✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
IT’S FINALLY AUGUST!
After an extra week at the end of July, we’re back at it with Issue Five! While we didn’t get any shout-outs or direct calls to one-to-one connection this time around, we’ve got lots of new serials and projects starting up, an award to announce, books getting released, and so much 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 fantastic week, and happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
Joseph Wiess has just finished his novella, The Broken Woman’s True Desire, as part of his Tales of Crann Na Beatha fantasy stories. “When a Mercenary passes through a small town, a broken woman catches his eye. When she asks him a favor, it sets in motion an adventure that leads to the discovery of an ancient evil.”
Michael P. Marpaung has just completed his 3-part serial sci-fi adventure, The Americans Used To Go This Way. “The undercities had never been the most appealing part of Earth. Nevertheless, Edward was here in the Bayuu to find his bride.”
New Projects:
T.D. McIntosh has just started a new newsletter for his fiction called Otaku Dreams Publishing, described as a “one-of-a-kind adventure where anime, manga, fantasy, and sci-fi intertwine.”
John Coon has just started a new 10-part horror serial called Snow Dragon. “A mythical monster has awakened beneath Deer Falls following an earthquake. Can the Duggan family destroy this vicious and lethal predator before it drives the sleepy Colorado town to extinction?”
Buck Weiss has started to serialize his steampunk/horror novelette, The Black Banshee, over at It's the Devil. “Brace yourself for daring escapades, mesmerizing seances, mind-bending astral projection, the horrifying ghost of Chopin, and cutting-edge fashion. This serial promises a spellbinding blend of adventure, mystery, and spine-tingling horror!”
Cole Noble, a longtime nonfiction staple on Substack, is branching out into fiction! Check out Cole’s Chapters for more info, including Cole’s first short story collection called Stasis, where each story has the common theme of time. “Lost in time, trapped in place. These are tales from the corners of the universe where an evening can last an eternity, and wasted years can be won back in court.”
Meaghan McIsaac has just started her new weekly serial story, Zombie Shark Highway. “When eight sharks wash up on the highway leading into the isolated coastal town of Point Chester, seventeen-year-old Kayla starts to worry that there's something in the water. But it's not what's IN the water Kayla needs to be worried about now...”
Awards:
The results are in after the Gibberish Writing Competition hosted by Scoot: congratulations to winner Christina Nicole! And great work by fellow competitors Sara Dietz, Cork Hutson, Vincent Marshall, and Derek Petty —well done, all!
Milestones & Wins:
Josh Tatter published his first poem on Substack! Read Little Lionheart here.
Michael P. Marpaung’s epic novel Inquisitor’s Promise is now available as a PDF ebook for his paid subscribers. And keep your eyes peeled for a potential future Amazon release…fingers crossed!
It’s always valuable when writers share their journeys to publication, and Rosy Gee has some wonderful and hard-won news on the horizon! Check out this post for valuable lessons learned from seeking publication for her cozy murder novel and what’s next for her.
Natalie Phillips is celebrating a rapidly-climbing wordcount on her new novel and charting her progress and process over at Plotted Out.
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
John Coon’s sci-fi novel, Alien People, is back in the spotlight as one of BookBub’s Featured Deals! Click here for more info. Original Release Date: 9/1/2020
radicaledward’s dark fantasy novel, Iron Wolf, is now available for purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 7/19/23
Michael Woudenberg’s debut sci-fi novel, Paradox, is now available for purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 7/21/23
Joseph Wiess’s fantasy novel, Voyage of the Dawn Breaker, is now available to purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 8/5/23
Joyce Reynolds-Ward’s short story collection, Fabulist and Fantastical Worlds, is now available for preorder through Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books, and Smashwords! Release Date: 8/15/23
📝 Submissions Bulletin
Since its release, M. E. Rothwell’s newsletter The Books That Made Us has made quite a splash! M.E. is looking for guests to collaborate with, so if you’re interested in guest-posting over there, please read this post for guidelines and how to submit.
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I'm a broken record here, but thanks for working on these!
Thank you so much for including me and my works in this issue. I appreciate all the work you put into this. 😊