✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
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Summer has arrived at Talestack HQ! 🌻
And just like that…..it’s June!
We are halfway through 2026 (how? don’t ask me), and whether this is midsummer or midwinter where you live, I always tend to think June is the perfect time to sit back and take stock, a natural halfway point in the annual hike.
Here in the maritime Northwest, we jokingly call this month “June-uary” because the weather tends to be, uh…changeable. More often than not, a little less than summery. But like January, June is also a logical moment in the year to take a look around and ask yourself some honest questions about your creative life and the path you’re taking to get where you want to go.
Here are a few example questions I like to consider:
What creative goals did I set at the start of this year, and are they still relevant at this point months later?
What tools, routines, or attitudes are no longer serving me? What can I jettison, what can I adjust, and what would I like to add to my arsenal?
How can I adapt or change course to make sure I’m still on the path I want to be on?
What crazy creative experiments would I try if the goal was just to have fun and learn more about myself and my process?
By the end of 2026, how do I want to feel about myself and my work?
Questions like this can help you to remember what it is that you want in a world preoccupied with comparison and hustle. But don’t forget: in all of this honest interrogation of yourself and your creative path, it’s vital to stop and celebrate your achievements, too. Even if they seem small…they aren’t small at all. Every step you’ve reached is a step forward. They all count toward the journey.
This summer, my hope for you—for all of us—is that we can press on toward becoming the writers, artists, creatives, and humans we want to be for the good of ourselves, our families and friendships, and our communities, too.
It’s work, but it’s worthwhile. ❤
Happy reading, happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
Kummer Wolfe is wrapping up a seven-part fantasy/adventure serial called Where the Blood Calls. Synopsis: “On the maiden flight of the Aetheric Dirigible, HMS Dawn Javelin, the crew responds to a cry for help from a Scottish fishing village. Little did they know it wasn’t a simple mission of mercy. As the Javelin’s captain and landing party are trapped in the village below, Dr. Rebekah Verity Thorne faces a dire challenge in the sky. A tragedy from her past rises from the clouds to threaten ship and crew, testing loyalties, honor, and ingenuity. In the end, it wasn’t a rescue—but a reckoning.” This story is part of Leanne Shawler's Upon Our Seas, In Our Skies writer collaboration. Jump into Chapter One here!
E. H. Lau’s webcomic, Audrey, The Unicorn Girl, just finished its run on Substack. Blurb: “Audrey, The Unicorn Girl is a slice-of-life comic featuring a perfectly normal girl... except that she has a unicorn horn on her head! Join Audrey as she tackles preteen life as a unicorn girl!” Jump into Chapter One here!
New Projects:
Leah Chowdhury—brand new to Substack!—has just started serializing a folkloric horror called Kaal: The Meridian Dark. Excerpt: “The night Alene Hartsfield sold out the O2 for the third consecutive time, something old woke up beneath the Thames. She didn’t know that yet. She was too busy bleeding.”
Garen Glazier has just launched her new dark fantasy Pacific Northwest serial, Dark As Dawn | Bright As Night. Blurb: “Death is only the beginning for Mae as she faces an ancient goddess of light and a self-made demon of the dark in a battle to save her father and her soul.” Jump into Episode One here!
K.C. Knouse has just launched a four-part short story about “abandonment, obsession, perfection, and self-discovery.” Jump into Part One of Searching for Donna Reed.
Keep an eye on some upcoming summer projects:
Ian Barr will be launching Seventh Daughter on June 6th, “an epic adventure that combines traditional and modern fantasy styles, offering an ensemble cast that includes reimagined figures from Arthurian lore, beloved fairy tales, Shakespearean plays, and countless other classics, all in an original world with fresh twists of madness and mischief from the mind of yours truly. And the journey begins…”
Bridget Riley is about to embark on the next installment in her Judith Temple series of supernatural mystery tales on June 13th! Blurb for Ripples In The Cove: “When hyper-logical psychic detective Judith Temple agrees to visit her boyfriend’s family at their lake house, she plans out exactly how to relax and try to enjoy her mini-vacation. But when Judith and Tim arrive, they find that the quiet lake town has been upended by a young girl’s mysterious disappearance. As Judith begins to experience visions of the missing girl, she must find a way to save her before it’s too late.”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
S.E. Reid’s latest collection of Pacific Northwest folk horror/cozy horror short stories, Bonewhistle, is available for purchase as an ebook on Amazon. (Also, all of her ebooks set in the same location are on discounted sale until June 5th!) Release Date: 5/25/26
L. J. Long’s urban fantasy detective novel, This Strange Sight, is now available for purchase in various print formats as well as audiobook. You can also read the Prologue for free here on Substack! Release Date: 6/1/26
The second volume in The Midnight Vault anthology series, inspired by the uncanny flavor of The Twilight Zone, is now available! This new collection contains stories from dozens of Substack fiction authors all across the speculative spectrum. Available to purchase from Tiny Worlds Publishing. You can also read more about the book in the Release Day announcement post. Release Date: 6/1/26
Ian Gouge’s new novel about interconnected lives in a small town, The Extra Shot, is available for preorder through Coverstory Books. Release Date: 7/1/26
J.J. Walker’s oceanic horror novella, Jellyfish Bloom, is now available for preorder as an ebook through Amazon. ARC and review copies are also available on NetGalley and BookSirens. Release Date: 7/24/26
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
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Thank you so much for including me, Sally!
Thanks so much for mentioning Jellyfish Bloom! Really appreciate it.