Finished my book! (Spores!) Now comes the part of murdering my darlings (oh no!) to get this baby ready for prime time. I'm sharing a chart with the evolution of the word count, for those who are data curious (big plateau in the middle was a long revision). #writer #writing #horror #mystery

This week I wanna share that my short story SANDBOX has been officially published by James Gunn's Ad Astra! It's one that's near and dear to my heart, a bit philosophical, and brimming with tension! Check it out! www.adastrasf.com/sandbox/ #sci-fi #writing #shortstory #author #writer

This one is just a 9-minute read! In this post I'm discussing the important concept of the Plot Twist and it's much more important cousin, the Turn! What's the Turn? Well, you have to read the article to find out! medium.com/@richardmaya... #Writing #Creativewriting #Writingadvice #Writer

This is some really good stuff! I really wanna know about this book now!

Just published another 5-min read on Medium! This one is about a contentious topic: what do you do when the book you're writing doesn't look any good? Read the post to find out! medium.com/@richardmaya... #writing #creativewriting #writingadvice #writingtips #writer #authorlife #writingcommunity

Thought of the day: - Introvert writers might be better at sitting down and getting things done (they want to be alone with their creation!) - Extrovert writers might be better at marketing their work once finished (they're born salespeople) Agree? Disagree?

Why you'd like LET IT FESTER: 🍄 It's smart eco-horror with creepy cryptids and queer romance 🍄 It's a hundred thousand years of geological history made flesh 🍄 Weird horror involving freaky fungi and bronze-age burials 🍄 It's gay as hell #BluePit📖 #BluePit #h #a #q #lgbt

HOUSE OF LEAVES x CLOUD ATLAS For generations, Belgrave House has been growing, hiding a terrible secret. In this novel, spanning 100 years and 5 distinct eras, follow the stories of those who enter Belgrave. No one will leave unchanged… and some may not leave at all. #BluePit 📖 #W #A #LGBT #H

DISSONANCE A psychological thriller for readers who like 🩸Protagonists who can't trust their own mind 🩸Family secrets that come back to haunt them 🩸Small town lies 🩸Psychological warfare Bonus excerpt attached! #BluePit 📖 #A #H #W #LGBT #DIS #WF #ND #OV

🫀With 2 weeks left to their scouting mission, people wait for word back from their astronauts, eager to flee to a new home away from Earth. Unbeknownst to them, the co-pilot just got infected with an alien parasite, exposing the planet's deadly underbelly. #Bluepit #Bluepit💥 #A #NA #SF #H #Q #LGBTQ

#TheBookery has: 🥨 Food descriptions galore like #LegendsAndLattes 🦄 Magical menagerie like #ThePhoenixKeeper 👨‍🍳 Cute shop (and shopkeeper!) like #TheSpellshop 🫂 Found family like #TheHouseInTheCeruleanSea 🔥 Sassy fireplace like #HowlsMovingCastle What's not to love?! #BluePit📖 #A #F #R #WF #Q

So many great cosmic horror offerings at #BluePit! Someone has to make a list to keep track of those goodies! Eldritch monsters feeling the love!

My Darling Dreadful Thing X The Wicked Deep When Clover's empathic abilities awaken, a ghostly presence visits her dreams, offering escape from others' emotions. But as kindness turns to obsession, Clover suspects they want to inhabit, not liberate. #BluePit #BluePit📖 #YA #H #OV #PN #M #F #Q

THE BRIDE OF THE KING IN YELLOW 💛 two lovers struggle against class and religion to be together- but can a play that turns all readers mad be their freedom? Themes of: -class/religious pressure -eldritch horrors or insanity -existential purpose/fate #BluePit 📖 #A #H #SP #Q #DIS #amquerying

A MASTERY OF SELF 🎬 an actor is trapped in a nightmare of an identity crises after playing too many roles🖤 -speculative hollywood -friends to lovers - eldritch horror or real doppleganger? ALAN WAKE II + THE TWILIGHT ZONE #BluePit 📖 #A #H #SP #W #DIS #WIP

— A DROWNING AMBITION — a zealous journalist turns up missing, so their rival makes it his mission to find her. he finds her at a strange lighthouse… she doesn’t recognize him at all… and there’s a strange monster lurking on the bottom floor… #BluePit 📖 #A #H #SP #W #DIS

DELIVERANCE 🩸 one chaplain, one peacekeeper, and one chronically ill patient all become apostles to an eldritch god on an island -chronic illness themes (endometriosis) - loss of identity -dystopian sci-fi/horror #BluePit 📖 #A #H #SP #P #DIS

The Figure will stop at nothing to reach INFERNAMUS – the key to godlike power, and the only hope to save his world. He must cross dangerous hidden realms – thankfully, he isn't alone. But when a demon offers victory if he betrays his allies, he must weigh the cost carefully #BluePit #F #H #A #Q

28 WEEKS LATER x BLACK MIRROR x SILO THE AURORA'S PALE LIGHT On orders from his friend in the future, a dead war hero must prepare the world for a coming demon apocalypse then lead the survivors out of hell. #BluePit 📖 #A #SF #H #P youtube.com/shorts/ifHEN... magicgenius.co/books/ #BookSky 📚🪐

an #agentsguide to #Thoroughfare ♡ .°˖⋆ ℧ 𓃗 .°˖⋆ A western gothic horror in which a sunshine Apostle must work with a grumpy outlaw to save the western towns from an eldritch horror spreading a virus of death. ♡ This is a novella! 26,500 words ♡ #BluePit 📖 #A #H #SP #Q #DIS #amquerying

JOHN WICK x THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE For readers who like: 🩸 dangerous criminal underworlds 🩸 secret occult organizations 🩸 married villain protagonists 🩸 no-nonsense women in STEM 🩸 attractive men covered in blood 🩸 terrifying body horror 🩸 the threat of an Elder God #BluePit #BluePit📖 #A #H #W

Wren swore she’d never return to Fenholt, but her pesky conscience got the better of her. Again. Now she’s desperate to keep a cursed necklace out of a necromancer’s grasp while dodging her old thieving crew. But is she desperate enough to trust a handsome priest of the dead? #BluePit 📖 #F #R #A #Q

SHUTTER ISLAND x THE DUNWICH HORROR Meet SPORES! For readers who like: 🍄Secret cults in the woods 🍄Witty writer protagonists 🍄A mystery multiple layers deep 🍄Eldritch nature, out to get you 🍄Tense family dynamics 🍄Fungus, fungus, and more fungus 🍄...did I mention fungus? #BluePit 📖 #A #H #M #W

Today I learned that the whole story about the dangerous fungus that killed the people who opened the tomb of King Tut, the Pharaoh, was kinda bullshit. People did die mysteriously, but it was a different king, and it was never proven that it was a fungus! Damn! www.youtube.com/watch?v=x03y...

Here's a 5-min article I wrote about why movies, books, and videogames don't call zombies by their names! It has a helpful tip for other horror writers, so check it out! medium.com/@richardmaya... #HorrorWriting #Zombies #WritingTips

Pretty sweet flash fiction! Love this quote: "I could no longer hear the soft vibration of wondrous creation, only the piercing shrieks of violent ends."

This mood board is for my adult thriller novel. I’m two drafts in, and I hope to be querying pretty soon! It’s an isolated location, whodunnit-style thriller as dance retreat attendees turn up dead one-by-one. #BluePitHype #AmWriting #BookSky #WritingCommunity

These are the opening paragraphs of Wren and Spencer's story, Thief of Death. Oddly, the only instance of yell in the book. From my romantasy wip about a priest of the dead and a thief with a heart of gold. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #Wrencer

Here's the mood board for horror/mystery WIP: "SPORES". The story takes place in Tillamook Forest, Oregon, where the ultra-wealthy have built a mysterious retreat at the lakeside... What's up with all those mushrooms? #BluePitHype

this is for my current wip, A Mastery of Self 🖤 speculative “old Hollywood” where an actor who’s played too many roles forgets his own identity

Chapter 2 of my horror mystery novel... the family just arrived at the institute. Is the horror vibe coming through? #WIPSnips #Smile #WritingCommunity

I'll take any and every opportunity to share this amazing art by @therealjbuddha.bsky.social!! #BluePitHype #TheBookery #AmQuerying

I recently learned that the Kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean is not an octopus, but a squid! My guess is it was inspired by the colossal squid, the largest cephalopod there is. They grow up to 14 ft/4.2 m, and they're prey for sperm whales! Pic includes baby colossal squid and squid beak!

Hi! I'm Richard, and I'm fascinated by the weirdness of eldritch things. Lovecraft was a big one for me. I've written sci-fi and fantasy, but HORROR is my home now. I became a writer when I realized I loved certain kinds of stories, and wanted to put more of them out there. #BluePitHype