Are You Ready For a Talebones Summer?! 🌻
Talebones Tuesday
Greetings, Talebones Readers!
This weekly(ish) digest is the way I communicate with my readers to let them know what’s been going on around the Talebones landscape, along with any housekeeping to be aware of.
Summer is here!! Summer is here!! 🌞
Today, as I post this, it’s shaping up to be a hot and sunny day in my neck of the woods.
Tomorrow, the rain will be back. ‘Twas ever thus around here! 😂
But I’m going to channel all of today’s sunniest vibes into your official invitation to join me in all the fiction goodness that Talebones Summer promises! I’m still poking and prodding and doing a bit of site admin to say goodbye to spring and update for the new season, but I didn’t want to let another day go by without letting you all in on what’s going on.
So! Are you ready to see what’s happening around these parts?
(It’s a long one, grab a snack!)
Let’s go!!
✨ First, A Quick Word From Our Sponsor… ✨
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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 or a Ferris Island souvenir for your very own! Mugs, tees, hats, sweatshirts, and more, updated seasonally!
And now, back to Talebones Tuesday…
Round-Up!
In case you missed it…
The Things We Are - in this quick flash fiction ditty, a piece of Pacific Northwest folklore is told from an unusual perspective…
Snag your copy of Midnight Vault II! - My speculative short story, A Perfect Guest, is one of many tales included in this fantastic anthology of Substack fiction inspired by The Twilight Zone! Grab your copy today!
Crafting Serial Fiction with Simon K Jones! PART TWO - In this livestream mini-series, I have the great honor of sitting down with speculative fiction writer extraordinaire Simon K Jones to discuss the ins and outs of serial fiction: what is it, how does one go about it, and how to stick with it when the going gets tough. You can watch the playback of Part Two at the link above—in which we cover how to Prep and Plan for your serial before pen hits paper—and stay tuned for the next live episode, date TBD! (Missed Part One? Watch here!)
New around here? Most of my speculative fiction takes place on a haunted island in Washington State called Ferris Island. Check out the landing page to see which stories are currently available to read here online, along with other info and resources!
I also have stories of various genres set elsewhere, listed here.
TALESTACK NEWS is a twice-monthly bulletin of Substack fiction news where I collate as many announcements, projects, submissions opportunities, community endeavors, and generally cool things as I can gather. Check out the most recent issue here! (And if you’re a writer on the platform, read the submission guidelines and email your news to talestack.editor@gmail.com by June 14th to be included in the next issue!)
NEW EBOOK - Say Hello to Bonewhistle! 🌞
It’s officially summer here in the northern hemisphere—typical Pacific Northwest rainstorms aside, that is!—and for so many folks, that means making plans for travel, day-trips, camping excursions, visiting far-away family, or staycations.
But whether you’re packing your bags for adventure or you’re planning to stay home and stay cool this summer…you’re invited to take a creepy-cozy 99-cent journey to mysterious Ferris Island, Washington!
Climb aboard the ferry and explore this DIGITAL-ONLY collection of uncanny Ferris Island fiction!
In this collection of eleven uncanny and cozy folk horror tales, Ferris Island’s flora, fauna, and phantoms seek their own unique justice. Across these pages, the forgotten world bleeds into mundane lives: a lonely lighthouse keeper hears whispers that call him to worship, a high school senior dreams of the big-time but hides a sinister secret, and a hunter discovers that something in the woods never forgets a fatal mistake...these stories and more are ready to haunt you!
Spanning decades of Pacific Northwest island history, Bonewhistle is an unsettling brew of smalltown secrets, eerie folklore, and unexpected glimmers of hope.
The tales in this collection were all previously published on Substack and have been updated, polished, and reformatted for your digital reading pleasure!
In this collection:
Hank’s Tales (The Orientation, The Lake, and The Knocking)
Brokeneck
The Third Rabbit
Glossy
Bonewhistle
The Bone-Stag
Fair Folk
The Island Hour
Keeper
NOTE: If you are a non-Kindle user OR a paid/comp Talebones subscriber and would like a copy of this ebook, please email me at writer.sereid@gmail.com and I will set you up separately. ❤
⭐ GRAB YOUR COPY HERE! ⭐
But that’s not all—
In honor of stocking up your summer TBR for wherever the season takes you, ALL of the Ferris Island ebooks are 99 cents each!!
That means Bonewhistle, The Orchard Hounds, AND Ivy & Ixos are all available to throw on your Kindle for less than your favorite cup of iced coffee!
This sale won’t last forever, though.
Prices will jump back up to normal on FRIDAY, JUNE 5th, so stamp your ticket, climb aboard, and let yourself get carried away!
We’re Heading Back to Camp, Y’all! 👻
Last year, I started writing a summer serial called Ivy On The Trail, in which a beloved teen character from previous tales gets up to spooky fun at summer camp on Ferris Island, a haunted island in Washington State.
About halfway through that serial, I felt it was best to pivot to a different story for reasons both personal and on principle, and my readers at that time were so gracious and patient with me as I took that leap. (If you were there, THANK YOU.)
But this year, you are cordially invited to join me as we head back to camp…with some slight modifications.
This new version of Ivy on the Trail will start over completely.
I’m sending seventeen-year-old Ivy back to camp as a counselor-in-training with all three of her best friends: brave Bailey, anxious Ethan, and jock-with-a-heart-of-gold Jake. And in an episodic style—more monster-of-the-week than a true novella—the four of them will encounter supernatural shenanigans as they navigate camp duties, friendship dynamics, and their looming senior year of high school.
If you weren’t around last year, don’t worry—this story is a complete do-over, to be enjoyed without any prior context necessary.
If you WERE here last year and remember the original beginning, you may recognize some shared DNA and, hopefully, some resolved plot threads. ;)
I’m looking forward to having a bit of truly light-hearted spooky fun this summer, and I hope you’ll join me!
The first episode will drop later this week, so watch your inboxes!
Review Highlight: Imp! 🦋
If you’ve read any of my books, I would be so honored if you would pause now to leave a rating or review.
But this month, I would be especially grateful for reviews of Imp!
In this bite-sized PNW-gothic horror novella, creative inspiration comes at a high cost for those willing to pay it.
A quick, haunting little tale, perfect for a weekend read!
Have you read Imp? I would love an honest review!
For self-published authors, there’s no multi-million-dollar engine running promotion, marketing, and other advertising…there’s just me! So ratings and reviews go a LONG way in raising indie books in algorithms, triggering retailers to suggest them to customers, and helping new readers find self-published books that they’ll love!
And you don’t have to write a long review, either. A simple star-rating or a “Loved it!” both work just as well!
You can review my books on:
Storygraph:
Or you can visit the books on their individual My Books pages to review them on the sites of specific retailers, like B&N, Kobo, or Fable!
Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave a review!
It really, really means the most. ♥
Talebones Runs On Your Support!
Talebones is kept afloat by a beautiful and diverse tapestry of support, from my freelance day job as a writer and editor to purchases of books and merch AND the bountiful generosity of my paid subscribers!
You can become a Talebones Paid Subscriber for $5/month or $50/year (or go above and beyond as a Founding Member) to gain access to ALL online Talebones fiction past and present, exclusive resources, discounts to merch/products and freelance/consulting services, and more!
Learn more about each tier’s perks here.
Thank you for reading!
Phew, that was a long one!
I won’t take up any more of your time—only to say THANK YOU so much as always for reading through to the end!
Talebones wouldn’t be what it is without y’all, and I couldn’t be more grateful for your continued support, care, comments, and the all-too generous currency of your attention. ❤
Looking forward to a fun fiction-forward summer with you!
Your grateful storyteller,
Glad to see the do over on the summer camp serial...looking forward to reading the new version!
Thanks for kicking. off summer with a bang!