✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
It’s July, and the creative solstice vibes are strong!
This is one PACKED issue, my friends. So packed that I had to do some clever editing and careful finagling to make sure everything fit as well as it could! Not only that, but we have a potential Talestack first: a piece of news in every single category of our little newsletter! WILD!
As always, please hype each other up in the comments. Go visit, explore, give virtual high-fives, and let your colleagues know that you’re with them.
Have a fantastic week, and happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
- has just wrapped up her paranormal mystery serial, Down in the Holler. There will be a behind-the-story post coming out July 6th and rumblings of more Judith Temple mysteries in the works, so stay tuned! Synopsis: “Judith Temple, a hyper-logical software developer, has little patience with uncertainty and imprecision, but the apparently psychic visions she’s experiencing have turned into something she can no longer ignore. When Judith finds herself drawn into a decades-old missing person cold case in rural Kentucky, she must learn to use both her analytical mind and her newfound ability (skill? gift? curse? delusion?) to find the mysterious woman reaching out to her.” Get started with Episode One here!
- has recently completed a four-part series called The Red Refrigerator. Synopsis: “Two broke girls invite trouble into their lives after they buy an appliance with a gruesome past.”
- has just completed his serialized novella called The Chronicles of Samuel Carter. Synopsis: “One rainy Sunday morning, Doctor Samuel Carter answers a phone call that would change his life. Curious, he joins a secret expedition to Egypt to ‘find what no one else could,’ only to stumble from one mishap into the next. Upon his return to London, not quite himself, his whole world starts to unravel.”
New Projects:
- has just launched an ongoing cross-genre serial called What to do about Katrina. Synopsis: “Katrina wakes up to find that she’s been transported from her utopian parallel world into this world, which she quickly starts to see as a dystopia, from her point of view. She also seems to have become young again. Why is she here, and how are people going to react to her? And how will she react to them? All she really wants to do is go back home. Some higher power, however, has other plans for her.” Start with the Intro here or jump straight into the First Episode!
- has just started a new serial called Turnip in Space. From J.M.: “Turnip in Space is a new serialized story that gives a Saturday morning cartoon spin on X-files type mysteries. It follows a crew of Gnomes as they attempt to uncover the mysteries of the galaxy. Is it magic? Is it science? Find out with us!” You can check out the First Episode here!
- is bringing chapters of his new Kate Devana series to Substack. This is the third novel in this series, but each is designed to be read independently. Synopsis: “Space 2074 is the new Wild West. Mine machines are glitching, an FBI Agent is looking to avenge the death of his former partner, and Sheriff Kate Devana must wrangle a fugitive con artist who bilked retirees for billions. Bodies are piling up. Again. On the moon, Kate Devana is the law.” Start with Chapter One here!
- will start serializing a new book project in July, called What’s a Dragon? Synopsis: “In a world of misunderstanding, knowing is the worst. Emilie Gaschler is a normal girl in a world of magic: one with magic-powered technology and regular attacks from wild monsters. She’s just a normal schoolgirl attending an average middle school, with little about her to stand out in any way. That is, until she learns how things really are. Along with the knowledge of what she is, Emilie is given the option of the easy road to throw away her upbringing and join those who came before—but the road she takes is much more difficult, and much more deadly.”
- is gearing up to publish his third full-length serial novel here on Substack, called Departures. Synopsis: “A 68-year-old man has lived with a supernatural ability to know the exact date when every person he touches will die since he had a bad ayahuasca trip in his early twenties. It’s only the date and he’s never been wrong. He’s never been able to prevent a single death despite his best efforts. How does he live with this curse? Is it possible to use his power to ease the suffering of others and change this curse into a blessing? Juniper, the love of his life believed so, but she’s been gone almost thirty years and he’s close to giving up.” Look for Departures to drop on July 23rd!
Awards:
Huge congratulations to
, whose debut novel, Darkhaven, just received a B.R.A.G. Medallion, an award honoring excellence in indie publishing! Summary: “Darkhaven is a YA urban science fantasy set in Australia and is the first book in the ongoing Lightless Prophecy, a saga of magic and gods and characters who eat too much chocolate when the universe is ending.” Well done, Kel!!
Milestones & Wins:
- ’s newsletter now has a new focus, name, and logo: check out the new and improved Homecoming! All of the changes are explained in the revised About page, and you can also check out Julie’s recently-published two-part story called Thirst.
- has recently completed an interesting exercise of turning video game plots into text on Substack, mixing in-game dialogue with novelization. You can check out the first part of Aer - Memories of Old here!
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
- ’s vampire novel, Imprinted, is currently for sale at 50% off ($2.50) during the month of July as an ebook when purchased through Smashwords! Release Date: 3/4/24
- ’s folk horror novel, Endless is the Night, is now available for purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 6/29/24
📝 Submissions Bulletin
- is “a new kind of literary journal dedicated to a beautiful marriage between Romance and Flash Fiction.” Intrigued? Check out their About page for more info or their Submission Guidelines for details on publication!
The Lunar Awards, Substack’s hub for recognizing the best of speculative fiction—hosted by
—has just started Season Seven: Solar Flare Edition! Check out the post for submission details and this season’s prizes. Also, take a look at the first-ever Lunar Awards guest essay by !
❤ Shout-Outs
- would like to shout out —and his Storyletter XPress Publishing—for all that he does for the independent writers on this platform. Brian especially wanted to highlight this phenomenal step forward for both SXP and indie writers on Substack as a whole. Exciting stuff!
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
- has just launched Stardust Press, a new community initiative designed mainly to showcase serial speculative fiction here on Substack! Check out the Introduction post for details about the newsletter’s mission and what to expect as the project gets underway.
- is looking for a critique buddy to join her in a journey to resurrect a beloved book she wrote when she was 22, called Gray Space, which has returned to her in various forms and at various times throughout her life…
Synopsis: “The story is about three 12-year-olds who have to encounter some tough things, and who don’t even know they need each other. The main character is a journalist, and she is learning that there’s more to life than the black and white of her stories.”
Re: finding a critique buddy, from Julie: “After the kind of year my family has had (I had to stop working for over a year, and now am only working very, very part-time), I can’t afford to pay anyone at this moment in time (that may change). But I can swap and read with someone, slowly, as time allows with two babies, one special needs. I definitely am slow with this novel but it is finding its path and evolving into what it was always supposed to be, while still keeping the original 22-year-old writer not far behind.” Please reach out and tag Julie on Notes if interested!
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Thanks for the mention, Sally! I do have an official drop date now for DEPARTURES. The first episode complete with audio will land on Tuesday, July 23rd at 8 AM Eastern. You can watch my new trailer for the novel here: https://www.catchrelease.net/p/departures-date-is-set-dont-be-late
Thank you so much! Congrats to everyone with milestones, wins and projects progressing! ♥