Talestack News - ISSUE 37
[November 18 - December 2]
✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]
Is there anything more festive than fiction?!
Happy December, friends! (What do you think of our new seasonal winter-time logo?!) Once again it’s time to take a peek at the new stuff going on around the Substack Fiction neighborhood. There are plenty of projects here to add to your TBR, spanning all kinds of genres, along with a shout-out and an opportunity to collaborate!
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
TALESTACK 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:
- recently completed sharing his serialized novel, Death In Harmony, the fifth of the Tales of The Lesser Evil. From Alexander: “The introduction and contents page can be found at the link and it will remain free to read until the new year, after which it shall be paywalled. This was shared over 29 weeks, so lots to read!”
- has finished up their project called Pilot Season and announced a poll. From ZK: “Each week of November, I put out a new first chapter for a different project and readers can then vote for their favorite to read serialized as a full novel throughout 2025. See the three pilots here, here, and here and vote for your favorite here. The poll closes this Friday (December 6th) so get your votes in now!”
Did you notice anything uncanny in the air at the end of November? In the past few weeks, the Twilight Zone took over Substack! Over 30 unique writers banded together for a collaborative themed project, and all of the stories are now available to read. Organized by
and , you can read their stories—Blink Twice If You Can Hear Me and The Zeno Paradox, respectively—and check out the rest of the creative, unsettling, genre-bending stories linked at the top of each post!
New Projects:
- recently launched her serial novel, On the Road to Jericho: a Novel. From the Official Blurb: “Shrugging off the threat of bombs, the young Eleanor Williams starts her career as a South African diplomat witnessing Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. Thirty years later, she lies broken in an office building women’s bathroom in Haven, U.S. She’s navigated war-torn landscapes, so why does corporate scheming break her? Where does she belong? And how can she hold both adventure and loss, hope and disillusionment, lightness and abysmal darkness? Follow Eleanor’s unflinching and cathartic story, a contemporary odyssey for women who hold multitudes. Who are at times both loveable and unlikeable. Who choose the unexpected path. Women who are building resilience through everyday experiences as professionals, wives, and moms.” New installments post Thursdays and Saturdays.
- has launched Uncommon Tapestries, a serial work of speculative fiction. Synopsis: “These tapestries are rumoured to be woven with modern prayers and ancient curses. They feature gods and goddesses, familiar and mythical places, celebrated and fabricated people, the living and the dead. Each scene can stand alone, but together they make a wondrous treasury of days.” A Brief Introduction, Episode One, and Episode Two are available to read now!
- will begin sharing the next Tale of Lesser Evil on the 6th of December, a novella entitled Dancing With Death. From Alexander: “This story sits in between the two interwoven strands of Flin's life detailed in Death In Harmony, and shall also initially be free to read, running weekly, until February 2025.”
- will launch Book One of his fantasy saga in January, called Moonthread. You can read the dreamlike prelude chapter here.
- ’s latest short story, A Marriage of Body and Soul, is now available to read. Blurb: “The outcast demon summoner Simon has finally achieved his dream of summoning Beleth, the demon he has obsessed over since childhood. But summoning a demon is one challenge, building a relationship with a demon is another, a challenge Simon may have neglected to prepare for in his single minded pursuit. And Beleth has his own dreams.”
Milestones & Wins:
- has changed the name of his publication to Scribbler - A Portal to Fiction (from the former title Scribbler - The Golden Years). Ben says that he wanted to make the change for the sake of clarity as a fiction writer, worried that “the title of my page sounds more like it might be about retirement, or seniors’ life.” After a serendipitous conversation, he settled on the subtitle “A Portal To Fiction.”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
- ’s horror short story collection, Anthology of Hidden Places, is now available to purchase as an ebook via Amazon! Release Date: 11/29/24
❤ Shout-Outs
- has two shout-outs to share:
“Deeply appreciative of for taking the time out of his busy day to review a spear-sparring scene and to share video with explainers on what it would actually look like.”
“Huge shoutout to the entire Substack fiction writing community for the discussion on whether or not to go live with a serial if I don’t know the end point. (Or at least, my characters keep arguing about it.)”
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
- is inviting everyone to a festively-themed collaborative writing project: Christmas in Selene City! From SDG: “This is a collaborative writing project set on the Moon's first international base, Selene City, as it gears up for the grand annual New Year party. There's something odd going on this year, though... What does your character do when they hear that haunting music from outside? The project is running from now until the Lunar New Year at the end of January.” Visit here for more details and instructions on how to participate!
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
Such a great group!
Thanks SE!