Greetings darklings,

The rain’s pouring hard today. I considered heading to the library to work on my witchy dress, but I looked out the window and promptly changed my mind. It never rains, but it pours. The fabric would have been soaked or ruined. No way. The Creative Studio is open at the library tomorrow. I will go then and hopefully, it won’t be raining so hard then. 

I have to do a few touch ups on the dress and finish the second lower hem ruffle. I just know that will add a beautiful touch to the dress. The lower hem ruffle is sewn from organza. I will take my time and do it right. The Creative Studio offers space, the tools and a positive atmosphere that allows me to be as creative as I want. I can’t ask for more. I do want the dress to be completed in time for Samhain! I want to wear it to a future booksigning event! 

I am proud to say Wicked Shadow Press has published my flash fiction stories in their anthologies, Asylumania: Paranoia and Flash of the Dead: Halloween 26. My latest flash fiction story, The Last Grave, appears in the Terrorween anthology. I love the work they put into the covers. All the covers are beautiful, eye catching and just amazing. It makes me proud to be included in the anthologies. I am presently searching for flash fiction markets that take reprints, so I can be paid for the stories.  The photo above shows one of their latest covers. 

The Cult of the Spider People will be reprinted on October 20, I know I announced on my blog that the date was originally October 5th, but there has been a change of date. It is getting closer to the release date. The release date for my other book, The Mourning Tide, is October 30th. That is the tentative date. That date is also getting closer. This is a rare opportunity for me: to have two books out in one month. 

I am so excited and I hope you are all as excited as I am! I can’t wait to see both books on Amazon! I won’t have a book contract once these are done, but I am already working on a new novel. Writers have to keep writing. It’s what we do. 

Both books mean a LOT to me. They are both very different from each other, but they are based on my life experiences, the good and the bad. The Cult of the Spider People is about monsters and an alternate dimension that only exists within the book, but the outsiders, the heartache, the dark pagan horror mythos will resonate with readers because those themes are relatable. In The Mourning Tide, again there is a theme of the heroic outsider, of grief, death, love, hope, good guys defeating the bad guys. Those are also relatable themes. Readers can root for the characters in both books. They can identify with the main characters and hopefully, enjoy reading the books. I can’t wait to see the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads which will hopefully be positive. 

The Cult of the Spider People is about monsters, transformation, love and dark pagan horror mythos. I wrote the book when I was going through a massive heartbreak. That was when I wrote it and got the inspiration for it. Something just clicked to life inside me and I grabbed my pen and a blank journal. I emptied my pain onto the blank page. I filled page after page with my pain. The result is a powerful, memorable story. 

The Mourning Tide – I wrote that when I was not heartbroken at all, but that was 15 years ago. I just suddenly had an image in my mind of a woman alone in a house with a ghost. Bam! I grabbed my keyboard and began typing. Here I am now. I walked away from it, worked on it, walked away from it. Then years later, I took it seriously and finished it. Some projects take time, some come easier than others. I had more writing experience and I felt more confident about it. That was what made the difference. 

Currently, the edits on both manuscripts are complete. The cover art and the proofs are next. The cover art used for the first edition of The Cult of the Spider People will be the same. The words Bone Chillers will be removed, because Bone Chillers is not the imprint for Twisted Dreams Press. The front cover looks less cluttered that wy, imo. I am eager to see the cover art for The Mourning Tide. I get teary eyed sometimes, because my grandparents are not alive to see the book. I dedicated it to them. I am sure they would be proud of me. As soon as I get the cover art for The Mourning Tide, I will display and promote it here and on other social media outlets. 

Both books will be released in time for Samhain! One more reason to love Samhain! 🔮 🧙‍♀️ 🌙 🕯️ ⚰️ 🐈‍⬛ ✨

I prefer to write when I am inspired to write a story. I have whipped up flash fiction stories, short stories, but I do prefer to write when inspired. The stories come to life way more for me that way. I know we can’t always wait for when the muse drops in for a visit and I don’t encourage aspring writers to do so, but the story flows more fluidly for me when I am. Inspiration is a fickle muse. Real writers do not wait for inspiration. It sure is a blessing when it happens. It makes everything far easier for me. Writers must continue to practice their craft and to improve upon it every single day, every single time. Practicing their craft and not solely relying on the muse is part of being a serious writer. Writers must improve on themselves. 

On that note, however, I love Gothic horror. Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley are icons to me, like legendary masters. They received a far superior literary education than what we get in today’s modern world. They really knew how to write. I read the horror novel Gothic by Philip Fracassi. I hate the book. He knows how to write, but the reason why I hate the book is the way he treated the character Sarah.  No woman on earth will ever just shrug it off if she is raped. Never. That is such a slap in the face to women, fictional or not. I hate the book. Also, the main character’s daughter, Violet, nearly kills herself, but we – the readers – never see how she frees herself. I felt cheated and I would not be surprised if other readers felt cheated about that too. Maybe Fracassi is a mysoginist, because of the way Sarah is portrayed. I will never cheat my readers and I portray my female characters as strong. They are the heroes, bad ass, resilient, realistic, relatable, ass-kicking heroines. I hate him. I hate his book. I should burn it in my cauldron. I just wish I could burn all the other print copies on earth. I left a very negative and honest review on Goodreads. You can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5266026725?book_show_action=false

Here it is too:

In other news, Samhain draws near! I am busy preparing for Samhain. I have to find out where to get black and orange candles. I saved herb seeds for a friend and I stored the seeds in labeled, individual envelopes and placed those envelopes in a much larger labeled envelope. Tomorrow night, I will gift it to my friend at the Meet & Greet at Celtic Corner. I included clary sage seeds, lavender, elecampane, garden sage, nasturtiums, oregano, mugwort and marshmallow. I hope Brian and Karen really like the seeds envelope. I also hope they enjoy growing those herbs, too. 

I enjoyed watching East of Eden on Netflix. Now I’m watching Below. Below scares the crap outta me. They did it right. The show is creepy AF. I watched Sleepy Hollow, the movie starring Johnny Depp. That is a proper Halloween movie. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O( 🕷️ 🕸️ 🦇 🖤 💀 ☠️ 🥀   🐈‍⬛ 🎃 👽