New Fiction and Pre-February Updates

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.

In this issue I’ve got a round-up of some posts you may have missed, along with some updates about The Orchard Hounds before we tumble into February, the final month of Winter Season here at Talebones.

Ready? Let’s go!

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✨ 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…

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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!

• Office Bookshelf Tour - Last week I took a handful of livestream viewers on a tour of the books in my office! We covered fiction, reference materials, fairytales, faith books, poetry, and more. If you like to geek out about books (and who doesn’t?!), I hope you enjoy 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 for the season! Enjoy!)

• Our Winter Season folk horror/romance serial, Sayblood’s Children, is over halfway 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 Eight: Emissary

• 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 2nd to be included in the next issue!)

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Orchard Hounds Updates…

Good news, good news…my author copies are here!!

(And a second batch is not far behind!)

Taking this photo outside makes them look VERY blue!

This means that if you’re one of the saintly paid subscribers who has been waiting patiently for a signed copy…you’ll be hearing from me VERY soon!

A few reminders:

1. Send proof of purchase of your paperback copy to ferrisislandwa@gmail.com for SIX MONTHS of free access as a comped Councilmember!

2. Paid Subscribers: you are eligible to receive a signed copy directly from me at a slightly discounted cost! The copies in my possession are all spoken for but a second batch is on the way, so send an email to ferrisislandwa@gmail.com to reserve yours!

3. Have you left 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:

   1. Amazon

   2. Goodreads

   3. StoryGraph

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Thank you for reading!

Last thing: for the Freelance and Fishmaids fans…

The INCREDIBLY talented

A. C. Sanders

created and shared this beautiful fanart of Caroline and Reyville (and lil Scully the ghost-hunting camera!) that made me bawl at my desk out of sheer joy a few weeks ago. Aubrey captured these characters SO perfectly, and I feel so privileged that she decided to share her talent in this way!

THANK YOU, Aubrey!! ❤❤❤

(For those new to Talebones: While their main serial storyline is in the currently-paywalled Freelance and Fishmaids, Caroline Phelan and Captain Reyville pop up throughout my Ferris Island fiction in various ways and under various guises depending on the timeline. You might spot them in a story you don’t expect, so keep your eyes peeled!)

And finally…THANK YOU to all of you as always for your support, your attention, your generous readership. None of this would be possible without your generosity!

I hope you have a fabulous week, dear friends!

Your grateful storyteller,

S.E. Reid