Welcome back to Haunted Books & Haunted Girls, a newsletter all about writing and ghosts. I’m so happy that you’re joining me. If you haven’t subscribed already, please consider signing up below (for free!), so you never miss an issue of this newsletter. It’s always spooky szn here.
I mentioned in last month’s issue that I plan to start using this Substack to share a bit more writing and publishing news, of which there just might be a bunch in the coming weeks/months. (Take that as you will.)
To kick off this new era of, well, news, I’m excited to say that I wrote a dark academia horror short story that’s being published in Voyage YA’s All the Ways a Heart Burns anthology…and it’s officially available to purchase!
My story is called “Records Room,” and it follows an art student named Margot with a dark past and a deadly talent. Some things you’ll find: a chaos bi protagonist who pines for her former girlfriend, an atmospheric artsy campus with nightmarish secrets, a spooky and potentially haunted pay phone, and, ohhh, maybe some spiders.
In addition to my story, there’s a whole bunch of other talented authors involved, with titles across a range of genres.
If you’re interested in getting a copy, you can do so at the links below:
While we are here and talking about short stories, I wanted to share a quick recap of the others that I’ve written this year, so you can access them all in one place!
Influenced follows an aspiring social media influencer named Hadley who finds herself haunted by an entity startlingly similar to the online persona she’s been carefully curating for years.
And Gretel, published on Crow & Cross Keys this past fall, is my spooky reimagining of the classic fairy tale. It features a now-grown Gretel who returns to The Witch’s cottage many years later to fulfill an ominous oath taken long ago. (I like to describe it as answering the question, What if Gretel became worse?)
This was a quicker post than in the past, but don’t worry—there will be plenty of musings and ramblings to come. Like last time I popped up in your inbox, I’m still in revision mode, and also like last time, I can’t quite tell you why (YET). But we are swimming toward the day when this newsletter contains a very exciting secret I’ve been keeping….and I truly cannot wait until that day is here. Until next time!
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