✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
And Happy Holidays, no matter what you celebrate!
Whether you’re carving out pockets of quiet reading time for yourself in the holiday busyness, or you’re all snuggled up for some Solstice peace, this final issue of 2023 is FILLED to the BRIM with fiction to suit a variety of tastes!
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.
I hope you have a truly beautiful end of the year, and we’ll meet again on New Year’s Day in 2024!
Merry Christmas from your humble Editor, and Happy Holidays to all and sundry!
S.E. Reid
Editor of Talestack NewsTALESTACK 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:
Meaghan McIsaac of Authorstrator has just completed her 26-chapter tale, Zombie Shark Highway! ZSH will only be available until January, when it will come down to make room for Meaghan’s next zombie serial adventure, Lava Cat Cruise Ship. From Meaghan: “But don't worry - if you miss or run out of time to read ZSH, readers can always join as a paid subscriber to download the ebook!”
Caleb Taylor’s epic holiday poem, The North Pole Epic, will be wrapping up on December 22 over at Wishbone Poetry, just in time for a full seasonal read-through before Christmas.
Michael S. Atkinson has just completed his superhero serial, Captain Happily Married! From Michael: “In this adventure not only does our hero face a challenge to his very life, but also, his marriage. Will Captain Happily Married and Super Soccer Mom's relationship survive the attack of Professor Irreconcilable Differences? Will the city? Maybe not, because this time, Professor Irreconcilable Differences has the one thing that might take them down: The Kaboominator.” Find this completed story and more at the Edison City Index.
Travis Blake is wrapping up the final chapters of his second book, Dracula’s Ghost - Afterimage, at the end of the month. “This is the second story of a three-book series that follows the descendants of Jonathan and Mina Harper through the tumult of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.” You can find both of his books, along with a few short stories, at Dracula’s Ghost.
Edward Rooster of From The Future has just completed writing a draft for his third novel, Retrieve.
New Projects:
The Man Behind the Screen has just started a monthly fantasy adventure/mystery serial, The Castle on the Hill: “A fantasy adventure serial that follows the young aristocrat and prospective alchemist Katrine Bertoli-Dunajoux as she seeks out the mystery of an old clifftop castle hidden beneath the shadow of the grand and mysterious Castle in the Clouds.” You can read Chapter One here!
Autumn Widdoes of Wunderkammer has just begun publishing a serialized micro-novel called 21st Century Leviathan, described as "a serialized novel about the 21st century American workplace.” Autumn has also added this content warning, “It is a satire with profanity, sexuality and darker elements to it,” so reader discretion is advised!
S.E. Reid (the Editor) has just started a new 12-part supernatural serial called Freelance and Fishmaids, in which a former journalist and a mysterious captain team up to investigate the haunted history of a Pacific Northwest island. Read the first episode here!
In a big newsletter overhaul, Ben Woestenburg of Scribbler is putting his serial work behind the paywall so he can start the process of printing them up as hardcover books! He has also dropped his paid subscription to a sale price of $30/year. And finally, he is re-releasing his historical fiction serial, Jack of Diamonds; the first six chapters will be free.
Zephyr Thomas of Extraordinary Seasons is starting to serialize his Christian contemporary fantasy novel, Octave of Stars, “a savory mix of danger, drama, and a dash of romance makes up the seasoning for this clean, family-friendly contemporary fantasy.”
Awards:
S.E. Reid (the Editor) was honored to win this year’s Lunar Impact Award. You can find the resulting interview all about craft and community here.
Milestones & Wins:
Edward Rooster has secured a publisher for his novel Box Of Stars! The publisher, called Infinite Books, was started by O'Shaughnessy Ventures, founded by Jim O'Shaughnessy (Infinite Loops).
Yesterday, Michael S. Atkinson celebrated one full year on Substack!
T. Dalton Wolf of The Near Future crossed the 25,000-word mark in his serialized crime fiction novel, The Education of Lisa Rose. “This is the farthest I’ve ever gotten on a fiction project in my life. Very exciting!”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
Michael P. Marpaung’s space opera novel, Inquisitor’s Promise, is being offered at a sale price on Amazon through the new year! (The Kindle version is $0.99, and the paperback is $14.99.) Original Release Date: 8/9/23
Justin Deming’s collection of fifty-word microfiction tales, 50 Fifties, is now available for purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 12/5/23
Ken W.’s science fiction novel, Bad Company (Book 3 of the Vindicators series), is now available for preorder through Amazon! Release Date: 3/15/24
📝 Submissions Bulletin
Justin Deming would like to invite one and all to a community-based event he hosts twice monthly, called Fifties by the Fire. From Justin: “The premise is simple: I send out a prompt, and writers concoct fifty-word stories (fiction, CNF, or poetry) in response to it.” Join the fun this Friday, December 22, at 3:00 PM EST over at Along the Hudson, or click here to check out a recent example.
❤ Shout-Outs
The Man Behind the Screen would like to shout out TSBOL and The Boneyard: “TSBOL is one of many amazing writers I've had the fortune of meeting on this platform, a man who has an immense talent for capturing the richness of human emotion in subtle ways through his words. He's very close to hitting the milestone of finishing his first novella here on Substack, the pulp fantasy romance, Her Verse, which I thoroughly recommend every fan of speculative fiction here makes time to read.”
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
Rolando Andrade of Outside the Therapy Room is looking for feedback and critique on his short fiction, especially You Hurt Me, Ruins, and Sea Breeze.
Ever wanted to learn about serialization from one of the literary masters? Join Erica Drayton as she analyzes The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, in early 2024! Subscribe here!
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Thank you deeply for the shout-out. I am very grateful for the aide in getting the word out. As an Indy writer, book promotion sometimes feels like shouting into a loud concert and no one hearing.
And, congratulations for a great year of writing. May next year be as productive.
Congratulations one and all.