It's Nearly Spring! 🌱
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.
Can you believe that February is almost halfway over? (I can’t!)
I have a fairly simple housekeeping missive for you this week: a quick round-up of the month-so-far and a glimpse at what’s to come when the seasons change over in the new few weeks. Lots of fun on the horizon!
Read on for more!
✨ 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…
Cockatrice - in this three-part supernatural short story set on Ferris Island, aimless young Stevie inherits her eccentric grandmother’s farm and attempts to set down roots for the first time in her adult life. Little does she know that the farm comes with a dark secret buried underneath it…and a bizarre role that only she can play.
Read Part One: Black Toad
Read Part Two: Pale Snake
Part Three coming soon! (NOTE: I launched this story right before an unexpected windfall of other work showed up on my doorstep over the last few weeks, so this story keeps getting postponed, and I apologize. The conclusion is truly on its way!)
2x2 Interview with Tell Me A Mystery! - The lovely Ann Kimbrough of
invited yours truly to join her fabulous 2x2 Interview Series! We covered all sorts of fun topics in this lively livestream: writing methods and structures, influences on our creativity, Substack strategy, and more. Check out the replay!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 done! 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. This story updates once a week on Fridays and will wrap up just before March.
Explore the Table of Contents
Get started here - Part One: The Orchardist
Read the latest episode here - Part Ten: Ambush
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 February 16th to be included in the next issue!)
A few Orchard Hounds reminders:
Send proof of purchase of your paperback copy to ferrisislandwa@gmail.com for SIX MONTHS of free access as a comped Councilmember!
Paid Subscribers: you are eligible to receive a signed copy directly from me at a slightly discounted cost! The first batch is being slowly sent out to the original requesters this week, but you can send an email to ferrisislandwa@gmail.com to claim one now!
Have you left a review? Please do! 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:
The Season Is Changing…
While it may still feel pretty wintery out there (we still have snow on the ground here, which is pretty unheard-of!), the seasons are shifting, and that means that the Talebones Winter Season is almost over and we’ll be transitioning over to Spring 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!
I’ll also be trying to get back into a better rhythm of posting short work, getting new seasonal merch lined up for the warmer months, some other admin and tweaks around the site, and more fun stuff TBD!
Stay tuned for more details!
Thank you for reading!
One last thing…
The wonderful
shared this recent photo of her sippin’ from a very familiar cup during an editing session…🧐
What a fabulous photo, CB! Thank you so much for sharing!
(You can get your own Talebones merch and more at the Ferris Island Gift Shop.)
The last month or so has seen a generous influx of new subscribers, and I am so grateful that you’re giving Talebones a chance! To all who have jumped aboard the Talebones train, from the original readers back in the beginning to those who joined in the last few days: I am indescribably grateful for every single one of you. You give my stories life by reading, sharing, commenting, and supporting.
You are making this writer’s dreams come true every day, simply by being here.
Thank you.
Your grateful storyteller,
I am so thrilled by all the good news you bring today! The steady growth of TaleBones is not surprising. It is a tribute to your ability to imagine and create a world populated with unique and loveable (or sometimes hateable) diverse characters. Then write fantastic, intriguing and magical stories and story arcs that tie everything together. Not forgetting all the community development, networking and just plain people loving work! From the first story, "Cliffsong", I was hooked on this writer S.E. Reid who lit a'new a passion for reading... Obviously I was hardly the only one who wanted to be a part of your community!! Now S.E., a small request for your consideration...would you think about publishing a limited signed hardcover edition of Ivy and Ixos when the ebook and paperback is published? Maybe?