mind! And, THANK YOU to all of our sponsors who support the site through Patreon.
Speaking of new toys. Our Calendar View has a new option for a 'filter bar' plugin. It does, unfortunately, cost $90 a year. However, it would allow calendars to be sortable/searchable by categories and tags. We could add filters for pro markets/genre/etc on here. It isn't currently in the budget and I think only 25% of our visitors use the calendar view but it is something that looks enticing. More to that down the line possibly.
Articles:
I’m excited to share this week’s articles with you. First up, we have a piece written by Joe Ponepinto, editor of Orca Literary Journal, about knowing what kind of details are important in writing, and how to include them. The next article explores story structure, and challenges writers to look at structure in a different way. In our general writing section, I’m including an article from diy MFA about creating a disciplined writing practice. If you’ve followed these newsletters at all, you’ll know I’m an advocate for doing what’s right for you. What I love about this article is that it embraces building healthy and sustainable practices rather than a one-size-fits all approach. The last article this week is my favorite. Cina Pelayo’s “Writers: Focus on Your Own Page,” was featured at LitReactor. This article is the friendly kick in the butt we all need to remind us not to compare ourselves to other authors. Other authors aren’t the competition. Pelayo reminds us to focus on our own craft, and keep pushing forward.
Craft:
Jane Friedman: Use Telling Details to Connect Description to Character
Helping Writers Become Authors: Making Story Structure Your Own
General:
diy MFA: How Do I Establish a Daily Disciplined Writing Practice
LitReactor: Writers: Focus on Your Own Page
Free Fiction Roundup:
Last week we started sharing the massive list of horror stories written by women. It was brought to our attention by some of our fabulous readers that the links weren’t working properly, so this week I’m going to share again last week’s list, along with a new list for this week.
General content warning: These stories are classified as being a part of the horror genre, and as such may contain disturbing themes and imagery. Please read at your own discretion.
New Fiction for 2/11/2022
Flash:
“Tarantism” by Jessica Ann York (@JessicaAnnYork1) at Love Letters to Poe.
“Tomato Heart” by Stephanie Parent (@SC_Parent) at Cemetery Gates Media.
“A Lamentation, While Full” by M.L. Krishman (@emelkrishnan) at Baffling Magazine.
“Freshman” by Epiphany Ferrell (@EpiphanyFerrell) at Dream Noir.
“Where the Dead Do Grow” by Emily Ruth Verona (@emilyverona) at Clash Books.
“The World is Hard for Little Things” by C.O. Davidson (@colearydavidson) at Cemetery Gates Media.
“Meat is Murder” by Angela Sylvaine (@sylvaine_angela) at Night Terror Novels.
Short Stories:
“Conflict Resolution” by R.J. Joseph (@rjacksonjoseph) at Southwest Review.
“False Gills” by M.A. Blanchard (@inquisitrix) at Uncharted.
“You Do What You’re Told” by J.A.W. McCarthy (@JAWMcCarthy) at Apparition Lit.
“Teufelsberg” by Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin (@MiseryVulture) at the Other Folk.
“Better Halves” by KC Grifant (@KCGrifant) at the Lovecraft Ezine.
“Empty Nest” by S.J. Townend (@sjtownend) at Horla.
“Lilith, My Daughter” by Kristin Cleaveland (@KristinCleaves) at Clash Books.
Novellas and More:
“The Unlikely Heroines of Callisto Station” by Marie Vibbert at Analog (provided by author).
Podcasts/audio:
“Charged” by Leanna Renee Hieber (@Leannarenee) at Pseudopod.
“Deep Roots” by Emily Burnham (@emilyburnham) at Tales to Terrify.
“This Wet Red” by Marisca Pichette (@MariscaPichette) at Pseudopod.
Stories for the Week of 2/04/2022
Flash:
“A Scream in the Dark” by Tiffany Michelle Brown (@TiffeBrown). Dose of Dread.
“An Angry Man” by Ali Seay (@AliSeay11) at Cemetery Gates Media.
“My Heart Stopped Beating But I’m Jonesing for a Fix” by Alicia Hilton (@aliciahilton01) at Cemetery Gates Media.
“On the Edge” by K.A. Wiggins (@kaiespace). Enchanted Conversation.
“Fall Into the Water, Become Someone New” by Christi Nogle (@ChristiNogle) at The Antihumanist (pp. 11- 13)
“Applesauce” by Marsheila Rockwell (@MarcyRockwell) at Enchanted Conversations.
“Precipitation” by Merethe Walther (@MeretheWalther) at The Dread Machine.
“The Christmas Zombie” by Marissa James (@MaroftheBooks) at Daily Science Fiction.
“Breaking Bad Habits” by Yvonne Lang at Night Terror Novels.
Shorts:
“The Moor” by Elin Olausson (@elin_writes) at Luna Station Quarterly.
“Bones in It” by Kristina Ten (@kristina_ten) in Lightspeed.
“Good Housekeeping” by Maureen O’Leary (@Maureenow) at Coffin Bell Journal.
Novellas & More:
Domnuill-dhu by Stephanie Ellis (@el_stevie) Free download (scroll to bottom of page for link).
Podcasts:
“A Short, Happy Life” by R.A. Busby (@RABusby1) in Creepy.
“Papa’s Wrench and the Wind Chime” by Marianne Halbert (@HalbertFiction) in Pseudopod.
If you post any writing content during the week and think it would be a good fit for us to feature, do reach out and let us know at contact@horrortree.com
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🗒️ February 2022: Tarot Cards for Writing Inspiration
Happy Groundhog Day!
Or the month with Groundhog Day in it, anyway!
Myself, I love animals so much that I try to incorporate them into my horror stories whenever possible.
Not as the recipients of said horror, but the instigators.
That, and plants and other manifestations of the natural world....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Aurealis Magazine Australian and New Zealand 2022 Window
Deadline: September 30th, 2022 Payment: Between A$20 and A$60 per 1000 words, but assume the lower rate for unsolicited submissions Theme: All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror that are of a “speculative” nature Note: This portion of Aurealis Magazine’s open window is just for Australian and New Zealand writers Fiction guidelines Aurealis is looking for science fiction, fantasy or horror short stories between 2000 and 8000 words.
All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror that are of a “speculative” nature will be considered, but we do not want stories that are derivative in nature, particularly those based on TV series.
We do not publish horror without a supernatural element.
Although we are an Australian-based publication, we are open to submissions in English from anywhere in the multiverse during specific reading periods.
Stories containing an unacceptable number of spelling mistakes and typos, and those that do not conform to our guidelines in other ways, will be rejected automatically.
This may seem harsh, but we are being honest about it....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Witch House (Issue 2)
Deadline: May 8th, 2022 Payment: $10 Theme: Modern gothic literature, cosmic horror Submissions: OPEN (Issue 2) WITCH HOUSE is an amateur magazine that seeks to discover, inspire, and publish emerging horror authors who are enthusiastic about the pulp fiction tradition of a modern gothic literature called “cosmic horror.
” Writers in this tradition include (but are not limited to) the following: Edgar Allan Poe, M.
R.
James, Arthur Machen, H.
P.
Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Shirley Jackson, Karl Edward Wagner, Thomas Ligotti, Stephen King, and many more.
“Cosmic horror” emphasizes helpless protagonists, unexplainable monstrous menaces, and fictional occult themes such as forbidden lore and evil conspiracy.
Some “cosmic horror” blurs the lines separating mystery/noir, crime fiction, and horror, but it is distinguished by a dramatic deviation from the reality principle.
At Witch House, we prefer lyrical, literary, and artful terror of the sublime that unsettles subtly rather than gross-out gore....
🗒️ WIHM 2022: Upcycling Emotions, or Why I Write Horror
Upcycling Emotions, or Why I Write Horror by Katherine Quevedo Blood-red paper.
Twin blades.
An amusement park ride.
Sounds like the stuff of horror, right?
Except, the ride I’m talking about was a miniature one occupying a corner of my dining room table, next to a sheet of red tissue paper and scissors....
Deadline: June 25th, 2022 Payment: $0.01 per word and royalties Theme: Original monster stories Every culture has stories about those things that go bump in the night.
From Mary Shelley to Stephen King and everything in between, our stories are filled with monsters.
For this submission call, we are asking for your best original monster story.
The monster can be real, in a character’s imagination, or something in between.
The only requirement is that the story falls into the horror genre, and features the idea of a monster....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Untitled Disabled Authors SFF Anthology
Deadline: March 18th, 2022 Payment: $100 per accepted story and $25 for reprints, and two contributors copies Theme: science fiction, fantasy, and speculative short stories Note: Stories by disabled authors who live in the United States Note: Reprints welcome Forest Avenue is seeking science fiction, fantasy, and speculative short stories by disabled authors who live in the United States.
The anthology will be edited by disabled bookseller Annie Carl and published in paperback and ebook in the fall of 2023.Forest Avenue is distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West.
If you’ve written a literary story with a touch of genre, send it our way.
Horror isn’t our primary focus, but if you’ve written a story that borders on horror, we’d be happy to take a look.
We are seeking stories of 5,000 words or less.
Flash fiction is welcome.
We will consider reprints, but hope to feature at least 80 percent new material....
🗒️ WIHM 2022: Kristina Rienzi: Beyond The Bio
Beyond The Bio If you’ve read my bio, you’ll get a pretty good sense of who I am even if you don’t know me and you’ve never read my books.
However, there’s more to an author than her writing life summed up in one paragraph.
I’m here to let you in on the details I left out.
If you’ve read my thrillers but never met me in real life, you’d likely believe that I’m an introvert.
You’d also probably believe that something dark lurks inside of me.
Then, you’d meet me in person and your head might just spin around.
We’d talk and you’d see that I’m bubbly, outgoing, positive, and intently engaged in our conversation....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: My Dark Library Novella Series
Deadline: April 1st, 2022 Payment: $1,000 advance, with a royalty share at 60% to author Theme: Psychological, folk, quiet, supernatural, paranormal, body, found-footage, coming-of-age, spiritual, demonic, occult, cosmic, slasher horror.
Hello, my name is Sadie Hartmann but I’m also known in certain circles as Mother Horror.
My favorite thing is to find fresh, talented voices in the genre of horror.
It’s difficult to get readers to notice you out there in the wild, so this is your opportunity to come into My Dark Library and share with me the strange, cold, dark well within you from which you draw your stories.
I am editing and presenting a series of novellas through Cemetery Gates Media and will write an introduction for each selection, then we’ll promote your work to a hungry legion of horror fans....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Their Ghoulish Reputation
Deadline: March 28th, 2022 Payment: $25 and a contributor’s copy Theme: Folk Horror Submissions Open January 20 – March 28th, 2022 Night is falling, amplifying the stillness of the woods.
There are several whispers calling your name, and whoever is watching you doesn’t want you to leave.
The looming threat is quite common in one of the most chilling subgenres of horror: folk horror.
The genre blends the themes of horror and folklore to explore terror, alienation, displacement, and a sense of the other.
Folk horror invokes fear using the elements of folklore....
🗒️ WIHM 2022: An Interview With Cassandra L. Thompson
The Horror Tree Presents An Interview With Cassandra L.
Thompson As you are in the middle of publishing The Ancient Ones trilogy, how has the world you’ve created evolved over time?
I actually came up with the idea for The Ancient Ones when I was sixteen, and it took until I was thirty to finally sit down and write it out.
I finished it within a year, then I finished the next two the following year.
So from the completion of one to three, nothing changed very much, but from sixteen to thirty, incredibly so.
As an undergrad, I majored in History with a concentration in mythology, so the more I learned, the more I wanted to include in my stories.
How is your aesthetic an extension of who you are creatively?
I love to use visuals to tell as story, almost as much as I love words....
Enjoy,
Horror Tree
