✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
[New around here? Check out our FAQ page!]
The holidays are around the corner - is your TBR ready?
For our final issue before the start of Winter Season here at Talestack HQ, we’ve got a small but mighty collection of announcements ready for your perusal, including some complete serials, one just getting started, a few bookshelf odds and ends, and even some community initiatives to pay attention to!
⭐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
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:
Vince Wetzel’s 11-part crime noir fiction serial, Capitol Rookie, is now complete and ready to read in its entirety on Salted Wetzel with a Side of Mustard. Blurb: “The year is 2004. Young reporter Alex Shelby is four months into his stint at the Sacramento Tribune. Struggling to cultivate sources, he gets a scoop that leads to a political scandal. Each chapter unravels a web of deceit, danger, and betrayal in a gripping tale of investigative journalism. Don’t miss this thrilling, fast-paced series filled with suspense, twists, and unforgettable characters.” Jump into Part One here!
Keeley Allyn Blair’s long-running gothic/dark romance serial, Family Crypt, has recently concluded and is now complete to read! Excerpt: “The courtroom was in chaos. Outside, the rain pounded against the tall, gothic arched windows like a thousand drumming fists. Thunder boomed in the distance, echoing down the stone corridors of the Old Bailey. Inside the chamber, flickering gaslight cast long, wavering shadows against the dark wood paneling. The murmurs of the crowd swelled, agitated, fraying at the edges of civility. Crack! The judge’s gavel came down sharply.” Jump into the Prologue here!
New Projects:
Shaina Read has just launched a new horror/psychological thriller serial called Red Creek Boy. Synopsis: “In the small town of Antigua Falls, Oklahoma, something evil stirs beneath the surface. The brutal slaying of a teenage girl by her classmate, fifteen-year-old Alistair Robinson, has left the town reeling. Veteran detectives Ned Carter and Tom “Big Tom” Wallace, a man who became a cop to escape his father’s violent legacy, are brought in to make sense of the horror and uncover a motive. Alistair’s mother claims she saw it coming, and all signs point to another monstrous young killer destined for infamy. But when a second body is found, the investigation veers into the impossible, toward a ritual murder buried in the town’s past, the spark that once fueled the satanic panic of the 1980s. What begins as a straightforward case becomes a descent into something far darker, a violent brotherhood of boys seduced by an ancient power, and a force older than memory that feeds on their hunger. As the case unravels, Ned and Big Tom must face the unthinkable: is Alistair truly the one to blame? Or is a darker will guiding them all, pulling them ever closer to a truth that could consume them both?” Jump into the first episode here!
Awards:
The 2025 Lunar Awards continue forward with Round Six of Season 10, hosted by guest judge John Coon and featuring Science Fiction tales of all types and stripes! Submissions are open until November 30th, so there’s still time to polish up your best speculative tales! Round-specific rules are in the post linked above, while general awards guidelines can be found HERE.
Milestones & Wins:
Substack fiction writer Stephanie Loomis has published a short Advent devotional called Hidden Figures of the Incarnation. Blurb: “Hidden in plain sight within the Advent story are ordinary people who witnessed extraordinary grace. Hidden Figures of the Incarnation invites readers to rediscover Christ’s birth through the eyes of those often overlooked—the shepherd, the dreamer, the prophetess, the witness, and the King Himself. Through five rich devotions and space for personal reflection, this collection leads the heart from silence to song, reminding us that God still reveals His goodness in quiet, unseen places.”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
S.E. Reid’s short horror novella, Imp, is now available to borrow on Kindle Unlimited or purchase as an ebook for 99 cents through Amazon! A bite-sized read about madness and the muse, perfect for a spooky winter weekend. Release Date: 11/15/25
Ian Dunmore’s short story collection, The Wolf-Man’s Trail & Other Stories, will be available very soon for a limited print. From Ian: “The collection includes the twenty fiction stories I’ve published on Substack over the past year, plus three bonus stories that have never before been released!” Read this post for more details, and subscribe to Dunmore Dispatch for updates. Release Date: TBD
📝 Submissions Bulletin
LAST CALL - The Midnight Vault II is now open! Step forward with your best short story, poem, or graphic piece in honor of The Twilight Zone’s 67th anniversary. It costs nothing to enter—but the rewards could echo far beyond. Learn more here!
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
Erica Drayton is seeking some volunteers who are good with Notion to assist in modernizing The TiF Library to make the thousands of submissions even easier to access. From Erica: “This would require the person to have a Notion account and be an active user so they understand how to create tables and do other, more advanced, things for better organizing and filtering. I’m looking to have a fully revamped Notion TiF Library by January 2026, so anyone who has some free time over the next 6 - 8 weeks would be ideal.” Reach out to Erica if interested!
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com