✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Summer has arrived at Talestack HQ! 🌻

And just like that…..it’s June!

We are halfway through 2026 (how? don’t ask me), and whether this is midsummer or midwinter where you live, I always tend to think June is the perfect time to sit back and take stock, a natural halfway point in the annual hike.

Here in the maritime Northwest, we jokingly call this month “June-uary” because the weather tends to be, uh…changeable. More often than not, a little less than summery. But like January, June is also a logical moment in the year to take a look around and ask yourself some honest questions about your creative life and the path you’re taking to get where you want to go.

Here are a few example questions I like to consider:

• What creative goals did I set at the start of this year, and are they still relevant at this point months later?

• What tools, routines, or attitudes are no longer serving me? What can I jettison, what can I adjust, and what would I like to add to my arsenal?

• How can I adapt or change course to make sure I’m still on the path I want to be on?

• What crazy creative experiments would I try if the goal was just to have fun and learn more about myself and my process?

• By the end of 2026, how do I want to feel about myself and my work?

Questions like this can help you to remember what it is that you want in a world preoccupied with comparison and hustle. But don’t forget: in all of this honest interrogation of yourself and your creative path, it’s vital to stop and celebrate your achievements, too. Even if they seem small…they aren’t small at all. Every step you’ve reached is a step forward. They all count toward the journey.

This summer, my hope for you—for all of us—is that we can press on toward becoming the writers, artists, creatives, and humans we want to be for the good of ourselves, our families and friendships, and our communities, too.

It’s work, but it’s worthwhile. ❤

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• is wrapping up a seven-part fantasy/adventure serial called Where the Blood Calls. Synopsis: “On the maiden flight of the Aetheric Dirigible, HMS Dawn Javelin, the crew responds to a cry for help from a Scottish fishing village. Little did they know it wasn’t a simple mission of mercy. As the Javelin’s captain and landing party are trapped in the village below, Dr. Rebekah Verity Thorne faces a dire challenge in the sky. A tragedy from her past rises from the clouds to threaten ship and crew, testing loyalties, honor, and ingenuity. In the end, it wasn’t a rescue—but a reckoning.” This story is part of 's Upon Our Seas, In Our Skies writer collaboration. Jump into Chapter One here!

• ’s webcomic, Audrey, The Unicorn Girl, just finished its run on Substack. Blurb: “Audrey, The Unicorn Girl is a slice-of-life comic featuring a perfectly normal girl... except that she has a unicorn horn on her head! Join Audrey as she tackles preteen life as a unicorn girl!” Jump into Chapter One here!

New Projects:

• —brand new to Substack!—has just started serializing a folkloric horror called Kaal: The Meridian Dark. Excerpt: “The night Alene Hartsfield sold out the O2 for the third consecutive time, something old woke up beneath the Thames. She didn’t know that yet. She was too busy bleeding.”

• has just launched her new dark fantasy Pacific Northwest serial, Dark As Dawn | Bright As Night. Blurb: “Death is only the beginning for Mae as she faces an ancient goddess of light and a self-made demon of the dark in a battle to save her father and her soul.” Jump into Episode One here!

• has just launched a four-part short story about “abandonment, obsession, perfection, and self-discovery.” Jump into Part One of Searching for Donna Reed.

• Keep an eye on some upcoming summer projects:

  • will be launching Seventh Daughter on June 6th, “an epic adventure that combines traditional and modern fantasy styles, offering an ensemble cast that includes reimagined figures from Arthurian lore, beloved fairy tales, Shakespearean plays, and countless other classics, all in an original world with fresh twists of madness and mischief from the mind of yours truly. And the journey begins…”

  • is about to embark on the next installment in her Judith Temple series of supernatural mystery tales on June 13th! Blurb for Ripples In The Cove: “When hyper-logical psychic detective Judith Temple agrees to visit her boyfriend’s family at their lake house, she plans out exactly how to relax and try to enjoy her mini-vacation. But when Judith and Tim arrive, they find that the quiet lake town has been upended by a young girl’s mysterious disappearance. As Judith begins to experience visions of the missing girl, she must find a way to save her before it’s too late.”

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s latest collection of Pacific Northwest folk horror/cozy horror short stories, Bonewhistle, is available for purchase as an ebook on Amazon. (Also, all of her ebooks set in the same location are on discounted sale until June 5th!) Release Date: 5/25/26

• ’s urban fantasy detective novel, This Strange Sight, is now available for purchase in various print formats as well as audiobook. You can also read the Prologue for free here on Substack! Release Date: 6/1/26

• The second volume in anthology series, inspired by the uncanny flavor of The Twilight Zone, is now available! This new collection contains stories from dozens of Substack fiction authors all across the speculative spectrum. Available to purchase from Tiny Worlds Publishing. You can also read more about the book in the Release Day announcement post. Release Date: 6/1/26

• ’s new novel about interconnected lives in a small town, The Extra Shot, is available for preorder through Coverstory Books. Release Date: 7/1/26

• ’s oceanic horror novella, Jellyfish Bloom, is now available for preorder as an ebook through Amazon. ARC and review copies are also available on NetGalley and BookSirens. Release Date: 7/24/26

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✨Talebones runs on YOUR support! ✨

• My Tip-Jar! - Enjoying this resource? Show your appreciation with a one-time tip!

• Work With Me! - Looking for an editor, beta reader, proofreader, or copywriter? Look no further! Check out my NEW Work With Me site for rates and services.

• Shop My Books! - Explore my self-published works, both ebook and paperback, available from various retailers!

• Visit the Gift Shop! - Grab a piece of Talebones swag for your very own! Mugs, tees, hats, sweatshirts, and more, updated seasonally!

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

May is a month of showers and flowers… 🌼

(Not to borrow my own words, but I just posted the following message on Notes and I feel like it’s a message we could all use here at Talestack, too. Please indulge me.)

Every day, on his daily walk, our dog Finn slows down and looks over his shoulder in the same spot—a nondescript section of a quiet rural driveway.

He does it because at least a half-dozen times in the six years we’ve walked with him there, our sweet neighbor has driven by and said hello and given him a treat, and it’s always in or around that spot.

Behaviorally, dogs are (usually) what’s known as optimistic gamblers. If there’s a chance something great will happen, they will expect it, and put themselves in a position to catch it. Even if that means weathering repeated disappointments in the process. Surely if a good thing happened once, it can happen again.

And maybe we should strive for this to be said of us: that creatives, writers, artists are optimistic gamblers.

Maybe we take note of our triumphs—no matter how many or how few—and let them have more psychological and emotional weight than our defeats.

Maybe we slow down.

Maybe we look over our shoulders in the right places.

Maybe we expect good opportunities, even if they only come around every so often. Even if the disappointments outweigh the victories.

After all: if it happened once, it can happen again. ❤

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

New Projects:

• has just embarked upon a new horror serial called A Death Worse Than Fate. Benjamin calls it an “Occult Penny Dreadful” and poses: “What if Sherlock met Watson in an unearthed casket, while he was robbing graves for medical study?”

• has launched a new sword-and-sorcery-inspired, limited-run serial, Serpent King’s Castle. Synopsis: “Wulf Almsson, city guardsman, serves the king, even as the people he loves incite rebellion. All Wulf can do is try to protect them and the folk who suffer under the oppressive thumb of the tyrant…until the day that he discovers that the king is no man, but a serpent cloaked in flesh. Quick, unkillable, and insatiably hungry. And the serpent knows that Wulf has found him out. Blackmailed by his manipulative captain, Wulf has no choice but to go along with schemes to overthrow the serpent king. If he wants to save the city that he loves, he must be prepared to make sacrifices…even if it means giving up part of himself.” Jump into Chapter One here!

• Coming in June: will be launching Luminescent, a light novel inspired by the tropes and style of anime/manga. Synopsis: “Luminescent primarily follows the story of two characters with the rare power of luminescence—something that allows them to exorcise monsters called ‘chaotics,’ which spawn from people’s negative emotions. The story takes place at their university, which holds an annual chaotic-hunting competition. The first character is Mindie—a rambunctious first-year student eager to achieve her dream of being the best luminescent the world has ever seen. Her cockiness often lands her in hot water, but she can get serious too. She’s particularly protective of her best friend Pike. The second character is Pike—Mindie’s best friend who dreams of becoming a novelist. He is also luminescent but would rather stay out of the spotlight while playing the role of Mindie’s support. He suffers from low self-esteem and has trouble asserting himself. Their imperfect perspectives shape the narrative into a mix of action and simple, everyday moments, along with clashing ideals regarding the nature of chaotics and how they should be dealt with.” Subscribe to stay tuned for the debut!

Awards:

• Psst, sci-fi writers! Listen up! The is going to open for Science Fiction submissions in a few days—but only until the end of the month!—so subscribe to the newsletter, start brainstorming your best short story ideas, and keep an eye out for the announcement post!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• From the brilliant minds of and comes a collaborative murder mystery tale, Diary of a Murder! Blurb: “Can two amateur detectives solve a cold case that everyone else has given up on? Drew and Jane are writers, but when they find the diary of a murdered woman, they're suddenly inside the story.” It is available exclusively as a digital zine here.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• is promoting her recently-published adventure book, Crowns of Gold, ahead of an in-person signing event coming this summer! Blurb: “In Crowns of Gold, Jenn Zuko merges the romance of classic adventure with the grit of survival and self-discovery. A master of stage combat and the fight as story, Zuko channels her deep knowledge of writing, literature, and the performing arts into the tale of Gemmanalia Jonquil, a runaway slave who rises into a swashbuckling pirate queen.” Check out the signing event’s Eventbrite page to join the fun!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✨Talebones runs on YOUR support! ✨

• My Tip-Jar! - Enjoying this resource? Show your appreciation with a one-time tip!

• Work With Me! - Looking for an editor, beta reader, proofreader, or copywriter? Look no further! Check out my NEW Work With Me site for rates and services.

• Shop My Books! - Explore my self-published works, both ebook and paperback, available from various retailers!

• Visit the Gift Shop! - Grab a piece of Talebones swag for your very own! Mugs, tees, hats, sweatshirts, and more, updated seasonally!

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Here it is, the Merry Month of May! 🦋

At Talestack HQ, May is the start of butterfly season. They are literally everywhere right now in the increasing Pacific Northwest sunshine: big floaty ones and small fluttering ones, bright colors and muted hues. They are beautiful and temporary and mesmerizing to watch as they flit from here to there.

Butterflies and moths are a symbol of metamorphosis, of course, from little squiggly caterpillar to graceful creature of flight. But to me, the butterfly and its ilk also symbolize the transformative power of beauty, even in the most fragile things.

I’m reminded of this poem by Rainer Maria Rilke:1

A beautiful butterfly near
the earth is displaying
the illuminations of its flying
book to an attentive nature.

Another closes on the border 
of the flower that we breathe:
this is not the time to read.
And still so many others,

fragile blues scattered,
floating and fluttering
like the blue fragmenting
of a love letter on the wind,

of a torn-up letter
we had just been writing
while its addressee
hesitated at the door.

—

I recognize how silly this might sound, but I think of us—all the readers and writers and artists and creative people who gather at this little newsletter—as the metaphorical butterflies, with our colors and our illuminations and our patterns. We may be fragile and temporary beings, but when we display our creativity to the “attentive nature” of an audience, something profound can happen. Something that outlasts us, and transforms as it travels through time.

Today is a good day to display your wings. Start something new. Take a bold move. Tell your story, and see what happens!

We’ll be here to read it when you’re ready. ❤

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

New Projects:

• has just launched a new nautical serial called Leviathan’s Huntress, “a tale of lost love, fearsome monsters, and transformation on the high seas!” Jump in quick before the next chapter drops!

• Barrie of is celebrating three years of his publication Just Write, Right on Substack with a 30 Days/30 Stories mini-project. From Barrie: “Mostly, I’ll try and take a previously-used prompt or story title and spin a new yarn from it (but new ideas seem to be simmering the more I write so no strict rules). The first collection of tales will come out on Friday, 8th May and weekly until the month is done.” Subscribe to follow along!

• has just embarked upon a new fantasy serial called Apex Predator​, projected to run about six episodes. Synopsis: “Reports of a man-eating monster prowling the southwestern coast of Margonne have reached the king in Palisade, and he sends Adon Santinetta and his crew to investigate. For the first time, Artema Santinetta joins her father, mostly to keep him company on his first assignment since his wife’s sudden death. She soon finds herself in the middle of a life-and-death struggle against a terrifying beast everyone thought was mythical. To survive, she must rely on her own wits and the unknown skills of a total stranger.”

• has just launched a character-driven, literary fiction serial called The Thing Itself. Blurb: “Over the course of their contract marriage, the Conte and Contessa have built something warm, functional, and good. On their fifth anniversary, they decide together: to end it. Now, what comes after — for the household, the territory, and everyone whose life the arrangement touched. The Thing Itself is a character-driven serial about a contract marriage that worked—and what remains when it ends.” Jump into Chapter One here!

• has just started a new weekly Regency romcom/family comedy serial called The Darridges: Banter & Bluff. Synopsis: “The year is 1814. The place is London (or, well, an overly-romanticized version of it). And one morsel of news is blazing through that fashionable sector of society known as the ton: For the first time in a decade, the entire Darridge clan—that’s right, the Marquess of Twynham and all seven of his offspring—will be in town for the Season. What a Season this will be! Regina Darridge is off to London for her debut Season, and all her family is coming to support her. But Regina and her best friend Julia have their own plans, too. Plans that involve Regina’s brother James and that are guaranteed to get James and Julia betrothed. Plans that are simple, straight-forward, and utterly—utterly!—fool-proof. So, yes, indeed, what a Season this will be.” Jump into the First Installment here!

Awards:

• Congratulations to , winner of the Horror (Round 2) edition of the Lunar Awards’ 11th Season, along with Runner-up and Honorable Mentions and ! Learn more about the winning stories and other cool details in this post from awards ambassador and guest judge !

Milestones & Wins:

• would like to present his latest poem to the Talestack readership, called My Hands and My Heart. Rolando calls it “a reflection on the spiritual side of humanity.” Check it out!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s debut collection of dark short stories, Dead Sisters Tell No Tales, is now available for purchase as a digital file through Ko-fi! You can also learn more details at this post. Release Date: 5/2/26

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• is launching a month-long creative collaboration called Upon Our Seas, In Our Skies. From Leanne: “[This] is an invite to writers and artists to come together and create a collection of fiction, art, faux historic profiles in any format: short story, serial, poetry, artwork. Think Horatio Hornblower/Persuasion/Pirates of the Caribbean (the last for vibes) with flying ships and Gifted persons who can do just one kind of magic. Your story or art will show Gifted persons aboard aetheric flying dirigibles in His Majesty’s Navy during the period 1817-1822 (the book’s “publication” date). I’ll be sharing the wrap up post on June 6th so you can post anytime between April 22nd and that date.”

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✨Talebones runs on YOUR support! ✨

• My Tip-Jar! - Enjoying this resource? Show your appreciation with a one-time tip!

• Work With Me! - Looking for an editor, beta reader, proofreader, or copywriter? Look no further! Check out my NEW Work With Me site for rates and services.

• Shop My Books! - Explore my self-published works, both ebook and paperback, available from various retailers!

• Visit the Gift Shop! - Grab a piece of Talebones swag for your very own! Mugs, tees, hats, sweatshirts, and more, updated seasonally!

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

And With That, Everything Gets Moving…

I dunno about how April is going for all of you, but as soon as spring hit in earnest, everything around here at Talestack HQ went a little crazy. 😅

The weeds in our yard are supercharged by the warmer weather, mocking us with the confidence of an invading force as they inch closer and closer to the house. The seedlings in the greenhouse can’t wait to get planted out, to start digging deeper into real soil. The calendar starts to fill up with things we want to do and things we have to do and things that simply should get done.

Everything in this season feels alive and lively…and more than a little stressful. It’s easy to fall behind, or at least to feel that way.

But despite it all, there’s always room for a good story in even the most stressful day, season, or year. Stories force us to slow down and soak in. They sweep us off our feet and they hand us the tools to face our anxieties with both ferocity and grace. There’s nothing quite like their subtle magic to soothe the busy mind.

I’m pleased as always to bring you this issue and its stories, as well as its opportunities for you to share yours! Take a look and see if your new favorite read is hiding here below.

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• recently completed her dark fantasy western, The Spaniard. Blurb: “A story of revenge, the tale follows a drifting gaucho after having his life and love destroyed by dark forces. In the heat of the desert, he meets a mysterious woman he’s seen only in dreams, who accompanies him on his quest to discover if his young son might still be alive.” Jump into Episode One here!

• is about to conclude her dystopic magical realism serial, Smoke-Mouth, with a long-awaited epilogue before the end of April. Synopsis: “Jenny-Dog is just fine on her own. Jenny-Dog needs no one and no one needs her. Until a fool young stranger shows up, says she’s walking all the way to the crippled mountain—to Lawetlat’la, to Smoke-Mouth—and asks if Jenny wants to come along. Jenny doesn’t fancy their chances. After all, it’s over a hundred miles on a dangerous road through a once-modern region laid bare by quakes and crisis. There are many-eyed angels hovering in the summer sky, and hungry thieves lurking in the woods with violence in their hearts. But the mountain is calling. And when Smoke-Mouth calls, the dreamers reply.” Jump into Episode One here!

New Projects:

• recently embarked on a new legal thriller serial called What I Have Failed To Do. Synopsis: “Burned-out attorney Augustus Butler, or Gus for short, has decided that justice really must be blind, because how else could gesticulates wildly all this be happening. Therefore, he tells himself, the most logical course of action is to coast through his meaningless job as a partner at a criminal law firm until he saves up enough money to retire early and travel the world. It’s not like he ever wanted to practice law in the first place, and whatever’s left of his family won’t miss him if he disappears somewhere in eastern Europe. And then one day, a case crosses Gus’ desk that his partner at the firm calls, and I quote, ‘so open-and-shut that it might even convince even an old miser like you that there’s hope left to be had in this hopeless world’. Gus thinks it sounds too good to be true, and he’d be lying if he said he took the case in good faith. But for a brief moment, he begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, the bad guys don’t always win.” Jump into Chapter One here!

• has just launched a three-part speculative mystery series called La Bella Morte. Blurb: “‘La Bella Morte.’ The Beautiful Death. A blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror all wrapped up in mystery, this short form serial will follow the strange exploits of Thomas Edwards during his time working under the enigmatic and eccentric Dr. Victor Simmons. Their goal? To learn the ‘facts of life,’ as Dr. Simmons says. But what does he mean by this statement, and what secrets is he hiding in the quiet isolation of rural Japan?” Check out Part One here!

• will debut her political fantasy of manners, Heart of Stone, on May 4th. Synopsis: “Set in a cliffside fortress built within an intricate network of tunnels and caves, a bitter academic is given the role of tutoring the king’s son, a position his now-deceased father held. Convinced another man is guilty of the crime, he hatches a plan to secure a chance to bring the ‘killer’ to ‘justice’. As the real murderer plots something more deceptive and explosive, a sharp-tongued maid and the painfully idealistic king’s son find themselves caught between opposing forces manipulating them for their own ends.” Publishing twice-per-week, subscribe to stay updated about this genre-bending serial novel.

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s literary novella, In The Wake of Dreams, is now available for purchase as an ebook anywhere you get your digital downloads. You can also purchase it directly from him through Ko-fi. Release Date: 4/17/26

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• Do you write complex female characters in your fiction? Would you like to learn more about how to do so? has developed a rubric called FINALLY, which helps fiction writers determine whether they’ve written believable and complex female characters. They are also looking for fiction that elevates the courage and power of women. Check out the rubric and submission details here.

• The team at —the beloved horror community on Substack built for readers and writers who love the genre—is actively seeking fresh horror fiction! From MM: “Every week we share community spotlights, featured stories, and a chat thread where horror writers and fans share what they’re working on and what they can’t stop thinking about. Every month we share a feature-length issue with essays, criticism, personal horror, and art. Each issue has a theme, and we want YOU to be featured! We feature emerging voices alongside seasoned writers. We run writing contests. We spotlight artists. We are genuinely, enthusiastically here for your weird stuff.” They are seeking:

  • Opinion pieces. A horror take you’ll die on. One essay per issue. 300-500ish words.

  • Featured Short Fiction. Horror. Under 1,500 words.

  • Horror Artists. Illustrators, painters, photographers. If your work lives between unsettling and gorgeous, we want to feature you. All mediums.

  • True Stories. Something spooky that happened to you. You’re not sure how to explain it. You’ve told it once and watched the room go quiet. That’s the one we’re looking for. Under 500ish words.

  • Reviews. Film, book, game, podcast—any horror media assessed with a strong point of view. Not plot summaries. Conviction.

  • Got something that fits? Reach out to macabremondayteam@gmail.com

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✨Talebones runs on YOUR support! ✨

• My Tip-Jar! - Enjoying this resource? Show your appreciation with a one-time tip!

• Work With Me! - Looking for an editor, beta reader, proofreader, or copywriter? Look no further! Check out my NEW Work With Me site for rates and services.

• Shop My Books! - Explore my self-published works, both ebook and paperback, available from various retailers!

• Visit the Gift Shop! - Grab a piece of Talebones swag for your very own! Mugs, tees, hats, sweatshirts, and more, updated seasonally!

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Goodbye March, and Hello April!

(Talestack HQ wishes those who celebrate a very Happy Easter!)

Well, it’s official: around here, spring is alive. It’s been sunny for two days in a row, the seeds in the old mossy greenhouse are starting to sprout, and all the wildlife has that distracted, busy energy unique to the feral dance of spring. Everywhere you look, there’s new life and new green.

Every year I am humbled to realize that despite the news, despite the goings-on of conflict and chaos and grief in the human world—both personal and global—there are patterns beyond us that will continue on without our say-so. Forces of creation that ebb and flow with tides we have no control over. Stories being told all around us: over our heads, under our feet. Millions of tiny dramas and sagas for us to observe, to learn from, and to be inspired by.

When we pause to tell stories to one another, we step into something much bigger than we could ever imagine.

This issue is full of such stories of every shape and size, and each one deserves applause. I hope you find your next favorite read within. Let’s celebrate the power of good stories well told, together!

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• is wrapping up her romantasy serial, A Sword for Wellington, on April 11th. This is the third book/season in The Môrdreigiau Chronicles; it continues the Chosen Court story and introduces two new characters. Synopsis: “The prophet Llyr dreamed of a sword needed to complete the ritual that will save the world from ecological collapse. Will Eidothea and her Chosen Court retrieve the sword in time? Gwenddydd has the sword. She comes forward in time to deliver King Arthur’s sword to the Duke of Wellington in order to save Britain. Fortunately, she meets Sir Hugh Devenish, a wounded veteran of the Peninsular Wars, who helps her find her way in this modern world of 1815. Both Eidothea and Gwenddydd face opposition, for there is one who wants to destroy both Britain and the Chosen Court itself.” Jump into Chapter One here!

New Projects:

• is embarking upon a new historical fantasy/mythology serial, Ash & Oak. Blurb: “When Áslaug encounters the All-Father in the forest, he not only makes her a seiðkona but also gives her the ability to walk the dreaming and glimpse the future. What she sees will change her own path, and the destiny of her people. At the same time, across the storm-tossed sea, Tobias is sent to an abbey to be an oblate. When his world collides with Áslaug’s, the repercussions shatter both their lives, and reverberate through history.” Jump into the first chapter here!

• has just started a new superhero serial called Dawn of the Super Surgeon. From Michael: “[In this serial] we’ll explore a question that gets to the heart of human and superhuman nature alike. Can supervillains truly change? Will other people, particularly the heroes, let them? And what happens to the supervillain’s loyal henchwoman/sidekick who’s along for the ride, complete with their patented Death Kazoos? Will she have to restrict herself only to the special-order Celebration Kazoos with the confetti attachment? Intriguing questions all: we’ll find out in the new Edison City comic superhero serial, Dawn of the Super Surgeon!” Jump into the first episode here!

• has added a new multimedia component to his fiction world. From Jaime: “After more than a year weaving GEAR GIRLS, the all girl gnome rock band, into my main novel series, their first album is now ON SPOTIFY!!

  Crazy, I know, but we’ve brought Ezra, Juno and Katt to life for everyone to enjoy.” Listen Here!

• is launching Selene’s Vow, a 7-part novella, set in the same universe of The Môrdreigiau Chronicles but the first three books/seasons are not required reading. From Leanne: “This one can stand alone (regular readers, there will be TEA!). There are no Arthurian quests this time, but our heroine, Lady Selene Jermyn would very much like her moonstone pendant back, please. Whoever possesses the pendant, has the right to marry her and claim the family estate and title. The man who won it from her father doesn’t seem too inclined to return it. There are sea dragon cameos.” First chapter releases April 18th.

  • Also, Leanne would like everyone to know that if you would like to binge read and catch up to the Chronicles, the EPUB and PDF of the first two books/seasons are available to new subscribers via their welcome email!

• recently launched a fantastical slice-of-life comic called Audrey, The Unicorn Girl. Blurb: “Audrey, The Unicorn Girl is a slice-of-life comic featuring a perfectly normal girl... except that she has a unicorn horn on her head! Join Audrey as she tackles preteen life as a unicorn girl!” Jump into the magical tale here!

• has recently started a series of short fiction on his Substack called The Killing Machine, featuring a hitman called George Coleman with a very specific code of ethics. Jump into the first story, The Fine Print, here!

• In her continued search to seek out and tell her own family history, has recently turned to the world of fiction in a new multi-part story called A Tale of Inheritance With A Spark of Magic. Blurb: “The setting is a photography studio a hundred years ago, truth mingling with fiction. In the present day, a woman will begin to sense the presence of ancestors she’s never met, woven into the soft footfalls of a calico who mysteriously connects her to the past.”

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s swashbuckling fantasy adventure, Death Whispers of the Etherwave, is now available for purchase as an ebook, paperback, or hardcover through various sources! Release Date: 3/19/26

• ’s supernatural thriller novella, The Boatman, is releasing this week through Bad Hand Books (and available wherever you get your favorite reads!) Release Date: 4/7/26

• ’ historical fiction novel based on true events, Refusal To Obey, is available for preorder through Pane Books! Signed manuscript pages, special editions, and merch are also available for purchase. Release Date: 9/21/26

❤ Shout-Outs

• would like to send a shout out to his pal, : “I’ve known Kummer Wolfe for years. Long before we moved over to Substack. What he doesn’t know is how much I both admire and respect him and his talent as a writer. He has the character that makes you say, ‘I want to be him when I grow up.’ I want the world to know this man. I want him to be famous. So I’d like to start with his new publication: Death Whispers of the Etherwave. You can find his growing world over at Worlds of Kummer Wolfe. If you reach out to Kummer, a great man by any standard, tell him ‘Jaime’ sent you.”

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

‘Tis the season to celebrate the little signs and signals…

We’re midway through March, and I’ve been thinking a lot about milestones.

Maybe it’s because spring (and autumn, for the sake of our southern-hemisphere pals) is a transitional season, and it always leaves me feeling more aware of my surroundings, looking for the signs and signals that we’re creeping closer to Something New in the year. That we’re progressing.

Different weather, different scents on the air, different behaviors from the plants and animals…all of them are milestones, small as they may be.

In the landscape of our own individual creativity, we have milestones too.

Some of them are teeny tiny, little patterns of inner evolution we can barely see unless we look close. Some of them are big and obvious, like goals achieved or dreams coming true. But all of them deserve to be celebrated. All of them are signals that we are growing, and that our work as writers is yielding tangible change in our lives and the lives of people around us.

You may not feel like you’re where you want to be yet, and that you have big writerly dreams yet unrealized. That’s normal. But that doesn’t mean you have nothing to show for the work you’re putting in. Sometimes we have to look backward to our previous “winters”—the bleak or empty stretches in our creative lives—to see the difference, but it’s there. If you’re working, you’re practicing. And practicing builds process. And process is progress.

Today, with this issue of the News, let’s celebrate the milestones. Big and small. Yours, mine, and the ones we can witness in our wider fiction community. Let’s embrace our growth with gratitude, together. 🌱

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• ’s fantasy adventure serial, Kingdom of the Slithering Maze (second story in the Windtracer Tales series), is coming to an end in only a few weeks. Synopsis: “When an old debt calls in Windtracer Tela Kioni, she turns to her companions Kiyosi Valchar and Mikasi Zenia for a little help. They quickly find themselves in the fractured kingdom of Jata, chasing a sacred relic thought lost to history. A device that nearly toppled the world. But they’re not the only ones hunting it. If claimed by the wrong hands, that relic could reignite ancient war machines and plunge Jata into conquest and chaos. Caught between zealots, treacherous nobles, and cutthroat thieves, Tela must find out who to trust. Not to mention whoever had the bright idea to plan mass murder on a scale the world hasn’t seen in centuries. All while she has to keep her friends alive… and figure out who the ‘right hands’ really are.” Jump into Chapter One here!

New Projects:

• has just launched a serialized dystopian thriller novel called The Iris Collective. Synopsis: “As it turns out, the most efficient way to stop a resistance from the population is to kill them—1.2 million of them to be exact. That’s what President Lewis C. Wilkins did at the start of his term, right after he took away elections. When the Population Resurgence Act is passed, and women begin to die at the hands of the men they were forced to marry, The Iris Collective is created. A last hope for the women the government has condemned to a life of torture. The underground resistance of the Iris Collective runs smoothly, until an unexpected request comes to them from the wife of a prominent politician. She needs their help. Now they must decide if they should help her, how to keep the police off of their trail, and how to do all of this under the watchful eye of the government.”

• has taken a leap and changed his fiction newsletter name from Stories, After Eight to The Novella Zone. From Ben: “The section Stories, After Eight is still there, and the stories there will always be free, but I think it’s easier to find my writing if people know what I have to offer, and that is Novellas.” Ben is also launching a new story this week called The Revolutionary, His Wife, and Her Lover. Be sure to join him on Mondays for his live Chat and read-aloud!

• Hot on the heels of his concluding serial, has launched a new series called Moonlight Curiosity Mysteries, starting with a tale called Inkwell of Shadows. Synopsis: “Daniel Hawthorne thought marrying his long-time fiancée, Cassidy—a shapeshifting bat-creature called a skinshaper—would be the hard part. Especially compared to quitting his workaholic job as a software engineer to run his late uncle’s antique shop in a quiet Southern town. Sadly, not so much. After a supernatural enemy crashes their wedding night with blood and fire, Daniel and Cassidy barely escape with their lives. The old storefront is smashed. Their honeymoon? Ruined. To rebuild, they’re forced to take a dubious job investigating a set of antique fountain pens. Ones with a long and deadly history in their wake. Now they find themselves caught up in a century-old problem steeped in ink and blood. At the same time, a mysterious figure is also looking for the pens—and is willing to kill anyone to get them. Worse? It all might have ties to the monster that nearly murdered them. To protect home, sanity, and each other, Daniel and Cassidy must uncover the truth—at least before their names are written in blood.” Jump into Chapter One here!

Milestones & Wins:

• After starting life as a serial here on Substack, ’s swashbuckling supernatural adventure novel, Death Whispers of the Etherwave will be released in print in late March/early April, along with bonus story The Alchemist’s Apprentice which serves as prologue to a future Substack serial, The Alchemist Papers. Check out the first chapter of the original serial here and subscribe to Kummer Wolfe for publishing updates!

• While this newsletter normally focuses on serials if they are imminently starting or ending, sometimes the “news” is that someone is sticking it out even when the going is tough. started writing his serial The Longest Game just shy of a year ago, but quickly became discouraged. From Benjamin: “I’d chosen a strange time to start putting my work into the void. I’d just become a dad in April and switched up my career to multitask law and full-time childcare. I had no idea how much grit I’d have as a writer, so I committed to just writing for the love of the game—if I could be consistent this year of all years, then I knew I’m writing for the long haul. This first year’s been as brutal as it has been rewarding. The only milestone is that one year after beginning, I’m still here.” And you know what? That’s a milestone well worth celebrating. Jump into the Prologue of The Longest Game here!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s literary fiction short story collection, The Silent House by the Sea, is now available for purchase as an ebook or paperback through Amazon (and also to borrow on Kindle Unlimited) Release Date: 3/8/26

• ’s satirical speculative fiction novel, The League of Eponymous Jellyfish, is now available as an ebook through various retailers. The first chapter is available for free on Substack and can be found HERE. Release Date: 3/10/26

• Later this week, ’s book of short dark fiction and poetry, Roses and Blood, Shadows and Magic, will be available to purchase on Amazon (published under the pen name A.L. Aaltonen). Check out this post for details and cover reveal! Release Date: 3/20/26

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• cordially invites you to Sundays in May with Mr. Troy Ford! From Troy: “We'll work through Reedsy Learning's How to Plan a Novel course together and gab about our efforts on your next (first?) novel in a free writing group every Sunday in May starting 5/3 at 2pm Eastern.” Learn more at the link above!

• joined the platform recently and would love more eyes on his fiction and poetry at From The Ground Up and Then Some with an eye toward kind and helpful feedback. From Paul: “I write short stories and poetry. My fiction is rough and I am still learning a lot.” Welcome, Paul! You’re in the right place. :)

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Welcome to the Merry Month of March! 🍀

And Happy Spring from Talestack HQ!

True, it’s not exactly the warmest of weather around here. Not yet, anyway. But there are signs and signals of growth popping up everywhere: the birds are finding spots to build their nests, the frogs are singing in the evenings, the trees are budding like a secret, and the tiny sprouts and sprigs of the early flowers are finding their way up from below.

Reminds me of this poem by Susan Goldwitz, a Pacific Northwest poet whose work I’ve been reveling in lately1:

Coming Again Around (with reverence to Roethke)

A drifting cloud is homeward blown, 
Rivers froth along in search. 
The world's turning is a turning toward. 

There's breath in any moving. 
The nose of the crocus pokes through. 
We can begin again.

—

Spring is your humble Editor’s favorite season. There’s nothing quite like the annual reminder that life rises green and glorious from the depths of the cold and damp. What looks and feels dead is often teeming with hidden potential.

Our creativity is like that. We all need fallow seasons, times of rest and inaction. It’s not death; it’s germination. What wants to grow will grow in its own good time!

Appropriately, our first spring issue is abundant with the fruit of the community’s hard work. Check out what’s on offer, support what sounds compelling, and maybe you’ll feel inspired to add a few words to your own WIPs! (I know I do!)

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• ’s magical thriller, Darkly, is concluding its second season with three more installments in this “near-future world where the FBI have a Dark Forces Division. The agents are working overtime to contain serial killers with supernatural skills. Episodes drop every Tuesday.” Jump into Episode One here!

New Projects:

• has started a new offbeat speculative fiction serial, Wake Me Up In Dystopia, starring herself as the main character. (Editor’s Note - Evelyn wrote the following herself in third person, and it’s too good not to copy and paste whole-cloth, so here we go…) Synopsis: “Wake me up in Dystopia is an imagining of Evelyn, aged 80 in the year 2053, when a series of catastrophes have enabled the fabled New World Order dystopia to come to pass. At that age, one needs to have a damn good reason to provide an exemption to the assisted dying option, and a young nurse is on her way to Evelyn’s house with an express order to get her to sign the consent form. There is laugh-out-loud humour in places, yet coupled with the poignancy of impending death, and a constant raging against a future that cannot be stopped. This may well happen to all of us, when our time comes. And this version of the future may well turn out to be far more realistic than anyone would like to believe. Chapters have been dropping every Sci-Friday (there’s four available so far). Evelyn, by the way, currently has no idea exactly how long this serial is going to be, but she does have a vague idea of what’s going to happen. Some might call that uncanny. Others might call it cheating…”

• of Suspense that Turns Pages, Not Stomachs, recently published her two-part short story, Bitter and Sweet, “a story of love, bread, and revenge.” Part One can be found here and Part Two here. J.P. writes horror/suspense books and stories from Vermont, where the long, dark winters lend themselves well to fiction writing.

• has added a new live chat feature to his repertoire. From Ben: “I’ve got a new project in addition to all my others. I do live CHAT every Monday night at 10:00 pm PST. Come and join me when you can!” Head over to Stories, After Eight to join the fun!

• recently started releasing his completed literary novella, In the Wake of Dreams, in serial pieces. Abridged Synopsis: “After a friend’s mother dies, one last party is thrown to celebrate the house so pregnant with meaning and memories, and all the high school friends are invited. The party is the perfect catalyst for Nick to reconnect with Jay, his beloved best friend, and Lily, Jay’s adored ex-girlfriend from a bygone era. But with Lily’s tearing up at the first mention of her husband, and married Jay’s wondering if Lily will come alone, Nick is left with an uneasy feeling he can’t understand. […] Come join the party with Nick, Jay, and Lily through this ironic and literary romance, one so full of lust and longing and that dizzying drunkenness of nostalgia.” Jump into Part One here!

Awards:

• Congratulations to , winner of the Fantasy (Round 1) edition of the Lunar Awards’ 11th Season, along with Runner-up ! Learn more about the winning stories and other cool details in this post from awards host and guest judge .

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s magical realism novel translated from Russian, Tulubaikaporia, is now available for purchase in various formats through various retailers. Signed copies are also available. Release Date: 3/1/26

• ’s literary novel steeped in Scottish folk ritual, Hovel, is available for preorder in various formats through various retailers. Release Date: 3/17/26

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• cordially invites the fiction community to join in with Worldbuilding Wednesday, “a collaborative worldbuilding challenge set in a reimagined Minecraft village. Choose your character’s home or workplace from our town map, then write their story as it unfolds alongside everyone else’s.” The event includes writing prompts and a cozy mystery that unfolds from multiple perspectives. Check out the introductory post to learn more about how to get involved!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

February Fades, but Fiction Remains! 🌿

Every time I put together an issue of Talestack News, I love looking for patterns.

Some issues lean heavier on community events, finished serials, or published books. Some issues are a bit thinner, some packed to the gills. Some contain awards or unique milestones. Some include shout-outs, or feature genres I don’t see represented very often.

I’m pleased to say that this issue—appropriately for the changing season—is FULL of NEW projects! It always warms my heart to see writers launching fresh ideas, planting new seeds, and seeing what the heck grows from the creative soil. And it’s always an honor to witness the start, here on the News.

This is the perfect season to take chances, try new things, experiment with new forms or genres, push yourself beyond your self-imposed creative limits. The soil is ready. Lock that Inner Editor in a cupboard for a little bit and make some mayhem!

Remember: If the goal is to learn, you can’t fail.

If you’re reading this, and you’ve been holding back, I’m here to invite you to take a leap and do it scared. If you’re waiting for the perfect time, it’s now. It’s always now.

Let 2026 be the year you do the thing that only you can do!

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

New Projects:

• recently launched Dreamwalker’s Diligence, a bite-sized fantasy serial “about a magical antiques shopkeeper with a penchant for mysteries. Come for the arcane artifacts. Stay for the cozy vibes and a touch of the uncanny.” Jump into Episode One of the first season here!

• This month, launched a new found-document mystery serial, The Lighthouse Files. Synopsis: “A lighthouse keeper vanishes from a remote coastal station. The only record of what happened is the collection of logs, security transcripts, and personal documents he left behind — documents that don't add up, and may have been written by someone who knew he was running out of time. Readers piece together the truth themselves through the recovered files. No traditional narration, just the documents.” Explore the first piece of the puzzle here!

• Introducing a new piece of classified material from the mind of ! Shattered: Isaiah's Side, a FREE novella, is now available to subscribers. From CB: “This exclusive companion to Shattered reveals Isaiah’s hidden thoughts, choices, and feelings that never made it into Tessa’s version of the story. And coming February 24th, Shattered: Lost Session, the second of three companion novellas. Each is available for a limited time, so don't miss out on your free access before the files are taken down! Spoiler Warning: Do not access until after reading Shattered.”

• is launching a new series at Shadow/Substance called Letters from Theophilus. From Kevin: “The entries will be metafictions in the form of letters, simultaneously less real and more true as they blend the quite unreal and the truly observed.” Check out the introductory post here!

• This week, will begin serializing her paranormal mystery novel, Kindred Spirits. (Note: while this is the second book in the Spirits series, it functions as a standalone.) Blurb: “Kindred Spirits is a paranormal mystery thriller about unfinished business, fragile trust, and the danger of bringing the dead’s secrets into the light. A medium, her ghost sister, and a hardened skeptic must solve a murder with a killer who’s still at large—and watching their every move. Some hauntings start with unfinished business. This one ends with a fight for the living.”

• On February 23rd, will launch a weekly twelve-story run for a series he calls Gothic Knights. From Norm: “The basic premise is there is a team of Gothic monsters in Victorian times that operate under the orders of a ruthless Queen Victoria but supervised by James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’ arch enemy. It’s fairly violent and nasty, but I hope my inappropriate sense of humour will still be present. There is a lot of monster vs monster action in the individual stories, but the overall series has a mystery that will be resolved by the end of the 12th story. What’s the mystery? You’ll have to read my 12 stories of Gothic Anarchy in the U.K. to find out.” Subscribe to Norm for updates!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• released the first season of her ongoing supernatural horror serial, Sons of God, as an ebook—Flesh & Blood is free to download wherever ebooks are sold. Release Date: 1/17/26

• ’s fantasy romance, Harmony of Love, is now available as an ebook through most digital storefronts! Release Date: 2/3/26

• ’s cozy fantasy novel, A Light Home, is now available to purchase through various storefronts. Learn more about this book, including cover and blurb, HERE! Release Date: 2/12/26

• Sean Thomas McDonnell’s colorful punk-noir novel, Cherry Kills, is now available to purchase through Tiny Worlds Publishing. Signed books, merch, and deluxe kits are also available. Release Date: 2/13/26

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• and the cordially invite you to a spooky springtime fiction event: Spring Fever! Horror in Bloom. Blurb: “Buds bursting, new life waiting to shiver up from the soil. People cooped up too long inside, dazzled by the sun. The smell of rain, but make it foreboding. The feel of new beginnings, but make it twisted and tangled. Beltane fires, ancient rites. Let your horror-filled fever dreams run wild!”

  • Length: Less than 4,000 words.

  • Due date: Monday, March 16, 2026, 11:59pm EST. Submit via the Google form here.

  • Publish date: The first day of spring. Friday, March 20, 2026, 9am EST.

  • Substack Live: A few authors will be chosen for a reading of an excerpt of their stories during a Substack Live event on March 20 to celebrate. Note from the organizers: “If you’re interested in this, submit your story sooner rather than later so we have time to read it before the event.”

  • Join our Discord! Want to discuss story ideas, source beta readers, or just chat with your fellow Substackers? Check out the Spring Fever! Discord group!

  • Questions: Send a DM!

❤ Shout-Outs

• would like to shout out the fiction community for their recent support during a difficult life event: “Also can I just give a general shout out to everyone on Substack for the help they’ve given when they heard my kitchen was leaking due to ice dams? Just about fully covered the cost of the ice dam removal.”

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

We find ourselves in the restlessness of February…

Here at Talestack HQ, February is a restless season. It’s winter’s waning edge.

We’re desperate for signs and signals of change, of hope, of rebirth. Clinging to every scrap of early spring sunshine, and consoling ourselves with the thought that the near-ceaseless rain will bring eventual greening, despite the puddles and drips.

If the year is a story, then February is winter’s denoument; her grip is loosening, her enchantment is fading away. The days warm, ever so slightly. The night rings with frog-songs. The creeks swell with rain.

And like any story worth telling, soon we’ll enter spring, carrying with us everything we learned from our wintering, ready to start the cycle all over again. 🌿

Please join us in welcoming our very first Talestack News Issue Sponsor: ! ✨🍄

I have been a fan of her art for quite a while; I even own some of her beautiful jewelry pieces and wear them with pride. Her work is beautiful, fun, good quality, and fits the feel and audience of this newsletter to a tee. It is my pleasure to feature her shop in this issue, and I’m so grateful to her for supporting the mission of Talestack News!

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

To sponsor a future issue of Talestack News with your business, shop, service, product, or event, reach out at talestack.editor@gmail.com with the word SPONSOR in the subject line!

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• recently wrapped up her latest western series, The Penny Bullet. Synopsis: “A strange, beastly threat is terrorizing the deserts of Tombstone, Arizona. Lucia Ruiz, a saloon girl for The Bird Cage, evades a particularly dangerous guest thanks to the intervention of a mysterious cowboy. The events send Lucia and the cowboy on a mission to find out what’s out in the desert - for the sake of finding answers to her past.” Jump into Part One here!

New Projects:

• recently joined Substack (welcome!) and launched his supernatural speculative series, Parallel Curses. Blurb: “Seven continents riddled by war. Countless curses sowing conflict. One parallel Earth, mirroring ours. Follow weekly Chapters from five (anti)heroes in Parallel Curses.” For more information about how the story works, the main characters, and the narrative’s parallel threads, check out this introduction post.

• recently added a new section to her Substack where she plans to post speculative narrative poetry, flash fic, and more. From Heather: “It’s called ‘Pen-Scribbled Stories’ and new subscribers will automatically receive updates (existing subscribers will have to add it to their subscription). Two tales are currently up for reading, ‘Swords’ and ‘Towers,’ with more to come.”

• Sandbox Earth Season is back at ’s Gibberish! From Scoot: “My two month offseason has concluded, and we return to normally scheduled programming. This means Flash Fiction Friday resumes 2/6, monthly short fiction set in the Sandbox Earth universe, and a forthcoming serial which will be a Surveyor Corps adventure.” Learn more here!

• recently launched a serial western called Through Dust and Distance. Synopsis: “Will Sturgis [is] a young hand looking for wages and maybe a bit of purpose. He joins a northbound cattle drive and learns fast that the trail is equal parts sweat, dust, danger, and unexpected grace. If you like Westerns with heart and grit, saddle up. Will’s got a long way to ride.”

Awards:

• Over the course of 2025, read and reviewed 34 different indie books published by Substack authors. In a recent livestream he handed out trophies for his favorites in various categories, and compiled them all into the Indie ‘25 Awards! Check out the post for a written roundup of all the awards, or watch a replay of the livestream here. (Grab a pen and paper—your TBR will thank you!)

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s colorful punk-noir novel, Cherry Kills, is now available for preorder through Tiny Worlds Publishing. Signed books, merch, and deluxe kits are also available. Release Date: 2/13/26

• ’s coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of the Greenham Women’s Peace Camp, Fallout, is available for preorder through various sources. Release Date: 4/21/26

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• The submission window for will be opening 1st April to 26th June this year, and the Press put out this recent post to give interested writers some guidelines about what they are looking for and how to prepare work for submission. From the post: “Our aim is not simply to accept work. It is to support writers in building strong, professional, resilient creative practices. To help you learn how to prepare your work properly. To help you trust your voice. To help you stand behind your stories. By the time you press ‘send,’ we want your confidence in your work to be high. We want you to feel: This is ready. This represents me. This is my best. If you’ve been quietly working on something. If you’ve been unsure whether it’s ‘ready.’ If you’ve been telling yourself ‘maybe next year.’ This is your sign.”

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• Fans of historical fantasy, assemble! Substack writer would love for fellow historical fantasy fans to check out his nearly-complete serial, The Dragon’s Son, with an eye toward deep, honest feedback. Synopsis: “They wanted to civilize him. They made him a monster instead. Eleven-year-old Vlad Drăculea arrives at the Ottoman court in silver chains-a hostage to guarantee his father’s loyalty. For six years, he’s given the finest education: languages, warfare, philosophy. The Ottomans think they’re creating a loyal puppet prince. They’re wrong. They’re making a nightmare.” (Note: this serial is hosted on Wattpad.)

• and the good folks at Qstack would like to formally invite you to the Theater Camp for Writers online workshop on Sunday, February 8th at 2pm EST! This free event is a primer on how to bring a theatrical sensibility to your written work, led by . Check out the announcement post for more details and how to grab your free Eventbrite tickets!

• Speculative fiction writers! Are you looking for a place to find inspiration, share your work, and connect with other writers? Check out the latest Prompt Quest event hosted by and The Lunar Awards! Take a peek at the prompt, see if it sparks an idea, and then share it with the community!

To sponsor a future issue of Talestack News with your business, shop, service, product, or event, reach out at talestack.editor@gmail.com with the word SPONSOR in the subject line!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

2026 is off to a strong start! 🌱

This morning, the Editor and the Talestack Office Dogs went on their usual stroll around Talestack HQ and found a patch of daffodil buds at the edge of the woods, rising up out of the frost, bright green spears reaching for the thin winter sunlight. It was a beautiful reminder that winter is never the last word, and that the soil under the ice is still alive and teeming with inspiration.

I felt some version of that same thrill as I put together this issue today. The seeds of 2026’s projects are already stirring in the soil, and Substack fiction is alive and well, regardless of our individual and communal winters.

We weather these storms by sharing our work with each other. By telling each other stories, we keep the soil fertile.

Storytelling heals us, holds us together, and reminds us how to live.

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has just completed her modern gothic serial novel here on Substack, called Marsh Witches of the Godless Florin. Blurb: “It’s Yule 1992. Nineteen-year-old Cassiopeia Crowe is summoned back to The Florin—the family’s vast marshland estate, where her father Charlie lies dying. Cass’s narcissistic mother Jocasta, the legendary May Queen of Sowen Harbour, is cut from the will, making Cass sole heir. Deep in The Florin catacombs rests the Storium—a Saxon ‘Book of Blessings’. With the help of Anya, the enchanting housemaid, Cass searches Charlie’s collection of relics and antiquities, to unlock the book. But discerning truth from folklore, and friend from foe is almost impossible when your most troubling inheritance is addiction.” Jump into the Prologue here, and check out Liz’s post about the process of serializing this story here!

New Projects:

• has just launched a new serialized paranormal novella, Lost Lake. From Larry: “It’s a cozy but sweary paranormal story about a Detroit cop who finds strange goings-on in a Michigan lake town. If you're already tired of winter, escape to Lost Lake!”

• presents a new fantasy serial called Royal Visit. Blurb: “Crown Prince Lorens invites his father’s new agent, Adonis Santinetta, to accompany him and his sister, Carena, on a state visit to neighboring Satele. While they know that Satele’s King Mirando Valleroi is facing stiff opposition from malcontents, they are unaware that they are walking into a pit of vipers who do not care if they take Margonne’s future king down with their own monarch.”

• has just launched his new serial novel, Daedalia. All of Ben’s books are accompanied by his quality audio narration and original music, and are free to read for everyone on the initial run. Blurb: “An anonymous artist known only as ‘Daedalia’ is really two people—a feral young woman whose intricate drawings seem to show people the selves they’re avoiding, and the smooth-talking hustler who turns her into a myth—until her work begins to change strangers’ lives and they have to decide whether Daedalia is a beautiful lie or something far more dangerous. Daedalia is the story of an artist and the man who becomes her champion, lover and ultimately, her eraser. It asks what art is for, who it belongs to, and what happens when the work itself begins to decide.” Jump into Chapter One here!

Awards:

• The —Substack’s beloved speculative fiction awards site—is returning for a NEW SEASON with some NEW RULES AND GUIDELINES! Check out this latest post from to make sure you know what to expect from the Awards in 2026!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s young adult dystopian saga, Intrinsic, is now available for purchase as an ebook and paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 11/20/25

• (D.A. Kelly)’s science fiction mystery novel—and second in the Memoirs of a Mad Scientist series—called Murder in the Gyre, is now available for purchase as an ebook and paperback through various platforms and as an audiobook through Apple Books. (You can also read sample chapters here for free!) Release Date: 12/8/25

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• (via editor ) is now open for submissions of “literary fiction (flash, short stories, excerpts), culture writing, reviews (books, restaurants, galleries), personal essays, poetry, and anything else that moves us or makes us think.” Learn more about the open call here, and check out their general submissions guidelines here!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Happy New Year, Talestack Readers! 🎉

Welcome back to a whole new year of Substack fiction news!

I dunno about where you live, but here at Talestack HQ there’s still an overwhelming feeling of winter-ness, still craving cozy corners and a good pile of reads, especially as the January weather remains cold, foggy, rainy, and gray.

Less resolutions, more vibes. You know what I mean?

Thankfully, 2026 is off to a great and productive start here in the Substack fiction neighborhood, with a handful of new and finished projects to check out, some incoming published works to add to your wishlist, awards to celebrate, and community events to get hyped for!

If you do the work, Talestack News will be here to boost it. Let 2026 be the best year yet for Substack Fiction!

Happy reading, happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has just wrapped up her latest serial, The Scepter, a noir based on the biblical Book of Esther. Synopsis: “When nightclub singer Etta Cohen’s live-and-let-live existence in Depression-worn New York City is upended by the attentions of a powerful and notorious man, she finds a world of luxury, comfort, and deference unveiled before her. But as Etta moves deeper into this new world, the glitter fades, revealing a razor’s edge of lawlessness and danger that threatens not only Etta, but also the identity she thought she’d left behind forever.” Jump into Part One here!

• just concluded her horror serial, The Intuition. Excerpt: “A misty rain turned the Viennese autumn to perfume. The golden canopy of lindens and maples along the Ringstrasse exhaled it. It clung to the hair and clothing of those hurrying to the cafes. Dusk came with it, and the lamplighters carrying flame from post to post, so that the gas lamps bled their soft light onto the blue evening in watercolor blooms. Lord William Dovedale pulled the brim of his hat low over his eyes and turned up the velvet collar of his black frock coat as he strode along the pavement to his hotel.” Jump into Part One here!

• just finished his fifteen-part crime serial, Loose. Excerpt: “They were on the fifth and top floor of the main building. Behind him, the floor to ceiling glass walls showed the never-ending Piney Woods of east Texas that completely surrounded the Barrow’s Psychiatric Institute. The doctor nodded at her absently, lost in his anxious thoughts about Tate Diller running loose. Coffman leaned across his desk and looked as if he wanted to say something more but stopped himself. At that moment, lightning over his left shoulder splintered and spidered in the darkening clouds above the woods. There was a heavy pause then a deep roll of thunder mumbled.”

New Projects:

• has just launched a new project called The Piano Man Chronicles. From Vince: “This two-year anthology project will feature three-part short serials published every two weeks, all of which mention a fictional novel titled Piano Man. I am also collaborating with other authors to have them submit their own takes on a “Piano Man" story.” Check out the first installment here!

• has just started a new serial mystery/thriller novel called Diamond Gamble, the first book in the Beyond Cover series. From Lavinia: “It is a mystery thriller (and a spinoff from my crime fiction novel series, Beyond Dark) which follows two undercover agents, Emily Abbett and Dwayne MacMorris, as they navigate the Russian mob and their own corrupt agency.”

Awards:

• Congratulations to , winner of the Science Fiction (Round 6) edition of the Lunar Awards’ 10th Season, along with Runner-up and Honorable Mention ! Learn more about the winning stories and other cool details in this post from awards host Winston Malone and guest judge .

Milestones & Wins:

• has just revealed the release date and cover for his debut cozy fantasy novel, A Light Home! Blurb: “Tired of a life spent as a thief, Owyn leaves his partner in crime and his old life behind him to build something of his own. An invention, a building, and something bigger than his past hide within the plans he brings to the capital city of Kudra. Owyn hopes to build a lighthouse, to be constructor and keeper. To be alone. However, his simple dream of creating something of his own doesn’t come that easy. Owyn’s lighthouse is hampered by bureaucracy, overzealous citizens, a sheriff on the hunt, and, worst of all: new friends who won’t leave him be. A hand-built tale with friends, fantasy, and a light shining home.”

• is preparing to publish her first short story collection, The Silent House By The Sea, in early March! Check out this post for more details and a list of the included stories.

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• is hosting a raffle centered around his weekly prompt initiative, Flash Fiction Friday! From Scoot: “This month is your last chance to enter the Flash Fiction Friday Offseason RaFFFle. Look through the prompts from 2025, publish a story to your Substack using any combination of the prompts, and be entered to win a 6-month paid comp to Gibberish! Every story shared in the Gibberish FFF Offseason subscriber chat will be a ticket in the raffle, so write as many stories as you like and stack the odds in your favor. Submissions will be closed and the drawing will take place February 1st! Happy writing, Fictioneers!”

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• and the are gearing up for a major Substack fiction event next week, and YOU are invited! The TiF Summit is 5-day marathon of fiction celebration, kicking off with the TiF Recap of 2025 on Thursday, January 15th, three full days of fiction writers reading their work LIVE, and concluding with the TiF State of the Union on Monday, January 19th. At last count there are 48 writers preparing to share their work at the Summit—that’s 48 opportunities to find new voices and savor beloved favorites! Check out this post for more details, and subscribe to Top In Fiction so you don’t miss a thing!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

And with that, we say farewell to another incredible year of fiction!

It is my greatest honor and privilege to bring you the FINAL ISSUE of 2025!

My friends, thank you so much for your continued support of Talestack News this year. When I started this little extracurricular branch of Talebones in summer of 2023, I was just trying to solve a personal bugbear and make it easier to find out “What’s New” in the (then relatively small) Substack fiction space. But as the space grew, so did the News, and the fact that so many of you still seek this little newsletter out as your twice-monthly bulletin board is a joy that I never take for granted!

I always told myself that as long as this resource is still useful (for you) and fun (for me), I’ll keep going. Since I’ve got no evidence to the contrary, let’s roll on! 😂

Happy Holidays, and see you in 2026, dear friends! ♥

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

—

P.S. Don’t forget to send in your news before the end of the year to have it included in the first issue in January! 🔥

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• just wrapped up his 12-part dark sci-fi/fantasy serial, Monster of the Week, which “follows two adventurers, Scrub and Scratch, as they travel the galaxy and kill monsters—for a price.” Jump into Episode One here!

New Projects:

• The second novel of ’s fantasy epic, The Shieldbreaker Saga, is coming to Substack as a serial, launching Wednesday, January 7th. Tom has also taken the text of Book One out from behind the paywall for the rest of the month for anyone who wants to catch up! Synopsis of Book Two: “A peace built on a lie can only last so long. Unaware that the refugee caravan has been caught in the desert, the tribe of Hodrir join the Pohyor horde and take up residence as part of the warlord’s garrison in the proud, ancient, collapsing city of Ikune. Kareva is still struggling to keep control of his madness as well as his people, and his heroics at Valtaa are only worth so much political capital, especially after he bent the knee to an outsider. Meanwhile, tensions within the warlord’s inner circle threaten the all-important air of invincibility that binds the assorted Pohyor tribes to their leader—especially since Ikune has historically never stayed in the same hands for long. The only certainty, in a city built on the illusion of stability, is that nothing is sacred enough to be completely safe when the truth finally comes out…” Check out the Preview here!

• has just started serializing her novel, Touching Infinity, here on Substack! Synopsis: “Dana Trimbo is often misunderstood. A highly sensitive synesthete, she’s often accused of trying to escape to another world, a world she calls Infinity and claims she visited as child. After an unfortunate accident, she dies and finds that Infinity is, indeed, real, but she doesn’t know her purpose for the earthly life she’s left behind. To find her purpose she must go on a magnificent journey – one that many have attempted, but few, if any, have finished. Before Dana even begins this quest, she discovers her younger sister, plagued by a debilitating disease, is destined for the Void. By taking the journey and finding her purpose, Dana will help her sister find her way Home. But can she help her sister before it’s too late? A magical story about death, birth, grief and loss that will transport you beyond yourself, beyond the here and now, and help you appreciate all things both tangible and infinite.” Jump into Chapter One here!

Milestones & Wins:

• Big news from fiction writer , who recently got a book deal with Empress Editions for her Watty Award-winning novel, SEE DOT SMILE! Meg wrote more details about the deal in this article, so check it out. Release date for the book is slated for September 2026—Congratulations, Meg!! 🎉

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s fantasy short story collection, The Wolf-Man’s Trail & Other Stories, is now available for purchase! (US customers may purchase here, International customers may purchase here.) This collection of twenty stories contains THREE never-before-published tales! From the official blurb: “Where fantasy meets the raw grain of human experience, heroes, sinners, gods, and monsters all walk the same roads.” Release Date: 12/3/25

• S.E. Reid’s entire library of ebooks is 50% off in the Kindle Store through the end of the year! Check ‘em out if you’re looking for a fun way to finish out your yearly reading goals and/or stock your 2026 TBR. End Date: 1/1/26

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• Publishing (from ) is currently open for long-form fiction, as well as short fiction entries for a Valentine’s Day horror anthology, Bloodlust!

  • Long Form: “Drek Death and Doom and Nascent Night Press are both open for long fiction submissions. Collections, Novellas, Novels. For long fiction submissions, send query letter and first chapter. I will ask for the full thing if I want a closer look.”

  • Collection Info: The submissions window for the Valentine’s Day collection closes December 25th, so get scribblin’!

  • Check out the Submissions page for more details!

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• is planning to go live on or around January 3rd to recap his Indie ‘25 review series and, he says: “to give out a few ‘awards’ (ie. bragging rights) to some of the authors I read throughout this year. WE GONNA TALK ABOUT STUFF, Y’ALL. Stay tuned for more details and show up so I’m not just screaming into the void, please.” Keep an eye on Ian’s newsletter for updates!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Happy Holidays from Talestack News!

Winter is coming for those of us in the northern hemisphere, and that means it’s time to stock up those TBR lists for the coziest months of the year.

We’ve got a tidy little collection of projects here to peruse this time around, including serials, published work, a chance to connect with other writers, and even some bookish deals and bargains. Whatever your genre tastes, you may just find a new favorite read here in the pages of Talestack News!

❄NOTE: Talestack News is looking for passionate sponsors to feature in upcoming issues! If you are a small business owner, freelancer, artist, or author with a product or service to sell and you think that your business or product could fit the tone and philosophy of Talestack News, reach out to me at talestack.editor@gmail.com and throw the word SPONSOR in the subject line—let’s talk!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• After two full years of weekly serial posting, has just concluded his epic fantasy tale, Tranith Argan. Excerpt: “The fire burned bright in the fireplace of the Slumbering Dragon in Brindledown. It was an autumn evening with a damp wind blowing in off the lake. A fire was just the thing to cut the chill, and Jalek, the proprietor, was glad for anything that made his customers happy. Happy customers were good customers, and he was now bustling about the common room, huffing and puffing, doing his best to keep them that way. Cries of ‘Hey Jalek!’ and ‘Ale, more ale!’ were heard above the general din in the crowded room.” Jump into Chapter One here!

• Have you visited ? This year’s collection far exceeded expectations with a whopping 90+ stories of various styles and genres, inspired by The Twilight Zone! Check out the full list of stories here to start reading!

New Projects:

• has a cozy “Advent-ure” planned for the month of December called 24 Days of Light, featuring a micro-fiction story every day until Christmas. Blurb: “Stella, a very young star, falls from the heavens. She is a bit anxious, feels broken & dimmed. Through her COZY ADVENT-ure, she learns about her own magical light & becomes more beautiful each and every day. She learns to shine authentically with her own personal magic.” Jump right into Day One here!

• has just begun serializing his horror novel here on Substack, called Nerve Damage. Blurb: “Feeling no pain should be a blessing, but for Nate Givens, it’s about to become a curse.” Chapter One is available to read here!

Milestones & Wins:

• Everyone loves a bargain, right? For a limited time, you can sign up as a paid subscriber to ’s fiction newsletter, Gibberish, and get a whole bundle of deals to the work of other Substack fiction authors. But ACT FAST—this deal is almost over, and some of the opportunities for discounts are expiring as we speak. Check out this post to see what’s still available and get signed up!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• It’s the season to be thankful, and what better way to celebrate than with a whole new horror anthology featuring seasonal terror from a whole list of Substack luminaries? From ’s Publishing comes Give Us This Day, a Thanksgiving-themed horror anthology featuring the work of , , , , , , , , , , , , and more! Available now for purchase through Drek Death and Doom or Amazon. Release Date: 11/26/25

• ’s collection of gothic Egyptomania short fiction, The Shade In The Sands And Other Stories, is now available for preorder on Amazon and other various platforms. Release Date: 12/5/25

• Substack fiction writers and will both have their holiday horror short stories featured in upcoming anthology Eerie Christmas 4, now available for preorder through various platforms. Release Date: 12/13/25

• ’s entire library of ebooks is 50% off in the Kindle Store through the end of the year! Check ‘em out if you’re looking for a fun way to finish out your yearly reading goals and/or stock your 2026 TBR. End Date: 1/1/26

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• Looking for a place to share your work and connect with other likeminded writers? Check out The Pitch, hosted by and the . Pitch your fiction, share your links, and explore the work of others! The thread is open!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

The holidays are around the corner - is your TBR ready?

For our final issue before the start of Winter Season here at Talestack HQ, we’ve got a small but mighty collection of announcements ready for your perusal, including some complete serials, one just getting started, a few bookshelf odds and ends, and even some community initiatives to pay attention to!

⭐NOTE: Talestack News is looking for passionate sponsors to feature in upcoming issues! If you are a small business owner, freelancer, artist, or author with a product or service to sell and you think that your business or product could fit the tone and philosophy of Talestack News, reach out to me at talestack.editor@gmail.com and throw the word SPONSOR in the subject line—let’s talk!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• ’s 11-part crime noir fiction serial, Capitol Rookie, is now complete and ready to read in its entirety on Salted Wetzel with a Side of Mustard. Blurb: “The year is 2004. Young reporter Alex Shelby is four months into his stint at the Sacramento Tribune. Struggling to cultivate sources, he gets a scoop that leads to a political scandal. Each chapter unravels a web of deceit, danger, and betrayal in a gripping tale of investigative journalism. Don’t miss this thrilling, fast-paced series filled with suspense, twists, and unforgettable characters.” Jump into Part One here!

• ’s long-running gothic/dark romance serial, Family Crypt, has recently concluded and is now complete to read! Excerpt: “The courtroom was in chaos. Outside, the rain pounded against the tall, gothic arched windows like a thousand drumming fists. Thunder boomed in the distance, echoing down the stone corridors of the Old Bailey. Inside the chamber, flickering gaslight cast long, wavering shadows against the dark wood paneling. The murmurs of the crowd swelled, agitated, fraying at the edges of civility. Crack! The judge’s gavel came down sharply.” Jump into the Prologue here!

New Projects:

• has just launched a new horror/psychological thriller serial called Red Creek Boy. Synopsis: “In the small town of Antigua Falls, Oklahoma, something evil stirs beneath the surface. The brutal slaying of a teenage girl by her classmate, fifteen-year-old Alistair Robinson, has left the town reeling. Veteran detectives Ned Carter and Tom “Big Tom” Wallace, a man who became a cop to escape his father’s violent legacy, are brought in to make sense of the horror and uncover a motive. Alistair’s mother claims she saw it coming, and all signs point to another monstrous young killer destined for infamy. But when a second body is found, the investigation veers into the impossible, toward a ritual murder buried in the town’s past, the spark that once fueled the satanic panic of the 1980s. What begins as a straightforward case becomes a descent into something far darker, a violent brotherhood of boys seduced by an ancient power, and a force older than memory that feeds on their hunger. As the case unravels, Ned and Big Tom must face the unthinkable: is Alistair truly the one to blame? Or is a darker will guiding them all, pulling them ever closer to a truth that could consume them both?” Jump into the first episode here!

Awards:

• The 2025 Lunar Awards continue forward with Round Six of Season 10, hosted by guest judge and featuring Science Fiction tales of all types and stripes! Submissions are open until November 30th, so there’s still time to polish up your best speculative tales! Round-specific rules are in the post linked above, while general awards guidelines can be found HERE.

Milestones & Wins:

• Substack fiction writer has published a short Advent devotional called Hidden Figures of the Incarnation. Blurb: “Hidden in plain sight within the Advent story are ordinary people who witnessed extraordinary grace. Hidden Figures of the Incarnation invites readers to rediscover Christ’s birth through the eyes of those often overlooked—the shepherd, the dreamer, the prophetess, the witness, and the King Himself. Through five rich devotions and space for personal reflection, this collection leads the heart from silence to song, reminding us that God still reveals His goodness in quiet, unseen places.”

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s short horror novella, Imp, is now available to borrow on Kindle Unlimited or purchase as an ebook for 99 cents through Amazon! A bite-sized read about madness and the muse, perfect for a spooky winter weekend. Release Date: 11/15/25

• ’s short story collection, The Wolf-Man’s Trail & Other Stories, will be available very soon for a limited print. From Ian: “The collection includes the twenty fiction stories I’ve published on Substack over the past year, plus three bonus stories that have never before been released!” Read this post for more details, and subscribe to Dunmore Dispatch for updates. Release Date: TBD

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• LAST CALL - The Midnight Vault II is now open! Step forward with your best short story, poem, or graphic piece in honor of The Twilight Zone’s 67th anniversary. It costs nothing to enter—but the rewards could echo far beyond. Learn more here!

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• is seeking some volunteers who are good with Notion to assist in modernizing The TiF Library to make the thousands of submissions even easier to access. From Erica: “This would require the person to have a Notion account and be an active user so they understand how to create tables and do other, more advanced, things for better organizing and filtering. I’m looking to have a fully revamped Notion TiF Library by January 2026, so anyone who has some free time over the next 6 - 8 weeks would be ideal.” Reach out to Erica if interested!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Daylight savings all done? That just means an extra hour to read!

Happy November, Talestack Readers! Here at Talestack HQ, this month is all about wrapping up the year in as cozy a manner as possible, and that means having a well-stocked TBR to carry us through the Pacific Northwest rain and late autumn storms.

Thankfully, this issue has plenty of well-rounded goodies to explore! Completed serials, bookshelf publications, awards to celebrate, and community initiatives to join! What could be better?

⭐NOTE: Talestack News is looking for passionate sponsors to feature in upcoming issues! If you are a small business owner, freelancer, artist, or author with a product or service to sell and you think that your business or product could fit the tone and philosophy of Talestack News, reach out to me at talestack.editor@gmail.com and throw the word SPONSOR in the subject line—let’s talk!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has concluded her YA fantasy serial, Underworld. Blurb: “Born a goddess. Raised a warrior. Destined to bring death and destruction. ‘Let me ask you something. Do you worry about not being remembered after you are gone? Well, I can tell you that there is something worse than being forgotten, and that is being remembered as someone other than you were, to have all your adventures and misadventures reduced to one well-worn, inaccurate tale. History, or mythology, has portrayed me as a victim, vulnerable and weak. Like all of us, I have been both of those things at one time or another. But the story you know does me a great injustice: it focuses too much on my immortality, and not enough on my humanity. And it forgets that I was not a vassal, but a queen with power in my own right, and that I ruled over all the souls who ever lived.’ This is Persefóni’s story in her own words. Can she escape her fate? Does she even want to?” Jump into the Prologue here!

• ’s long-running fantasy serial, The Beacon, will be concluding very soon. Blurb: “The Beacon is a clean fantasy novel about a kingdom in crisis. People are reporting strange, massive ‘waves’ or ‘bubbles’ traveling across the land, inciting acts of foolishness, selfishness, and pure evil. The king calls on his problem-solver, Adonis Santinetta, and his crew to investigate the phenomenon and restore tranquility to Margonne. Meanwhile, signs of rebellion begin to trouble the kingdom, raising the specter of civil war.” Jump into the Prologue here!

• has concluded his serialized adventure novel, ISLA. Blurb: “Pop fresh batteries into your Walkman and join George on a search for the island that haunted his father’s journals and changed everything he thought he knew about myth and memory.” Jump into the first chapter here!

• (D.S. Brandt)’s dark fantasy serial, The Jarl’s Son, is drawing to a close. Synopsis: “A village razed. A people slaughtered. A serpent, coiled around a boy’s heart. For years, Gaiur the Wolfmother scoured the width and breadth of the far north in her hunt for the fiends that linger in the world’s dark corners. Now dream and instinct draw her to the coastal city Halvfjord, and its ruling family: Jarl Ostock and his two sons, Marten and the boy Erik. Yet a pall lingers over this bustling city. Its gates are barred. The people of the Jarl’s hold live in fear of vicious marauders. And Erik has grown deathly ill. Wicked hands take hold of Halvfjord, but to best them, Gaiur will need more than strength of will and arms. She’ll need to overcome her grief for the family she lost.” Read the First Chapter here!

Awards:

• Congratulations to winner of the Inanimate Objects fiction contest , runner-up , and honorable mentions , , and ! (Check out the post for a full list of the talented participants and their stories!)

Milestones & Wins:

• (D.S. Brandt)’s short dark fantasy mystery novel, In the Giant’s Shadow, is nearing its 1-year publishing anniversary. Blurb: “Sinister deeds haunt the town of Jötungatt. Lured to this sleepy farming community by a mysterious white raven, Gaiur the Valdunite soon finds herself caught in a strange conspiracy of ritual murder and very real nightmares. Can she uncover the secret hiding behind the town’s ancient, monolithic gate? Will she be able to survive the truth if she does?”

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s fantasy serial, The Shield of Locksley, is now complete and available for purchase as a downloadable PDF! Release Date: 10/13/25

• ’s collection of eight uncanny speculative fiction short stories, The Shell, is now available for purchase as an ebook or paperback through Amazon! (For more about the collection, as well as alternative retail options for the ebook, check out this post.) Release Date: 10/22/25

• ’s debut fantasy mystery novel, Quietus, is now available for preorder as an ebook through Amazon (with a paperback edition to follow)! Release Date: 11/18/25

• In November, is releasing his completed speculative fiction serials as ebooks, starting with Letters from Armin and Sandbox Earth, Duel, and Find the Blackpage. Check out his Shop Gibberish page to see what’s available, and subscribe to Gibberish to stay on top of updates! Release Date: Various

• returns with Rule 35: A Fieldguide to the Abyss. Check out the upcoming prestige printings available for preorder through Television Sky, or learn more about the project here. Release Date: TBA; determined by number of preorders.

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• II is now open! Step forward with your best short story, poem, or graphic piece in honor of The Twilight Zone’s 67th anniversary. It costs nothing to enter—but the rewards could echo far beyond. Learn more here.

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• is hosting a brand-new writing class: Mimetic Prose Workshop: Voice, Sensation & Archetype—a six-week immersion in sensory and mimetic prose, from November 8 to December 20 with an optional two-week extension from January 17–31. From Sandalore: “They say you can’t teach voice. I say otherwise. In this course, I’ll guide you through mimetic prose—writing in which form and perception mirror each other, where language doesn’t describe experience but creates it. We’ll study how your prose coughs, how the nails of your characters tap, and how fiction can emerge from a character rather than merely happening to them. Through a kind of method-acting investigation, we’ll locate each character’s precise vocabulary—the sensory logic that shapes how they experience their world. Through a series of sensory and structural experiments, we’ll dig into the archaeology of your characters: tracing how sensation becomes syntax, and how inner perception evolves into voice. We’ll explore épuisement—the deliberate exhaustion of the senses—as a technique for writing prose that feels inevitable, muscular, and alive.” Space is limited, so sign up ASAP!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

There’s always a hefty harvest of fiction here at Talestack News!

Can you believe that October is nearing its conclusion? Here at Talestack HQ that means were stacking our TBR list ahead of the cold-and-cozy season, and this latest bulletin can help you with just that!

This issue is full of new projects, some published and preorder tales on the bookshelf, and even some fun community initiatives to draw your participation! Are you game to get involved?

⭐NOTE: Talestack News is looking for passionate sponsors to feature in upcoming issues! If you are a small business owner, freelancer, artist, or author with a product or service to sell and you think that your business or product could fit the tone and philosophy of Talestack News, reach out to me at talestack.editor@gmail.com and throw the word SPONSOR in the subject line—let’s talk!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

New Projects:

• “Who is Bruce? What does he see when he looks in the mirror? What does he find beautiful that others don’t? How does he feel about his eyebrows?” From , , a mad group of talented contributors, and the wild minds of comes an all-new series centered around one mysterious figure: Bruce. Who is he? Read along piece by piece to find out! Check out the main index here and then explore the first piece of the Bruce puzzle by !

• has just launched a new thirteen-episode superhero series, Lights Out: a Post-Apocalyptic Edison City Serial. Synopsis: “The heroes of Edison City’s never-ending battle against the forces of evil...ended. Badly. The few remaining civilians are focused on surviving, but one of them believes she may be able to find an old friend who disappeared before everything went bad. With a little help, she might just do it. Or maybe not; after all, she doesn’t know who else survived.” Jump into the first episode here!

• has been serializing his in-progress historical romance fiction novel, Up From Mountains. Synopsis: “In 1950s Jamaica, Harry Najem, the son of a successful Lebanese merchant, finds himself drawn to two very different women: Lilla James, a spirited singer and nursing student whose passion mirrors his love of poetry, and Cailin Campbell, a methodical businesswoman who escaped her abusive father’s estate to build a new life in Kingston. As Harry’s romantic entanglements grow increasingly complicated, his father Bashir remains focused on his work as a devoted family man and benefactor to Jamaica’s poor, unaware of his son’s struggles. Meanwhile, Harry’s cousin Fadi secretly translates a collection of Bashir’s Arabic poems, a discovery that will unveil hidden pain from the family patriarch’s past in Mount Lebanon during WWI. The pendant Bashir wears around his neck holds mysteries that will only be revealed through these short poems. The novel weaves together four interconnected narratives: Bashir’s past gradually revealed through poetry, Harry’s complex romantic choices, Cailin’s fight for independence, and Lilla’s search for love and purpose. It explores how families are forged through sacrifice, how trauma echoes across generations, and how we find forgiveness, redemption, and belonging in the aftermath of displacement and loss.” Jump into Chapter One here!

• has just started a noir retelling of the biblical Book of Esther called The Scepter. Synopsis: “When nightclub singer Etta Cohen’s live-and-let-live existence in Depression-worn New York City is upended by the attentions of a powerful and notorious man, she finds a world of luxury, comfort, and deference unveiled before her. But as Etta moves deeper into this new world, the glitter fades, revealing a razor’s edge of lawlessness and danger that threatens not only Etta, but also the identity she thought she’d left behind forever.” Jump into Part One here!

• has been releasing his first novel—a humorous crime story called Arkady, So Far—in serial format here on Substack. Synopsis: “To win a bet with his artist girlfriend, Samantha, unemployed songwriter Jimmy Traveller unwittingly sells a load of worthless art — his own art, painted under a nom-de-brush — to one of her more obnoxious customers. He rapidly realizes that he’s just sold a load of worthless paintings to the Mob, and he’s dug himself a grave-sized hole: they’ll want their money back. Winning this bet gets Jimmy tangled up with local organized crime, dangerous nude models, exotic dancers, foreign assassins and even the Russian and traditional mafia. (Samantha’s not too happy with him, either.) As he moves from the worlds of art and money laundering into the music business and crime, ARKADY SO FAR chronicles Jimmy’s struggle to survive as he does what he always does in the bottom of a hole: he just keeps digging.” Check out the first chapter here!

  • Bruce would also like to shout out : “My friend Julie Wise recommended that I should reach out and tell you about my fledgling efforts on Substack: I’ll send her a shout-out, because she’s been trying to get me introduced to this whole Substack universe as she’s led the way with her excellent and timely thriller, Make No Mistake.”

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• Walt Shuler has just published his pulp-flavored epic fantasy A Dread Tide Rising, book one of The Empire of the Waves Cycle. It’s available in both ebook and print from Amazon, with other booksellers and platforms rolling out soon. Release Date: 10/14/25

• ’s quirky mystery novella, Those Lights at Night, is now available to preorder/pre-save in audiobook format through Spotify, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Audible, and other platforms. Release Date: 11/4/25

• ’s raunchy sci-fi novella, Sorority Zombies in Space!, is available for preorder on Amazon. Release Date: 11/23/25

• ’s neo-western pulp novel, Texas Tea, is now available for preorder through Broken River Books. Preorders ship 11/5/25. Official Release Date: 12/1/25

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• Lovers of mystery and the uncanny, take heed! The wildly popular Substack-based fiction collection The Midnight Vault (organized by and ) has returned and is now open for submissions to make a second volume of Twilight Zone-inspired tales from writers across the platform. Check out the submissions page for more details about how to participate!

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• and are hosting a magical treasure hunt right here on Substack! From the official post: “The treasure hunt is themed around the Magic Lantern posts here on substack, where you will explore and put together clues based on the lore that I have shared thus far, and there are actual prizes to be won here.

  This is the first online treasure hunt hosted on Substack (I’m claiming that title but I’m not sure it’s true) and I hope it inspires more creative ways of enjoying this platform and community.” Find out more general details at the announcement post, check out the rules and rewards, and then jump into Episode One!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

There’s something a little spooky about how good Substack’s fiction is!

Happy October to all! This latest issue of Talestack News has me all excited, because I love it when an issue is full of writers with projects to share. Some are wrapping up and ready to binge, and some are just getting started so you can jump aboard the train early! There are also some great books for your TBR and some extra community bits and bobs, too. Nothing better!

⭐NOTE: Talestack News is looking for passionate sponsors to feature in upcoming issues! If you are a small business owner, freelancer, artist, or author with a product or service to sell and you think that your business or product could fit the tone and philosophy of Talestack News, reach out to me at talestack.editor@gmail.com and throw the word SPONSOR in the subject line—let’s talk!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has finished his latest novella, Where The Moon Hides Its Shadow, which “takes place on a small South Pacific, Japanese-held island, during the Second World War. It involves an English ‘Comfort Girl,’ the Japanese Captain who is the last inheritor of a Samurai legacy, and his Malay clerk (the survivor of a torpedoed hospital ship.) When the airfield is invaded by American Marines, the Captain is injured, and the samurai sword he carries is stolen and used against the wounded Japanese soldiers. Follow young Corporal Rutherford Hayes, as he tries to sort out what happened…it’s all a matter of honour, as well as survival.” Jump into the first part here!

• ’s fantasy-adventure serial, Find The Blackpage!, has just concluded. Synopsis: “The ambitious monk Manheim and the callow novice Julian are unlikely traveling companions. Both would consider the circumstances surrounding their journey mere bad luck—yet, one way or another, they have been charged with a single, important mission: Find the Blackpage! Twenty years after Manheim’s rival monk, Byron—now called The Blackpage—was exiled from the Order of Authors, this adventuring party will face dangers in the mysterious wilds of Daranna. Yet, all agree that nothing they could encounter is more dangerous than the man they hope to find…” Start the quest with the first installment here!

• just finished Obsidian and Flame, a 20-chapter fantasy serial in three acts. Blurb: “A sea dragon prince with a deadly secret … a sea dragon with a useless gift and no desire to marry a prince. When they come together, sparks fly. More than the throne is at stake. Can they save their city or will their quest be in vain?” Stay tuned for a three-part behind-the-scenes series from Leanne this month. Jump into Chapter One here!

  • Leanne would also like to give a shout-out to : “Finally, I want to shout out Ryan Kunz for helping me out with airships. (Yup, there are airships coming in book 4.) Past Me had done some research but I realised some of it was too handwavey magic. Ryan really helped out!”

• just wrapped up a fantasy-adjacent serial called The Ravenswing Report, told through the journal entries of three convicts. Synopsis: “When Ariel is convicted, her sentence is almost certain death. She’s joined by two others—Lilo and Thaddeus, also convicted criminals—and sent into a complex, dangerous wilderness designed specifically for this purpose. The odds of their making it out alive are slim to none, and at first, Ariel refuses to hope. But as they face challenge after challenge, the trio realizes that maybe—just maybe—they’ll be able to survive, escape, and re-enter the real world.” Get started with the first installment here!

New Projects:

• has started a new novella, This Is How We End Our Day. From Ben: “It’s a story that takes place in Hollywood in the 60’s, about an old Silent Screen Star…and that’s all I have for you now. That’s because I’m a “pantser”, which means I don’t write with a plot. So I guess we’ll find out what the story’s about together. I can tell you that she’s old, well, only 72, but she’s a morphine addict, so that might have something to do with it. Oh yeah, and there’s a young boy, too, and he’s telling the story.”

• just launched a new 12-part science fiction/fantasy hybrid serial called Monster of the Week. Blurb: “Join Scrub and Scratch, a pair of galactic bounty hunters known as Collectors, as they tour the galaxy, hunt monsters, and get on each other’s nerves every week.” Jump right into the First Part here!

• launched an “accidental Substack experiment” this summer that she calls The David/Airbnb Saga, a series written in short micro fiction length episodes; each is self-contained. Find the ongoing series at My Dead Flowers.

• recently embarked upon his “non-snob literary” serialized novel, A Brief Report From the Aging Manservant of a Self-Doubting Autocrat. Excerpt: “The engine hums, and the moonscape unfurls, and the President and I recollect all that used to be. Through the windows, meanwhile, we see the changes that have come to Palatiparvu, since independence. Not all of these changes have been for the better — and how could they have been? That is not the way life, the way governance, works — but I believe that the majority of what we have wrought has done the people good. The President knows this. He knows that it is what I believe, and he knows that I am probably right to believe it, and therefore it is as an agent of confirmation and bucking-up that I am brought along.” Jump into the First Chapter here!

Awards:

• ’s feminist thriller, Make No Mistake, was recently nominated for an Eric Hoffer Award! Congratulations and good luck, Julie! Learn more here.

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s debut collection of short stories, Not Quite A Disaster After All, is finally available in the US for purchase through Flowersong Press! Release Date: 9/18/25

• From C. M. Setledge and Spilled Ink Press comes an all-new Substack-fueled comedy anthology, Rated R for Ridiculous, featuring a veritable who’s who of Substack comedy writing! Now available to purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart. Release Date: 10/1/25

• has just published the first installment of his spicy speculative fiction sophomore series, Surreal Estate, Volume 1: The Haunted House of Absurdities. It is available in paperback and ebook through Amazon. (Stay tuned for the audio podcast version with original music and voiceover, coming to Substack this fall at PodFiction!) Release Date: 10/3/25

• ’s YA litRPG fantasy novel, Princess Pineberry And The Sky Paladins Of RAM, is available for preorder (with an option to snag a signed copy!) through Irish-owned indie bookstore Buy The Book, or you can preorder it as an ebook or unsigned paperback at the usual locations like Amazon. Release Date: 12/1/25

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• (D.A. Kelly) has completed a 60,000-word manuscript for sci-fi/cli-fi/cozy mystery Murder in the Gyre and is looking for advance readers! If you’re interested, please contact @dakelly through Substack DMs. Synopsis: “Aboard their research vessel isolated mid-Pacific by a freak storm, Robin Goodwin finds a body and is presumed the killer. This is the second volume in the Memoirs of a Mad Scientist series, following Solarpunk Outlaw (serialized on Substack).

• Have you ever thought that a serial sounded intriguing, but it’s been running for a while and you’re not sure how to jump in? has you covered! In a recent article she offers some great wisdom for how to engage with a serial when you’ve arrived to it a little late to the party, cribbed from her own experience and full of practical tips. Check out her article here: Top Tips for Reading Serial Fiction That’s Been Out Awhile.

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

Substack Fiction always arrives right on time!

Okay, okay, so maybe this issue is a day late…but waiting for good fiction is ALWAYS worth it, am I right? Here at Talestack HQ it’s starting to feel a lot like autumn, and the vibes are just right for a stacked TBR no matter what genre strikes your fancy!

I’m pretty jazzed about this issue. I’m especially excited about the submissions opportunities and community initiatives going on (there’s just something about Substack collaboration!), but there’s also plenty to read, explore, preorder, and more!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has re-released her completed serial novella, The Cost of Coffee, during the first week of September. It was originally constructed over 20 weeks using prompts from ’s Flash Fiction Friday posts. Stephanie is planning to polish it up into publishable form soon!

• ’s sci-fi romance serial, The Elevator, is now complete on Substack and is also available in ebook format! Synopsis: “When a no-nonsense HR executive gets trapped in an elevator with a charming musician, their biggest worry is getting out—until they do, and realize the world has completely changed since the moment they stepped inside.” Jump into the first chapter here!

New Projects:

• has just launched the third season of her serial sitcom Trainwrecks. Synopsis: “Trainwrecks is a romantic mid-2000's nostalgia sitcom that follows six Seattle-adjacent best friends from 2004 to 2015. Join Luna Cruz, Sebastian Velasquez, Dimitri and Victoria Hale, Duke Kingston, and Jasmine Nolan as they stumble their way from adolescence to adulthood, falling in love, making mistakes, overcoming their pasts, and staying together through it all.” Get started here!

• just started a coming-of-age serial loosely based on experiences from his high school years called In Between The Music. The first three chapters are available now, and you can get started with Chapter One here!

• Would you like to offer your human expertise to help a somewhat dim-witted AI detective bot solve a cold-case? Check out Whose Bones?, novel-in-progress hosted by . Explore the evidence, offer your intuition, and help Azalea crack the case in real-time!

• recently started to serialize her creative nonfiction short story collection, Staring Into The Sun, here on Substack. Blurb: “Staring into the Sun is a short story collection that links memoir and narrative nonfiction about the author's Chinese American family. Spanning 1895-2015, look out for a millionaire, a magician, and a model.” In May 2026 (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month), the paperback and ebook will be published by Ten16 Press and the audio book will be independently produced. Get started reading here!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s folk-horror creature-feature, The Scarecrows Will Watch Over Us, is now available to purchase through Amazon! Release Date: 9/11/25

• ’s collection of gaslamp short horror stories, In Plain Sight, Unseen, is now available for purchase through Amazon! Release Date: 9/12/25

• From and Spilled Ink Press comes an all-new Substack-fueled comedy anthology, Rated R for Ridiculous, featuring a veritable who’s who of Substack comedy writing! Available for preorder through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart. Release Date: 10/1/25

📝 Submissions Bulletin

• Submissions are now open for Inanimate Objects, a horror contest/event combo hosted by and the ! From Erica: “This is both a contest AND an event. You can participate in either one. Write your story and then submit the LINK by October 15th. One lucky winner will be chosen to receive a free entry to the contest. The max word count is 4,000 and also, anyone who participates in the contest or event will be eligible to receive an invitation to be in the forthcoming Anthology slated for October 2026! All participants in the contest or event will drop their story on the same day, Halloween Day! Where there will be a Substack Live hosted by me (Erica, lol duh) and the judges will join me as well to announce the winning story and some other things.” Check out this post for more details!

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• and are hosting a visual prompt writing challenge through the month of September! They’re looking for adventure and/or cozy adventure tales or poems under 2,000 words. You can find the prompt image and all other details about submitting, prizes, and everything else HERE.

• is running a weekly writing challenge (Sunday to Saturday) that launched on September 1st and will wrap up November 30th. From Wendy: “At the end of the challenge I will write a Roll of Honour post to celebrate the entrants and the winners. Anyone who wants to take part will have to subscribe to Wendy Cockcroft's Writings, if only for the duration of the challenge, and put their entries in the relevant chat thread. Late entries are welcome, but they won't win a prize. They will, however, get onto the Roll of Honour post. I will continue to accept late entries until the first Sunday in December.” Check out the Week One and Week Two wrap-up posts for more details about past winners and how to enter!

• The Fiction is Culture crew has put forward a Mutual Aid initiative to promote and support fellow writer and would love to invite one and all to take part! Take a peek at this post for details.

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

And just like that, it’s September again!

Depending on where you live in this wide world, the kids in your neighborhood (or even your home!) might be heading back to school and the weather around you might be starting to change. But one thing is a constant, even through the ups and downs: Substack Fiction writers work their butts off to bring their readers great stories!

This issue has a lovely selection of all the faves: serial projects, published work for purchase, an award season to celebrate, and even a very intriguing collaborative writing movement!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support us by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has just concluded the serialization of his speculative novel Ingression after one full year of publishing! From Johnathan: “INGRESSION is the first speculative fiction story in The Consilience Series. It contains elements from dystopian, post-apocalyptic, cli-fi and first contact sub-genres, with a touch of swords and eagles fantasy. On a drowned yet parched future world, a young woman is forced into a dangerous joumey whilst seeking a cure for her body's fatal flaws. The key to her survival lies with friends old and new, a mysterious mentor, and a deadly secret she struggles to hide within her mind. But it will take far more than a desperate plan and an irrelevant man to escape her limited lifespan. So when an enigmatic artefact promises to aid her quest in exchange for her innermost thoughts, she must risk making the ultimate sacrifice to save both herself and those she loves.” The second novel in the series is currently in progress!

New Projects:

• has just launched his serialized novella, Constants. Blurb: “Naomi Sullivan only wanted connection. Locked in her apartment during the pandemic, she finds herself in a virtual rooftop bar complete with a sunset that never ends and a stranger who never leaves. His name is Henry, and against every instinct she lets him in. Constants is a novella about presence, memory, and the blurred line between love and illusion.”

• recently started a serialized Southern Gothic short story called The Penitentiary. Blurb: “At Elijah’s trial, we are introduced to the young boy’s desperate circumstances. A compassionate Judge sentences him to community service at the local penitentiary, where he meets the Assistant Warden, Raburn, and a prisoner named Doc, whose calming voice soothes a fellow prisoner in need.” This story with themes of justice, mercy, family, redemption, and the power of human connection will have seven parts in all.

Awards:

• Congratulations to , winner of the Fantasy (Round 4) edition of the Lunar Awards’ 10th Season, along with runner-up ! Learn more about the winning stories, honorable mentions, and other cool details in this post from awards host Winston Malone and guest judge .

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s grounded “First Contact” technothriller, Magnitude, is available for purchase as an ebook or paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 6/21/25

• ’s contemporary/urban fantasy novel and Book One of the Arcane Hunters series, The Veracin Blade, is now available for purchase as an ebook or paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 7/1/25

• ’s short story, Garbo’s Ghost, has been included in the recently-released noir anthology called Celluloid Crimes. Release Date: 8/26/25

• ’s contemporary novel with themes of mythology and folklore, called The Rhinelanders, is now available as an ebook or paperback through Amazon. Release Date: 8/27/25

• ’s historical mystery novel and second in the Georgian-era Meg Valentine Mysteries, Lost Lane, is now available for preorder through Amazon. Other formats and distributors will be available after the release date. Check out Charlie’s web page for details, including how to get an ARC copy. Release Date: 10/22/25

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• Fantasy writers! Are you looking to be part of a truly unique worldbuilding project? (Maya) has an opportunity for you! Launching this autumn is a collaborative writing project: The Ynysfall Codex. From Maya: “Inspired by the fragmentary, myth-soaked style of the Mabinogion and the atmospheric storytelling of games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, this project invites fantasy writers to contribute to a shared-world experiment in collaborative mythmaking. The premise is simple: each contribution is a fragment—a lost manuscript, a bard’s song, an inscription, a bestiary entry, or a whispered legend. No single fragment reveals the whole truth of Ynysfall, but together, they form an evolving Codex: a world of ruins, mysteries, and contradictory tales.”

  • Submissions are open until October 25th

  • Accepted fragments will appear on a rolling basis on Maya’s Substack under this tab: The Ynysfall Codex. All authors will be registered as contributors.

  • In early November, the best pieces will be gathered into a downloadable PDF anthology for contributors and readers.

  • LEARN MORE HERE!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com

✒ Editor’s Note

Welcome back, Talestack Readers!

[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]

It may be late summer, but fiction is always on time!

My oh my, August is whizzing by! Here at Talestack HQ we’ll be pivoting to the colors (and fresh logo!) and cooler-weather of Fall pretty soon, but that doesn’t mean Summer can’t have its last hurrah!

In this issue we’ve got some new serial projects for you to check out, finished work, a couple of novels to preorder, and even a fun way to connect with fellow writers. Who knows? You may find your next favorite read right here!

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 lovely week, and happy writing!

S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack News

TALESTACK NEWS is a FREE-TO-READ publication!

Please support by liking, commenting, sharing, and restacking. Any monetary support is appreciated, but not necessary.

📣 Announcements!

Finished Projects:

• has just completed serializing her very first novel, a haunting tale called Things That Can’t Be Broken, here on Substack. Synopsis: “Nine-year-old Dani makes a fervent promise that there will always be horses in her life, so when she finds out her next-door neighbor won a scholarship to an exclusive horsemanship program, she vows to win one too. She never gets the chance—but her short life has a lasting effect on a community.” Get started with the Prologue here!

New Projects:

• has a new short sci-fi serial out, Katy Gone to Mars, being Unofficial Katy’s third great (mis)adventure, “in which our mischievous feline extraterrestrial disguised in human form gets abducted to Area 51 by a couple of Men in Black. But given that she has quite a penchant for ­X-Files conspiracies, her curiosity should overcome any lingering anxieties, especially when they show her one of their foo fighters. Then again, her curiosity might just be precisely what they are hoping to exploit. Of course she’d love to have a ride on a silver machine. Wouldn’t you? Just don’t call it pod racing. Call it pod racing and there’ll be intellectual property issues. Fans of intriguing NASA-related conspiracy theories and tongue-in-cheek, highly humorous sci-fi will adore this.” Each chapter is released on a Sci-Friday. Lift off here with Part One!

• has recently started a short historical romance serial called Neverland: An Old Flame, A Forbidden Love. Synopsis: “When Carl, a young Jamaican man, and Katie, a white English woman, meet at a 1968 London protest, their forbidden love ignites despite violent social opposition. Torn apart by family threats and racial prejudice, they make a heartbreaking pact to meet once a year, for just one hour, to honor what they've lost. Fifty-four years later, their annual ritual continues. But this time, Carl carries an envelope that could change everything. This four-part historical romance explores love's power to endure across decades, even when society tries to destroy it. Set between 1960s upheaval and present-day hope, ‘Neverland’ asks whether some loves are strong enough to overcome time itself.”

• has just launched her high fantasy serial, The Violent Sun. Blurb: “The Violent Sun explores the fragmented yet beautiful existence of Solikah, an intimately broken Daughter of the Sun. As we dive into a world filled to the brim with its own magical lore and epic Gods, our narrator, Solikah, takes us through the delicate and morally grey actions that ultimately led to her making an Earth shattering decision…” You can jump right into Chapter One here!

📚 The Bookshelf

(Titles listed in order of release date.)

• ’s debut fantasy novel, Company of Ghosts, is now available to preorder as an ebook through Amazon, with physical copies available upon release! From the author: “A political fantasy set in a secondary world, the story weaves through a rich tapestry of secret histories and forbidden magic as the narrator tries to uncover the secrets behind her mother's death. It's the perfect cozy read for autumn, but if you're still not convinced, have a read through the first chapter and decide for yourself!” Release Date: 9/16/25

• ’s coming-of-age literary novel originally serialized on Substack, Fallout, is now available for preorder through Empress Editions! Release Date: TBA

🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Connection Corner

• Speculative fiction writers! Are you looking for a place to share your work and connect with other writers? Check out the recent Prompt Quest Gathering hosted by The Lunar Awards! Take a peek at the prompt, see if it sparks an idea, and then share it with the community.

  • For extra credit: subscribe to the Lunar Awards newsletter for more speculative fiction fun!

Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:

talestack.editor@gmail.com