Dear Reader…
Welcome back to The Weekly!
Okay, so the last issue was only a few weeks ago, and my hiatus absolutely flew by…but I missed you all! I hope March treated you well.
While I was on my break from posting here, a few brave souls leaped into the Talebones community as new subscribers…so welcome, one and all! For those who are new, the Weekly is where I keep the Talebones readership updated on what’s new, what to expect, and any other housekeeping, so that I can keep my fiction posts as clear of such details as possible. If there’s one thing I believe in about publishing online, it’s keeping everyone on the same page as much as I can!
In today’s edition of the Weekly, I’m going to give a brief reintroduction of Talebones so that everyone feels comfy, a little debrief about my hiatus, and a glimpse into what you can expect for the rest of the Spring Season here.
Let’s get started!
A Quick Reintroduction
Here on Talebones I post weekly speculative fiction of various sizes, and I already have a whole library of fiction awaiting your perusal! For tales set on Ferris Island—a strange, haunted little place in the Pacific Northwest—check out the Ferris Island Index. For stories set elsewhere, check out the Off-Island Index. And if you’re interested in becoming an Archive Member for $2.50/month, you can access ALL of the past tales, as well as a few fun resources like the Ferris Island Map and Timeline!
Here are some examples of my short fiction to get you started:
Tilford Till and the Highway Haunting - one unusual passenger turns Tilford Till’s usual drive into an unforgettable night
The Woodpile - a car thief has a nocturnal brush with fate
The Left Hand of Jim Barton - when a dog digs up a mysterious object in an old woman’s backyard, a journalist finds out a strange truth
Here at Talebones, our posting schedule is seasonal and updates every three months. This season is a little bit different, as it’s a time for rebuilding and re-strategizing ahead of our first anniversary in June. You can head over to our updated Publishing Schedule to get a feel for what the next few months will look like (I’ll also be giving an explanation later on in this post).
Normally, our serial from the previous season would go behind the Archive paywall, but this time around we’re doing things a little differently. My paranormal mystery, Freelance and Fishmaids, is receiving a “second season” starting in June, so I want as many folks as possible to find and enjoy the first twelve episodes before the story expands. F&F remains free to read, so go check it out before the new season starts!
TALESTACK NEWS is a twice-monthly bulletin of Substack fiction news where I collate as many announcements, projects, submissions opportunities, community endeavors, and generally cool things as I can gather. Check out the first issue of April here!
Elsewhere on Substack, I run a nonfiction newsletter called The Wildroot Parables where I post weekly short devotionals and longform parables linking Creation to Creator. Along with that, writing and editing is my dayjob, so you can also Work With Me if you’re looking for a freelancer to help make your projects sing!
Hiatus Debrief and What’s Next
I want to thank you all again—especially the generosity of my paid subscribers—for the emotional and financial bandwidth to be able to take time away from posting here in March. One of the funny aspects of being an “online writer” is that it can be scary to step away, because the loss of momentum can feel like a potential loss of audience interest. But instead, I’m grateful that I was able to take a little “me” time and gather up some new ideas and new creative verve...and that you’re all still here! Thank you!
On my posting hiatus, I spent quite a bit of time “logging off” on purpose, taking stretches away from technology to do things I love, like baking/cooking, working on the garden, and just doing nothing. I didn’t do as many administrative tasks as I was expecting to, but you know what? I think it was necessary to unplug. It was refreshing.
For the remainder of the Spring Season, here’s what you can expect to see from Talebones:
APRIL
My goal is to post 3-4 pieces of short fiction (between 1,000 - 3,000 words each), roughly one per week this month as a way of easing back in. You can hopefully expect the first story sometime this week!
I’ve also got a weird desire to post a limited standalone serial, something 2-3 parts long. I’m not sure where that desire is coming from, but it’s possible, so let’s see if something like that decides to show up this month!
MAY
By May, I should be regularly posting one piece of short fiction per week.
This month, preparations for the second season of Freelance and Fishmaids will be in full swing, including lots of outlining and strategizing and getting the site revamped ahead of the new season’s launch! While I don’t feel comfortable sharing my prewriting content before the story itself (it’s a me thing), there may be some fun extras that will come out of that process, so stay tuned!
Bonus: A Drabble!
A few weeks ago, I wrote this little “drabble” ( a one-hundred-word story) in response to
’s fabulous Flash Fiction Friday prompts every week over on Notes. Since I know not all of my subscribers use the Notes feature, I thought I’d go ahead and include it here, as a fun little bonus nibble.For your reading pleasure, a ditty called “The Ferryman”…
***
The Ferryman (100 words)
The radio hissed, and Linnet glanced at it. Red light bathed the ferry’s bridge in a sinister glow, the hum of the ancient engine taking on shapes it didn’t usually have in daylight. Beyond the window, all was starless, sea-spray, wind-sharp. Within, too warm. Stifling.
Late-night passages were always worse in this old boat, this antique; should have retired it years ago. Should have dismantled it for good.
Linnet knew the stories. Could almost believe them, on nights like this.
Static from the radio, again, and a faint whisper:
“Hello? Hello? Please help. It’s so dark and cold, down here.”
Thank you for reading!
I am humbled and grateful as always to have the best readership on the whole Internet, which is a fact proven by science (it’s true, don’t bother looking it up!). ;)
If you made it this far, tell us in the comments below: what’s your favorite thing about the season where you live? (Northern folks, what do you love about spring? Southern folks, how does your autumn look?)
No matter where you are in the world, I’m looking forward to telling you more and more strange and silly and macabre and mysterious tales. It’s my favorite thing to do. Stay tuned, stay open to wonder, stay curious!
Love to all, and blessings!
Your grateful storyteller,
You know what's going to happen, don't you? You'll post that 2-3 parts stand-alone serial, and we'll all be begging you to make it run a bit further....!!
With the Spring Forward time change, I love the return to walking the dog after dinner.