✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
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July may be nearly over, but there’s plenty of time left for summer reading! 📚
I don’t know about you all, but July has been quite a full month around here. Lots going on, both good and overwhelming. (Hence why this issue is several hours later than usual today…oops!)
Even so, there’s nothing quite like making time to read in the middle of a busy summer day, and the writers of fiction on Substack are here to liven up your seasonal TBR with their serial projects, published books and ebooks, and community events!
Since we’re already running late, I’ll cut my usual preamble short—let’s get to the good stuff!
Happy reading, happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
The first season of Marie Howalt | SFF Writer’s fantasy serial, Dreamwalker’s Diligence, has just wrapped up. Blurb: “Dreamwalker’s Diligence is a bite-sized fantasy serial about a magical antiques shopkeeper with a penchant for mysteries. Come for the arcane artifacts. Stay for the cozy vibes and a touch of the uncanny.” Jump into the first season, called The Butcher’s Ring, here!
Daniel Sherrier has just wrapped up the final chapter of Terrific, an action-packed serial featuring a cast of memorable superhumans, and the entire current volume is free to read until the publication of the final book next month. From Daniel: “The current volume begins here, and the final storyline begins here, for anyone looking for prose fiction featuring flawed but aspirational superheroes. Thank you to everyone who was reading along, and thank you to anyone who takes a look now.”
New Projects:
Vince Wetzel has released the next installment of his latest project, The Piano Man Chronicles. From Vince: “Parts 1 and 2 are available and the conclusion is releasing July 31. The Piano Man Chronicles is a two-year anthology project where a new story surrounding the fictional novel ‘Piano Man’ is released.”
Also, in preparation for the release of Vince’s next novel, Landslide, next spring, his fictional protagonist Alex Shelby occasionally invades Vince’s Substack to share a snarky column. Two were released in July: The Burn Ward of Freedom and Leave the hate to the professionals.
John Ward has relaunched his fiction newsletter Written Ward with his first-ever serial, What Remains, a blend of supernatural suspense, Appalachian gothic, and quiet horror. From John: “The first installment, Do Not Clean Glass, takes readers beneath an inherited antiques shop in West Virginia, where two cousins face a cellar full of dangerous objects governed by rules they don’t fully understand. It begins with one careless touch, one broken rule, and a warning that says what not to do but not what happens next.”
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
Ben Woestenburg’s historical Arthurian fantasy epic, The Shield of Locksley—originally published as a long-running serial on Substack—is now available for purchase as an ebook through Amazon! Release Date: 7/10/26
Katharine Kapodistria’s debut novel, Underworld, a powerful reimagining of the story of the Greek goddess Persefóni, is now available for purchase in ebook and paperback through Amazon and Bookshop.org (ebook is also available on these platforms)! You can learn more about Katharine’s self-publishing journey in this post. Release Date: 7/20/26
Ian Barr’s high-octane novel CARNAGE! is now available for pre-order as an ebook through various retailers. Ian is also on the lookout for ARC readers—check out this post for more details. Release Date: 8/8/26
A new anthology of prose and poetry, By Morning, the Sea Had Taken It, is now available for preorder through Lemon Jelly Press CIC. Every piece in the collection features the same haunting final line: “By morning, the sea had taken it.” (Thanks to Laurie MacIntosh for sending me this news, and who was also chosen to be included in the anthology!) Release Date: 8/15/26
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
Have you ever wanted to learn the craft of horror storytelling, or tighten up your own spooky storycraft? In June, Leigh Parrish launched a new series called Horror Short Stories, Step By Step. From Leigh: “As the name suggests, it’s a tutorial on how to write horror short stories, using a sample story to illustrate the steps.” Part One and Part Two are already out, with the next part coming early August.
Mark your calendars! Lemon Jelly Press CIC is hosting an online launch event for their newest anthology of poetry and prose, By Morning, the Sea Had Taken It, on Saturday the 15th of August, 6:00–7:00pm (BST). The event is free, but the Press requests that you sign up at the Eventbrite page if you mean to attend.
Gregory Blair would like to cordially invite you all to a collaborative murder mystery event this August—MURDER IN THE MANSION: A Prompt Event to Kill For. From Gregory: “Billionaire Thelonius Radford Davenport has been murdered in his mansion. The details are being kept hush-hush…and the motive is unclear. Was it for money? A crime of passion? Had he learned a dangerous secret? No-nonsense Inspector Prodwell is on the case. And YOU are—or, rather, your character is—one of the suspects!”
Participants will decide the details of their character and write the scene where Inspector Prodwell questions them in 1,000 words or less. It will include where the scene takes place, relevant backstory, your character’s relationship to the victim (which could be tied to your backstory or not), a likely (inventive) murder weapon to which you have access, and a motive (which you’ll deny, let slip, try to downplay, or whatever you choose).
The game begins August 1st and all entries must be posted by August 31st.
A post with links to all the entries will be created, and there will be a vote for people to pick who they think the murderer is (or should be).
Stay tuned for more details; if you have any questions, you can DM Gregory Blair at @gregoryblairentertains.
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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