Tag Archives: horror

Middle Grade Horror

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A middle grade horror story of mine titled “Ghost Wolf” was accepted in an anthology back in January. Of course, the editor wanted to time the release with Halloween, so I’ve been waiting (patiently) all year. Then came the news that the release was flubbed, though not through the fault of the editor.

Anyway, the anthology is out there now and is called 15 Spooky Campfire Stories for Kids. My contribution has special meaning for me. I wrote the story for my oldest daughter’s Girl Scout troop. A lot of Girl Scout troops sing songs around the campfire while camping. My oldest daughter’s troop has always told spooky stories. That may or may not have been because on their first camping trip as 1st graders, I led off with the story, “I got ya where I want ya, and now I’m gonna eat ya!” It’s a classic. The troop even acted that story out as a skit at a later multi-troop camping trip.

“Ghost Wolf” begins with my scouts telling (what else) spooky stories around a campfire when they think an unnatural visitor arrives. The latter event, of course, has not happened during any of my troop’s camping trips, though it is loosely based on an experience I had when studying abroad in Freiburg, Germany after Junior year of high school.

In addition to adult fiction, I tend also to write at the level where my kids currently fall. When they were infants/toddlers, I wrote several picture book manuscripts. I haven’t gotten any of those published though. When my oldest aged into the middle grade range, I started writing at that level. I’ve written five middle grade short stories, and four have been published. I’m considering publishing these as my next collection.

I’ve also written a middle grade trilogy that has been reviewed by my critique group but is languishing since I haven’t had time to edit those manuscripts. I really want that to me my next project. Maybe I’ll get going on the middle grade short story collection and use that as a give away for (and motivation to finish) the middle grade trilogy.

If you have young ones at home (or are young at heart), check out 15 Spooky Campfire Stories for Kids.

Cover Reveal – New Short Story Collection

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I’m well behind on my quarterly updates. Truth be told, I haven’t written or submitted much this year; so I decided, instead of regurgitating the same excuses, I’ll do a recap at the end of the year.

I wasn’t completely ideal, however. I’ve been working on my next publication. It’s about a year later than expected, but I’m finally pleased to announce that my second short story collection will be released October 13 in paperback and eBook via Amazon. The eBook version is available for pre-order currently.

The collection is called Laughing in the Dark: Short Tales of Humor, Horror, and Travel. If you can’t guess, the stories are a mix of humor and horror, the latter just in time for Halloween. The former can be enjoyed anytime. Really, all the stories can be enjoyed anytime. Check out the cover.  My friend and fellow speculative fiction writer, Michelle McBeth, did an excellent job bringing my vision to life.

I’m proud of this collection. Many of the stories have been published here and there over the last 5-6 years, so it felt good to collect them all in one place. I hope people enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Apparently, I’m a Horror Author

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I’m not sure when it happened, but I write horror now. Two of the last three stories I’ve sold have been solidly in the horror genre. The most recent, “Camping with the Carnival,” was just released today in Night Terror’s Vol. 14. Check it out in eBook, print, or Kindle Unlimited. An eAudio version will be out soon.

To give you a little background, my family went COVID-camping with my sister and brother-in-law last autumn. They had been on their own weeks long camping vacation (what better way to have a social distant vacation), and we met them for the weekend at their last stop. That night, my sister described some of the stranger people they’d encountered at their campsites. I immediately thought those people would make fantastic characters in a horror story. And they did.

I’ve sold to this market before. My story “Shadow” made it into Night Terror’s Vol. 6. The odd part is my sister also inspired that story. I wonder what it is about her and horror stories.

Below is a little taste of “Camping with the Carnival.” I hope it wets your appetite for me.

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A dark stain blanketed the tent floor. An equally dark trail ran over the entry lip, continuing through the campsite and out onto the road. Something about the ichor smelled familiar–like the blood of its usual prey–but not quite the same. This caught the intruder’s attention. It ducked inside, shaking the entire tent in the process and uprooting several of the stakes securing it to the ground. It paid no attention to the stains adorning the remaining tent walls like a gruesome Rorschach test. Licking its lips to remove the last of the sample it had tried, the figure turned back to the slick trail, following it toward the campground’s communal firepit.

November Stories

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Many of you may be knee deep in NaNoWriMo this month. If you’re already waist deep, congratulations! I’m probably ankle deep at the moment.

For those looking to take a break, I would like to share the release of a couple of my stories. The first, “The Sea Lords Script”, previously had been published by Ash Tales. I noticed not too long ago that the story had disappeared from the publisher’s website, which was a huge disappointment. Then I get an email saying they were converting to a podcast format, and my story had been narrated and was live. Even better! You can listen here. The publisher said several kind words about the story at the start, which I am grateful for. I think he understood what I was attempting to capture with the story. A little post-apocalyptic humor anyone?

The second is a horror story title “Shadow” that I shopped around for a while, and I am glad it has found a home in the anthology Night Terrors Vol. 6. The anthology will be released on Monday, November 9, but you can pre-order it for $0.99 or read for free with Kindle Unlimited. Below is an excerpt ending on a cliffhanger that hopefully wets your appetite for more. If you do end up buying, please leave a review on Amazon, whether good, bad, or indifferent. It all helps the metrics.

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The house is dark as Michael pulls into the garage. It is the night of Heather’s birthday party at Bria’s. The house should be ablaze as Heather gets ready. Instead, Michael opens the door leading into the kitchen and enters total darkness, at least immediately. After being under the bright lights of the garage, Michael’s eyes have trouble adjusting. He flips the light switch to his left. Nothing. He tries again. “Great, something else to add to my list,” he mumbles, not wanting Heather to hear and possibly ruin her mood for the party. “Hey, Heather, where are you, and why is it so dark?”

“In here, honey,” utters a faint voice from the bedroom.

The curtains are still open, so there is some ambient light making its way inside. Michael feels grateful for even this small a blessing as it allows him not to trip over the numerous dog toys strewn all over the floor on his way to the bedroom. The bedroom is another matter. Those curtains are drawn. He can’t see a thing.

“Where in here?” Michael tries the bedroom’s light switch. This one doesn’t work either. Did they have a power surge that tripped a breaker? The garage lights work, but maybe they are on a different circuit. He will have to go check.

“In here,” the voice insists, more persistent this time.

“Are you in the closet?” Michael takes a couple of steps deeper into the darkness of the bedroom. “What are you doing in there? Are you ready for the party? Here, let me turn my phone’s flashlight on. I don’t think our lights are working.”

As Michael digs in his pants pocket for his phone, a silhouette appears in the bedroom door behind him. Finally pulling the phone out, he activates the flashlight and shines it into the closet. The silhouette silently moves closer.

“I thought you said you were in the closet,” Michael replies, after finding the space empty. “I know you’re turning 30, but that’s no reason to act all morbid.” The silhouette extends a black appendage toward Michael and grabs him on the shoulder. “I said I’m right here.”