✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
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There’s always a hefty harvest of fiction here at Talestack News!
Can you believe that October is nearing its conclusion? Here at Talestack HQ that means were stacking our TBR list ahead of the cold-and-cozy season, and this latest bulletin can help you with just that!
This issue is full of new projects, some published and preorder tales on the bookshelf, and even some fun community initiatives to draw your participation! Are you game to get involved?
⭐NOTE: Talestack News is looking for passionate sponsors to feature in upcoming issues! If you are a small business owner, freelancer, artist, or author with a product or service to sell and you think that your business or product could fit the tone and philosophy of Talestack News, reach out to me at talestack.editor@gmail.com and throw the word SPONSOR in the subject line—let’s talk!
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 lovely week, and happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
New Projects:
“Who is Bruce? What does he see when he looks in the mirror? What does he find beautiful that others don’t? How does he feel about his eyebrows?” From Sandolore Sykes, Jon T, a mad group of talented contributors, and the wild minds of SUM FLUX comes an all-new series centered around one mysterious figure: Bruce. Who is he? Read along piece by piece to find out! Check out the main index here and then explore the first piece of the Bruce puzzle by Annie Hendrix!
Michael S. Atkinson has just launched a new thirteen-episode superhero series, Lights Out: a Post-Apocalyptic Edison City Serial. Synopsis: “The heroes of Edison City’s never-ending battle against the forces of evil...ended. Badly. The few remaining civilians are focused on surviving, but one of them believes she may be able to find an old friend who disappeared before everything went bad. With a little help, she might just do it. Or maybe not; after all, she doesn’t know who else survived.” Jump into the first episode here!
Dale Mahfood has been serializing his in-progress historical romance fiction novel, Up From Mountains. Synopsis: “In 1950s Jamaica, Harry Najem, the son of a successful Lebanese merchant, finds himself drawn to two very different women: Lilla James, a spirited singer and nursing student whose passion mirrors his love of poetry, and Cailin Campbell, a methodical businesswoman who escaped her abusive father’s estate to build a new life in Kingston. As Harry’s romantic entanglements grow increasingly complicated, his father Bashir remains focused on his work as a devoted family man and benefactor to Jamaica’s poor, unaware of his son’s struggles. Meanwhile, Harry’s cousin Fadi secretly translates a collection of Bashir’s Arabic poems, a discovery that will unveil hidden pain from the family patriarch’s past in Mount Lebanon during WWI. The pendant Bashir wears around his neck holds mysteries that will only be revealed through these short poems. The novel weaves together four interconnected narratives: Bashir’s past gradually revealed through poetry, Harry’s complex romantic choices, Cailin’s fight for independence, and Lilla’s search for love and purpose. It explores how families are forged through sacrifice, how trauma echoes across generations, and how we find forgiveness, redemption, and belonging in the aftermath of displacement and loss.” Jump into Chapter One here!
Bridget Riley has just started a noir retelling of the biblical Book of Esther called The Scepter. Synopsis: “When nightclub singer Etta Cohen’s live-and-let-live existence in Depression-worn New York City is upended by the attentions of a powerful and notorious man, she finds a world of luxury, comfort, and deference unveiled before her. But as Etta moves deeper into this new world, the glitter fades, revealing a razor’s edge of lawlessness and danger that threatens not only Etta, but also the identity she thought she’d left behind forever.” Jump into Part One here!
Bruce Robert Madole has been releasing his first novel—a humorous crime story called Arkady, So Far—in serial format here on Substack. Synopsis: “To win a bet with his artist girlfriend, Samantha, unemployed songwriter Jimmy Traveller unwittingly sells a load of worthless art — his own art, painted under a nom-de-brush — to one of her more obnoxious customers. He rapidly realizes that he’s just sold a load of worthless paintings to the Mob, and he’s dug himself a grave-sized hole: they’ll want their money back. Winning this bet gets Jimmy tangled up with local organized crime, dangerous nude models, exotic dancers, foreign assassins and even the Russian and traditional mafia. (Samantha’s not too happy with him, either.) As he moves from the worlds of art and money laundering into the music business and crime, ARKADY SO FAR chronicles Jimmy’s struggle to survive as he does what he always does in the bottom of a hole: he just keeps digging.” Check out the first chapter here!
Bruce would also like to shout out Julie Wise: “My friend Julie Wise recommended that I should reach out and tell you about my fledgling efforts on Substack: I’ll send her a shout-out, because she’s been trying to get me introduced to this whole Substack universe as she’s led the way with her excellent and timely thriller, Make No Mistake.”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
Walt Shuler has just published his pulp-flavored epic fantasy A Dread Tide Rising, book one of The Empire of the Waves Cycle. It’s available in both ebook and print from Amazon, with other booksellers and platforms rolling out soon. Release Date: 10/14/25
Adrianna Nine’s quirky mystery novella, Those Lights at Night, is now available to preorder/pre-save in audiobook format through Spotify, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Audible, and other platforms. Release Date: 11/4/25
Jennifer Peaslee’s raunchy sci-fi novella, Sorority Zombies in Space!, is available for preorder on Amazon. Release Date: 11/23/25
Kelby Losack’s neo-western pulp novel, Texas Tea, is now available for preorder through Broken River Books. Preorders ship 11/5/25. Official Release Date: 12/1/25
📝 Submissions Bulletin
Lovers of mystery and the uncanny, take heed! The wildly popular Substack-based fiction collection The Midnight Vault (organized by J. Curtis and Shane Bzdok) has returned and is now open for submissions to make a second volume of Twilight Zone-inspired tales from writers across the platform. Check out the submissions page for more details about how to participate!
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
Marco.D.Blanco and Enigma by Serkai are hosting a magical treasure hunt right here on Substack! From the official post: “The treasure hunt is themed around the Magic Lantern posts here on substack, where you will explore and put together clues based on the lore that I have shared thus far, and there are actual prizes to be won here.
This is the first online treasure hunt hosted on Substack (I’m claiming that title but I’m not sure it’s true) and I hope it inspires more creative ways of enjoying this platform and community.” Find out more general details at the announcement post, check out the rules and rewards, and then jump into Episode One!
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
I’m hyped for Texas Tea to drop
I loved reading about Bruce Robert' Madole's Arkady, So Far. What a great way to end his blurb: "he does what he always does in the bottom of a hole: he just keeps digging." That made me subscribe to his Substack!