Hey Ho, Tenebrous Cult!

However you might be navigating the madness of this time of the year, we hope you're doing so in a way conducive to your own expertise, character type, and most importantly, mental health.

Maybe you're hand-making custom personalized gifts for everyone precious on your list, because you're slightly unhinged!

Maybe you're staring deeply into the void and drinking of the cosmic infinity pool because you're slightly unhinged actually, this sounds 'bout right, carry on.

Maybe you've opted to buy Tenebrous books as gifts for all your friends and loved ones because you're racing to the top of Mount Excellence and second place is leagues behind you!

Maybe you're breaking down a pig from scratch because you're Editor-in-Chief Alex slightly unhinged slightly unhinged Editor-in-Chief Alex!

Whatever you're doing, and however you're doing it, we think you need pretty things to look at. We're givers, see. And today we're giving you a first look at the cover of the high-tech, high-stakes MIDWESTERN CHROME, coming in 2026 from TRVE CVLT author Michael Bettendorf:

Artist Arianna Bosa is responsible for this neon stunner, and she's been an absolute dream to work with; she'll be handling the interior illustrations as well.

MIDWESTERN CHROME takes us on a journey to a merciless near-future Nebraska city fully immersed in bleeding-edge technology and bleeding bodies on concrete. It's cyberpunk that's equal parts Dashiell Hammett and Philip Dick, and 100% Tenebrous.

Harlan Brandt is a Black Light detective, an unofficial nickname given to those who shed light on the grime and gunk that everyone knows is there, but chooses to ignore. He's just been summoned to a dead-end street, almost as an afterthought, after the original detective declined. Harlan has no connection to the case; so why is the severed head of an android at the scene of the crime speaking to him in his dead wife's voice?

Find out in MIDWESTERN CHROME, out July 2026, and available as part of our 2026 Tenebrous Book Club! Find out more and subscribe here.

VOTE NOW FOR THE 2025 CUMMIES!

"The goblins brought it up as a joke, but the spooky co-eds spoke."

Honestly that doesn't sound too far removed from how more "legitimate" awards operate; and seeing as how the founders/operators behind the Cummies have actually recused themselves from nomination, they've already claimed the high ground among some higher profile speculative fiction awards.

Anyhoo: our buds at the Dead Languages Podcast continue to be gluttons for a very specific kind of punishment, and it's time to vote for the 2025 Cummie Awards! Tenebrous is again nominated in a few categories, but seeing as how all nominees were selected by public polling and not Secret Order, you can't really go wrong here.

Our Best Press win last year—or at least the resultant selfies—made at least one newsletter reader quit us in a public hail of "I Want to Make America Great Again But Not Like That You Filth Peddlers!" I can't remember if it was "Buttoned Down Acceptance Face":

Or "Afterparty All Bets Are Off Face":

Probably both.

Vote for the 2025 Cummie Awards!

PREORDER KRISTAL STITTLE'S KAYAK NOW!

Preorder KAYAK

"Underneath the monsters, this is a story about guilt, responsibility, and the thin line between self preservation and abandonment. Strong, well crafted and distinctive enough that whenever you see a lone kayak on a quiet lake, you're going to think of this shit and feel less safe." - THE BLOG WITHOUT A FACE

For eighteen-year-old Keith—floating alone on a series of lakes and rivers, lost and without supplies—his kayak is his means of survival. Solid ground means certain death at the scissor-claws of vicious invading creatures.  

What he needs is to find more people; but terrible guilt anchors him in solitude. A year earlier, when the creatures first appeared, it was Keith's choices that brought disaster to the island community that took him in.

Now, it's time to take responsibility for his actions, heal his scars, and survive.

Told in two alternating timelines, Kayak is a story of family, the strength we draw from others, and the strength we learn to draw from ourselves.

Dashes of Bird Box, The Walking Dead and A Quiet Place become a wholly original creature feature concoction in KAYAK, out February 17th (also part of our 2026 Book Club, or preorder it on its own).

We'll see y'all next week, when Alex will be serving pork chops to everyone.

Hail Indie Publishing.

Hail New Weird Horror (+ More!)

Hail the Tenebrous Cult.

Matt + Alex