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.
Today is my 3rd Substackiversary! 🎉
(Want to win a piece of merch from the Gift Shop? Make sure you read this missive to the end!)
While I launched Talebones for my fiction a little over a year into my Substack journey, it feels like a massive milestone to have been writing on this platform for three whole years, and I could not be more grateful that YOU are here to celebrate with me!
In this issue I have a few updates and reminders to pass along, especially as we prepare for the upcoming Spring Season.
Ready? Let’s go!
✨ First, A Quick Word From Our Sponsor… ✨
Work With Me! - Looking for an editor, beta reader, proofreader, or copywriter? Look no further! Check out my Work With Me page for rates and services. Don’t see something that works for you? Reach out via email or DM—I’m happy to discuss. Let’s make your projects sing!
Shop My Book! - Purchase my debut short story collection, The Orchard Hounds, as an ebook or paperback!
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…
FREE for the SEASON: Winter’s Nell - a folktale-inspired short story about a young runaway, a cold night, and an act of kindness (this story was written last year and is out from behind the paywall until March 1st!)
Our Winter Season folk horror/romance serial, Sayblood’s Children, is nearly wrapped up and will be PAYWALLED on MARCH 11th! Synopsis: Othniel Brack left his disgraced family name back in England and set sail for the untamed western edge of Washington Territory, seeking a new fortune and a new legacy for himself on a small, barely inhabited island overgrown with wild apple trees. Life is quiet on that little Orchard Island, until a strange discovery on a windswept beach changes Othniel’s life—and the island’s history—forever.
Explore the Table of Contents
Get started here - Part One: The Orchardist
Read the finale episode here - Part Twelve: The Promise
Look out for the Epilogue this Friday!
New around here? Most of our 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!
We 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, check out the submission guidelines and email your news to talestack.editor@gmail.com by March 2nd to be included in the next issue!)
Have you read The Orchard Hounds?
Would you be so kind as to leave a review?
Reviews are a HUGE help to self-published authors; they go a LONG way toward letting readers know that they might like this book if they’re curious!
You can review this book on:
THANK YOU!
Cockatrice Update
First of all, I want to thank you all for your comments and kindness about the story I started in January, a projected three-parter called Cockatrice. I posted the first two pieces of it with relative confidence, but then the third part was delayed…and then delayed some more…and soon a whole month had passed.
After hemming and hawing for a bit too long, I have made the tough decision to shelve the story, at least for the time being.
There are two reasons for this:
This story is clogging up my brainspace (and my editorial calendar) in a completely unproductive way and making it difficult to write any other short fiction. And that’s not fair for me or for you.
The story started taking an unintentional personal turn (visible to me but likely not visible to anyone else), and once a story veers off into that territory I know that it’s something I need to step away from for a bit. (It is my preference to experience writing as therapeutic, but not therapy; as soon as I notice myself “working through things” in a fictional story, it ceases to be fun and fulfilling to write.)
I will be putting the first two parts of Cockatrice behind the paywall. My hope is to return to it later with fresh eyes and a better perspective, and carry on with new projects!
Thank you for your patience!
Two Tiny Tales
I don’t often dabble in microfiction—stories told with a VERY limited wordcount—but sometimes when I’m feeling creatively stuck they can be a fun way to get the juices flowing.
The following are two 100-word (ish) stories that I wrote recently for a bit of exercise. I used basic prompts pulled from my Storymatic card deck and just let the ideas take me where they wanted to go.
Sharing them here just for fun!
—
Story #1: COLLATERAL
(prompt: “guest” and “no money to pay the bill”)
“Card declined. I’m sorry, Mr. Landon. No reservation without payment.”
Chuck frowned. It was a company card. Too late—near midnight—to call the finance department and fix this.
“What do I do until tomorrow?” he asked.
The receptionist looked up at him, unblinking. “Do you have any other…collateral?”
The receptionist’s eyes were blank behind her dark glasses. Pale computer screen, crisp black blazer. The empty lobby consumed their voices, like space. The walls leaned in, potted plants dipping their heavy heads.
In the distance, a thin scream.
Chuck swallowed, smiled, backed up, shook his head.
“I’ll sleep in my car. Thanks.”
—
Story #2: JERSEY LIGHTNING
(prompt: “lightning” and “born in the wrong era”)
She knew she was dressed wrong as soon as she entered the bar.
What year is this? Doesn’t matter. Focus.
“Jersey Lightning, please.”
She took the cocktail to the corner booth. The little man sitting there looked up.
“Same drink,” he said, relieved. Slight smile. “Never gets old?”
“Hasn’t happened yet. You’re still drinking whiskey neat.”
“Some things don’t change.”
“It’s just us. We don’t change.”
“True.” He lifted his glass, a toast. She responded in kind.
“To a long life,” he said.
“And finding our way home,” she replied.
They drank.
When the clock struck, the booth was empty.
It’s Nearly Spring!
The time has come: I’ll be transitioning Talebones over to Spring Season starting the first week of March!
I typically take a break from serializing longer work in the Spring Season so that I can focus on behind-the-scenes projects, admin, publication, and shorter pieces.
This Spring, my main goal is to publish my novella Ivy & Ixos—the very first serial that I ever shared here—as an ebook and paperback!
Also Coming Up This Season:
new short fiction
Sayblood’s Children heading behind the paywall (March 11th)
seasonal merch lined up for the warmer months
admin and tweaks around the site
more fun stuff TBD!
Stay tuned for more details!
Sayblood’s Children Q&A
This Friday, my serial Sayblood’s Children will conclude with an Epilogue, and shortly after that I intend to share a behind-the-scenes debrief about the story’s origins along with its evolution over the last eighteen years. I’ll also answer some of YOUR questions about it!
The plan is to do this debrief as a livestream that I’ll make available as a replay; stay tuned for details!
If you enjoyed the story and have a specific question to ask me about it, feel free to drop it in the comments of this post!
(NOTE: I’ll also open up the comments of the Epilogue for the same purpose, just in case you can’t think of a question right now.)
Substackiversary Giveaway! 🤫
IF YOU COMMENT ON THIS POST—even with a Sayblood’s Children question—you will be eligible to win ONE PIECE OF MERCH of your choosing from the GIFT SHOP!
(NOTE: Each commenter is only eligible for one entry; multiple comments won’t give you multiple entries in the metaphorical hat. 😉)
I will randomly draw THREE WINNERS one week from now, on March 4th. Winners will be notified via email as well as announced in the next Talebones Tuesday post!
Thank you for reading!
While Talebones was born a year into my Substack journey, I started writing on this platform via my nonfiction newsletter on this day in 2022, three years ago.
(My first post over on my nonfiction newsletter was written as a response to the start of the war in Ukraine, and though it’s very short and a bit time-locked, I’m sure you’ll recognize some of my longstanding philosophy in it if you’ve been reading my writing for any length of time. Some things never change!)
It’s been a wild ride watching Substack evolve over the last three years and watching MYSELF evolve as a writer and human, too.
Those who know me well know that I don’t like to share subscriber numbers, because numbers never tell the whole story. But sometimes milestones are a joy to be shared—especially on this three-year celebration—so I’m honored to report that Talebones reached 3,500 subscribers just a day or so ago. Unbelievable!
Three years ago, when I came to Substack, my childhood dream of being a writer still felt like a distant thing, just out of reach. But as each and every one of you has hopped onboard this Talebones train and given me the precious gift of your time, attention, and kindness, you have slowly but surely turned that impossible dream into a reality.
I am indescribably grateful for you.
Here’s to another year of Talebones tales!
Your grateful storyteller,
Congrats! 🍾 You are the foundation on which this community is built.
The ability to tell very creative stories using beautiful language that allows the reader to see, feel, touch and smell the created environment and characters is the reason why you have been so successful. Congratulations 🎊