It's hard to have any kind of belief system that doesn't devolve into absurdity unless its believers have an intuitive understanding of metaphor. Can this be taught? I wonder.

Continuing the fancy root vegetable theme, I give you this fancy Christmas beet. He's so fancy his monocle is square! #christmas #holidays #beet #vintagecards

3) What is your favorite comedic show and horror movie pairing? a. The Andy Griffith Show + Misery b. The Gilmore Girls + Amityville Horror c. The Golden Girls + Parasite d. The Simpsons + Wicker Man e. It’s Always Sunny + Saw (a quiz) ivygrimes.substack.com/p/which-book...

In case you missed it!

I have done the thing that I should have done a month ago. Here all in one place is my award-eligible writing from the last year! I'll add a post for each story below, but here is the list in all its unvarnished glory in case you would like to go in blind.

My favorite first reads of 2025—new releases + older books I finally got to. @ramseycampbell.bsky.social @claymcleod.bsky.social @sgj.bsky.social @almakatsu.bsky.social @ericlarocca.bsky.social @agustinabazterrica.bsky.social @okokno.bsky.social @ivygrimes.bsky.social #BooksOf2025 #BookSky

In case you missed it this AM, here is a fun interview with me. How fun? As a co-worker said, "I can't decide if the best part is where NPR called you 'whorish' or the student who asked if you'd met Lovecraft."

Cheers as ever, Gabino! Taking the end of the year to celebrate my first two books. Grateful for anyone's interest!

"As summer progressed, the sun shone less each day. It was the eye of a sleepy giant, able to stay open only for a bit before nodding off again" Today on ergot.: "The Angel of the House" by Andrew Kozma @andrewkozma.net (Be warned: an animal gets hurt in this one.) www.ergot.press/authors/Andr...

"It’s easy to be swept along by the everyday, but this is a story about wondering what lies above and below everything." 🔮 Wonderful interview with CELLAR BELOW THE CELLAR author @ivygrimes.bsky.social and @spacecowboybooks.bsky.social! 🪐🏜️📚 Read it here: spacecowboybooks.com/new-book-spo...

Good long interview with me! Good because it's good, long because we emailed one q and a at a time. Check out the @ivygrimes.bsky.social newsletter:

"I’m thrilled to read that AI may be able to translate whale song or read charred papyri scrolls. But write emails because that’s hard? Generate pictures of Yoda and Harry Potter sharing a milkshake with a heart-shaped crazy straw? Do your own dirty work." -interview with Nick Mamatas

There is still time to purchase Grey Dog as a Christmas gift for the most unpleasant person in your life (complimentary)!

Thanks to the wizard at Apex who made this beautiful paper garland template with pictures from the Northern lights! To print and snip and festify. Craft time!

I truly like most stories, but the ones I deeply love are so stubborn and antsy, it’s the bookshelf equivalent of having a pet raccoon.

Enjoy a celestial take on a vintage paper garland 🎄 our paper chain templates feature artists' depictions of the Northern lights across history, From 19th century Arctic expeditions to Medieval atmospheric phenomena 🪢🌙✂️ Download the templates and instructions here: drive.google.com/file/d/1ahFZ...

There's a new holiday to celebrate this year! ❄️🌌 We're kicking off our countdown to @ivygrimes.bsky.social's folk horror novella THE CELLAR BELOW THE CELLAR with a collection of printable DIY papercrafts! Get into the cozy, screen-free Cellar Solstice spirit and check out the first craft below! 🧵

If you are a reviewer and would like a copy of my upcoming novella The Cellar Below the Cellar to say kind or cutting things about (or somewhere in between), here is the link to request!

"In the basement the television is on, and Robert Stack is waiting for me, his gray trench coat perfectly still against a black void. 'In the closet under the stairwell, remove the wood paneling...'" @iamchrisscott.bsky.social leads us into impossible architectures, new today on hex!

Tuesday quoteday for my upcoming novella Cellar Below the Cellar (out 2/18/25)- Quote from Jane as she acquires a magic doll:

Background noise is the almost silent killer

Hi. If you're catching up on 2025 reading, I had a collection come out in September (feel free to DM for review e-copy!), a novelette "Uncertain Sons" (in aforementioned collection), and some stories. Thanks in advance if you check any of them out!

I have a new story in one of the very best mags on earth @hexliterary.bsky.social. This is for the 90s kids and recovering addicts and everyone else. Love you.

long shot here, and a vague idea, but: scholarly folks, do you have any reading suggestions for work looking at conceptions (pop, psych, or phil) of time re: grammatical usage? Things like the present-tense fiction trend, lit discussions as present vs past, dif between simple past & past perfect use

Thank you so much, Matt, for including "Our Mututal Friend" from @havehashad.com. I love the craft notes you included with these stories! www.havehashad.com/hadposts/our...

Okay here's my year end new publication list

Tuesday quoteday for my upcoming novella Cellar Below the Cellar (out 2/18/25)- Quote from Jane as she acquires a magic doll:

Thank you so much, Matt, for including "Our Mututal Friend" from @havehashad.com. I love the craft notes you included with these stories! www.havehashad.com/hadposts/our...

“To study a myth is like studying the whole body of a nation. If you study a fairytale, it is like studying a skeleton” -Marie-Louise von Franz

Watching Minari has reminded me of the sadness of male chick culling. Internet rabbit hole: technology exists to detect the sex while still in the egg, so some European countries have banned the culling of 1-day-old chicks: www.aspca.org/shopwithyour...

Interview with Ivy Grimes about my debut short story collection, Maidens of Midnight. If you're interested in indie horror, Ivy's newsletter is a fun mix of indie-focused interviews, features, and musings.

I do love a good list-making season

"After the dog spoke, I wasn't sure if I should pet it or chase it away." Today on ergot.: 'Hearing Voices' by Kawai Shen @kawaishen.bsky.social www.ergot.press/authors/Kawa...

It’s always a great day to have a story on Pseudopod. Proud of this one. And if you really dig it and want more, check out my collection PORTRAITS OF DECAY!

It’s that time of year when everyone goes ‘Omg I gotta tell everyone all the things they can nominate me for’ and then sits around wondering if anyone actually will. Feel free to nominate my stories for a Hugo, Nebula, Stoker, BSFA, Pulitzer, Nobel… But, equally, I’m thrilled if you just read them.

"You get to escort strangers through weird bullshit you’ve made up. I mean that extremely positively. That’s fun! That’s the closest we can get to telepathy. It’s the great conversation running through millennia."

"Life is murky and I prefer my fiction murky as well." -interview with @charibdys.bsky.social

She's asked me again - things are so desperate and donations are really slow. These kids need help and warmth. @indrapramitdas.bsky.social @blackazizanansi.blacksky.app @pepsffk.bsky.social ❤️❤️‍🩹🙏

If you want to read one of the Best Horror Books of the year, start here: store.tenebrouspress.com/products/ree...

X files vibes, a thrilling and strange tale, reads like a fever dream, are some of the things said about this book. And it also has romance! take a two month old book home today!

🎄🎅 Looking for a Christmas miracle. I am humbly putting myself out here and asking for help to make Christmas possible for my 3 children. I would be extremely grateful for any help to make this possible if you're willing & able too. Any Secret Santa's?🙏🙏☃️🤶🏻 Wish lists here: linktr.ee/fourpeasinapod3

Currently considering a DYCP/Arts council funding application on a series of zines featuring short stories concerning horror and illness. Does anyone who follows me (or who doesn't follow me) have DYCP experience?

I'm allergic to cats, but sometimes when I see a cat I'd like to adopt, I tell myself a story about how I wouldn't be allergic to that particular cat.

Ending 2025 with 2 v short pieces at @alwayscrashing.bsky.social, concerning a judgement and a curse. Find ‘Pivot’ & ‘Jinx’ here: alwayscrashing.com/current/2025... Many thanks to the editors for finding a place for these 2 odd bits. Delighted to make my debut in a such an interesting publication.

ICYMI!

Many thanks to @gnofhorror.com for featuring this little essay o mine about grandmothers and cellars!

Quote from Jane, the protagonist of THE CELLAR BELOW THE CELLAR, being philosophical about vegetables.

2025 Books We Loved: Summer in the House of the Departed by Josh Rountree locusmag.com/2025/12...