Talestack News - ISSUE 30
[August 5th - August 19th]
✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
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Do you feel that? Do you feel the seasons on the edge of change?
August is waning fast, and September is waiting in the wings. Sure, it may be nearly back-to-school time elsewhere, but here at TALESTACK NEWS there's always an opportunity to escape to wondrous worlds. Soak up the last bits of this month’s goodness with Substack fiction of various sizes and shapes!
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
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
- has just finished up his historical novel, The Second Queen of Hirta, “the fictional memoir of a young woman living on the Hebridean archipelago of St. Kilda in the 19th century.” Read the First Chapter for free, here!
- has just concluded Part One of his historical fantasy serial novel, The Shield of Locksley. Part Two will be coming soon! From Ben, this tale is “the story of a young Bachelor Knight on his way to Camelot with his Uncle Sir Grummer Grummerson, and The Boys, his Men-at-Arms. It’s a rollicking adventure story that has political intrigue and lots of back story, sex, violence, and all that good stuff, taking place in the last years of King Arthur’s Camelot.” You can start from the beginning here!
- has just concluded her pulp fantasy detective serial, Thorne: The Withering Shore. From Cameron: “I plan on doing other adventures for Thorne but this felt particularly special because I had started out planning it to be written over about 8 weeks and that turned into a year (!!).” You can jump into the First Chapter here, and subscribe to see more adventures featuring Thorne!
- will be concluding their serialized fantasy novel in a few weeks, called The Legend of Leanna Page: Volume One - A Beginning. From Addam: “The final chapter of this free-to-read fantasy epic is scheduled for release on August 31st! The Legend of Leanna Page is the story of a young servant girl who is born with one parent from each of two starkly divided kingdoms. If she is going to keep her life and family in one piece, she'll have to find a way to bring the two sides of her world together. She has a lot to learn about herself, her powers, and the rulers she serves. Will the different sides of herself tear her apart? Find out in two weeks!” Jump in here!
- is about to conclude the second “season” of her supernatural mystery serial, Freelance and Fishmaids. The final episode will drop this Friday, the 23rd. Series Synopsis: “After getting fired from her job as a small-town journalist for moonlighting as a paranormal investigator, Caroline Phelan is urged to go freelance by her informant, a mysterious man she knows only as ‘the Captain’. Armed with her trusty camera called Scully, Caroline travels to Ferris Island’s paranormal hotspots and learns surprising lore along the way. But in her search for the strangest stories on Ferris Island, she comes face to face with a few of the island’s deepest secrets, some of which still echo through time.” Season One is currently behind a paywall, but you can read the entirety of Season Two for free, starting here!
New Projects:
- recently added supplemental fiction and other bonus materials to his ongoing novel, 3 Lives In Jury, “Three lives entwined by fate, consumed by a town and its terrifying secrets. A 40-year-long story about love, jealousy and the afterlife.” The ever-expanding collection of bonus work can be found at The Underworld Vents.
- is about to launch her contemporary serial novel, Things That Can’t Be Broken. Synopsis: “Lisa Cartwright is living her dream along with her high school sweetheart while raising their bright energetic daughter, Dani, in a simple neighborhood just east of San Diego. Nine-year-old Dani has made a fervent promise that there will always be horses in her life, so when she finds out her next-door neighbor won a scholarship to an exclusive horsemanship program, she vows to win one too. But she never gets the chance.” The novel will begin posting August 30th; subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!
- ’ fighting-game-style serial fiction, Battles Beneath the Stars, will be returning from hiatus this Thursday, the 22nd. Catch up on the story so far at the Table of Contents and stay tuned for the return!
- has started a new superhero (or supervillain, rather) romantic comedy serial called And When Two Villains Woo. Synopsis: “In this supervillain romcom, loyal henchwoman Candystriper explores the origins of her mad relationship with the Malevolent Med-Student and must decide whether to stay with him as he faces a threat even more malevolent than he is.” The First Episode is available to read now!
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
- has two exciting pieces of publication news!
His epic space opera novella, The Battle of Braxia, is included in the science fiction anthology Laser Cannons & First Contact by TreeShaker Books and available for purchase through multiple online platforms! Release Date: 7/31/24
His weird fantasy short story, The Waystation—originally published on his Substack—is going to be included in the third volume of Anthology of the Damned, currently preparing to launch on Kickstarter! Release Date: TBD
❤ Shout-Outs
- would like to shout out the team of intrepid beta readers for her novel, Remembrance! From Sara: “It’s been an absolute delight to receive their comments, questions, and general feedback—having their outside perspective has given me both a renewed humility (HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT?? moments) and a renewed confidence (people actually enjoyed reading this?? moments) as I go into my hopefully-last round of editing and prepare for publication.” Shout out to , , , , , , , , , and !
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Thanks so much for including Thorne! Always love reading Talestack and finding great fiction to read
Great Recs and announcements! Gotta get reading! 🎉