Nothing cures a writer's block more efficiently than an appointment they can't miss away from the computer. Why does my muse hate me, y'all? #amwriting

After a glitch earlier today, the Hideki Smith books are back up on Amazon. The second in the series is (bafflingly) yet to get any reviews! If you've read, please consider posting a quick response. Thanks! www.amazon.com/dp/164554371...

Home repairs and headaches got between me and accomplishing much as a writer or editor today. But then I see a truly fantastic debut novel I edited earlier this year, The 12th of Never by Oje Kendi, released today, and that helps a lot. If you love Stranger Things, this might hit the spot.

Somehow I’m twice as busy now as I was working a day job. I have a book of mine with an editor;I’m editing someone else’s. And oh yeah they’re rebuilding my kitchen. And I’m writing the beloved new thing. #writerlife

Not only am I in this anthology, if you scroll down thru the rewards, you'll see a Tuckerization in my story. So if you've ever wanted to unleash a cosmic horror on the Beautiful South, this could be your chance! #kickstarter #southerngothichorror www.kickstarter.com/projects/fal...

Happy Friday, kids! Has everybody filed their claim in Bartz v Anthropic? The search list and claim forms are now live at anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com

So hey, y'all, I'm going to be in this! Short fiction by a bunch of writers who are ready to fight the darkness with their own kind of light. #truthtopower #artcansaveus #anthology

It’s #FridayReads time and Hispanic/Latine Heritage month! Let’s boost all signals. This month is great, but I write with an accent every month. Here’s a (45% off!) novel full of sazón and magic, waves and monsters, storms and revenge, crime and friendship. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316...

My last Friday at the day job I've had for two decades. Gonna be a full-time writer for a bit, something I've never allowed myself to do before. Y'all wish me luck, 'cause this feels really, really weird. #writerlife

Want to lose touch with reality for a bit? Let me help:

Oh look, it's that day again! And it's my turn to set you some mind-stretching questions. Four questions about you and your horror work, coming at you 7pm UK time. That's 2pm Eastern for North America. #HorrorWritersChat

Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi are beautiful people & wonderful actors. But Cathy & Heathcliff weren't beautiful adults playing 50 Shades of Bridgerton; they were abused, twisted children acting out physical attraction & patterns of abuse. Their story is sexy in a broken way, but it isn't pretty.

Top reasons to get the ebook of House of Bone and Rain today: - Only $3.99 everywhere!!! - Creatures from beyond the reef - Friendship - Magic and monsters - Violence - Every copy pushes me closer to a new contract 😬 - It hates fascism and colonialism www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CP...

The ebook of House of Bone and Rain is only $3.99 everywhere for a limited time! A Stoker, Locus, and Goodreads finalist. Glowing reviews in the NYT and NPR. Friendship, grief, magic, vengeance, and monsters. A cheap, weird date! www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CP... bookshop.org/p/books/hous...

If anybody's looking for an editor, I've got slots open for September and October: lucybluecastle.wordpress.com/2025/07/20/l...

Hey, if you haven’t read this yet, now would be a great time to get it. It is so, so good—scary and heartfelt and real.

Finished another chapter this morning. So getting out of bed was the right decision after all.

Good morning, friends. Be glorious. Be ungovernable. Be wicked. And don’t forget to hydrate.

Sticking my head out from DragonCon for a sec to say that as of 2 hours ago, HIDEKI is LIVE in Japan and, most importantly, in Japanese! 2時間前の時点で、HIDEKIが日本で、しかも最も重要なことに、日本語で出版されました。 youtu.be/9u6xqQkIrpI

As always, thanks so much to @chaoticauthor.online for hosting #HorrorWritersChat. Matt, you're a rock star!

The main thing I'm currently promoting atm is my editing work--if you've got a horror manuscript that's ready for new eyes and you think I might be able to help you, shoot me a DM! #HorrorWritersChat

I have new business cards to promote being a certified Fictionary developmental editor! Obviously, specializing in horror and dark fiction. #horrorwriterschat #horrorwriter #horrorauthor #horroreditor

I also got a couple of tags for this one tonight. If you're intrigued, here it is. Described as beautifully written, and haunting yet moving. bsky.app/profile/chao...

#horrorwriterschat This Is How A Villain is Made by @amandaheadlee.bsky.social. it's more than just a tale about a woman finding her power; it's an ace horror story and we need more of those.

All of them? I mean seriously, out of all the indie horror books I've picked up, there was only one that I've DNFd. And I read a lot of books. I DNF plenty. Today I want to shout out @karenlykkebo.com because she has an epic garden horror. #HorrorWritersChat

Do not miss @michelleheller.bsky.social 's Worst Summer of My Life. It's got monsters, mayhem, body horror, and one-liners that made me snort laugh. So, do it for you, take a trip to Weinervana and make this the "Best" Worst Summer. #HorrorWritersChat (missed the tag because I am dumb)

I absolutely love body horror and I always recommend stories by @rabusby.bsky.social who I consider to be the queen of body horror. Her book Corporate Body slithers into your skin and festers until you're compelled to scratch till your bleed! #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat Question 4: Instead of suggesting one book, I'm going to recommend everyone subscribe to Davis Morgan. His discussions of horror literature have greatly expanded my to-read list.

Not too long ago, I read "The Binding of Bloom Mountain" by @vesperdoom.com and enjoyed it. Very fantasy-horror, lots of great, witchy world building, and LGBT/neurodivergent representation. I would check it out if you're interested. #HorrorWritersChat

Ooh! I get to hype @vincentlore.bsky.social again. The gothic horror mystery 'Friend of the Damned' is a delightful read, #HorrorWritersChat, and I expect the others in his ever-growing library are as well (I am slow but getting to them). Definitely put those on your lists. Do eet now.

I just finished @tcparker.bsky.social 's scary found footage true crime based on fiction called TRADWIFE yesterday. It was equal parts prescient and terrifying. Definitely worth a read! #horrorwriterschat

Said it before, I'll say it again: I read @martinshannon.bsky.social's The Pearl in one sitting. If you're more into queer gothic, you might like @stjohnstarling.bsky.social's What Matter of Man. And I need to shout out @dyre.bsky.social and @roselinbooks.bsky.social too. Now go, feast on words!

Murder your darlings works 9 times out of 10 simply because the first draft is you getting your story out. Like weightlifting, a good idea helps you get stronger but it's not your PR. You've got to cut the fat if you want to get that pump! #HorrorWritersChat

#horrorwriterschat I second this. I've been an actor since 2016 and honestly, it's made my characters so much deeper.

Completely agree! Have murdered plenty of mine since I noticed how much overcrowding can kill the pace and messaging of a story. Maybe it’s cause I grew up with King novels, but I find bombing your darlings can be quite reasonable at times 🙃 #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat When I think “murder your darlings” I think about editing. There are lines, plots, chapters and whole ideas I've had to "murder" in service of the story I'm telling. Some of those lines were my favourites...but they had to go. I buried them all in a resurrection document.

My darlings get the treatment the story demands of them. Sometimes they get chucked into the pyre, and sometimes they're the last one standing, even if the latter makes them long for the former. #HorrorWritersChat

I think somewhere in the middle is the best way to have balance in my work. If I deleted all of my best sentences, my prose would come off pretty weak. But I also don’t want it to seem too self-aggrandizing either. As always, I’m still learning what is best. #HorrorWritersChat

I'm currently reading Below the Grand Hotel by Cat Scully, published by CLASH Books, and it is really, reeeeally good. And of course I have to plug the whole Falstaff Dread line from my publisher, particularly Vegas Run by Rachel A. Brune. (Yes, I've read it, and yes, I loved it.) #HorrorWritersChat

Depends on the story you want to tell and the vibes you're going for. I've made characters both. In WTSG, the premise is all about a relationship with death and with life. Knowing when to pull the plug (so to speak) is extremely important to a character's story. #horrorwriterschat

I have had to murder so many darlings over the years. But the way I soften it is by keeping a document where I paste in the lines or paragraphs or scenes that I really loved that just aren't working. That way they still live on somewhere, and maybe someday they'll get a new home. #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat It has to be somewhere in the middle for me. They are NOT bulletproof and I won't let them live if they do something stupid, you know? So far, I haven't had that problem.

I'm a ruthless editor. My writing group called me "the Slasher." If a sentence or scene or chapter isn't doing its job to further the plot, reveal the character, or deepen the tone, it's out. Unless it's really funny and usually even then. #horrorwriterschat

#HorrorWritersChat I'm going to put my cards on the table. I started out in playwriting and seriously nobody gives a shit because if it doesn't work you just change it because it doesn't work. If it's a good line, it stays till it isn't a good line. Because I have more books to write.

I'm Villimey, indie horror author from Iceland. I draw inspiration from Icelandic folklore & nature in my horror. Most recent release is a short story collection which has a novelette about an Icelandic Search & Rescue group that brave a blizzard & find something horrifying! #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat Research biology and anatomy. Really helps when devising ways to torture your characters. Also helps to know someone in the medical profession.

#HorrorWritersChat I think cutting things you love but don't work is part of editing. I tend to copy paste my darlings. If I love a line or a character but they don't fit, maybe they'll fit somewhere else. Why waste a good idea? Put that darling in some Tupperware for later.

I'm in the middle. If I have to suffer, then so do my characters 😈 Besides, we all have our trauma which can be a nice sprinkle or spice in your story. #HorrorWritersChat

#HorrorWritersChat If it sounds insane, it will probably make a good story.

#HorrorWritersChat I've finished the 1t draft of at least 5 books that I've discarded because they sucked And I've taken the pieces of them that worked and repurposed them for other works - including my current WIP - and adapted them to work So not only do I murder my darlings I'm a cannibal!