Read Project Threshold

Hi all.
Outside of standard posting this week, I did make some time to go back and start working on our new layout again. I’m hoping to have it ready in the near future, as we’re itching to launch it!

As I mentioned last week, we’ve got a need to feed… on your drabbles! Trembling With Fear is getting a bit low, so if you’ve got some tales that clock in at 100 words, we’re interested in reading them!

Side note: Speaking of Trembling With Fear, we’ve got some big news coming from our Trembling With Fear in the near future! More on that in a week or two!

And now, I will return you to your regularly scheduled newsletter!

Read InhuMANities today!

“Dark, visceral, poetic and devastatingly honest, Robertsons writing lives at the intersection of unabashed hunger, desire, beauty and repulsion. These tales strike at the heart of the queer, gothic soul. They are beautifully painful and darkly necessary. A must read for all those who love unflinching art.”
-Suzan Palumbo Author of Countess and Skin Thief.

This week I’m sharing articles from Business and Craft. Firstly, Author Marketing Experts explore book marketing on Amazon. This is a topic they’ve looked at previously; however, in this article, they’re not simply just revisiting but also revising. What they promoted or advised in the past now they say doesn’t work for the present day. Next in Business, Jane Friedman’s blog has author Heather Sweeney look at the pros and cons of launching a self-published book without a publicist. This list can help you determine whether a publicist is possible for you and your book. In craft, Writers in the Storm has author Susan Watts (who writes under a pen name for her books) examines writing constraints. This is an interesting article about how as writers have placed our own constraints on ourselves without almost realising it. There’s a test at the end that can help us identify these self-constraints.        

Business:

Author Marketing Experts: “Book Marketing on Amazon: How to Get Your Book Seen, Clicked, and Bought”

Jane Friedman: “The Pros and Cons of Launching a Book Without a Publicist”

Craft:

Writers in the Storm: “The Hidden Constraints in Your Writing”

From Horror Tree:

🐉 DEVIL DRAGON Ebook Giveaway 🔥

🖤 Interview: Ronald Malfi

📖✨ New Year, New Imprints

🌿 Book Review: Ink Vine and Other Swamp Stories

🐲 Book Review: Kentucky Dragon

This week’s free fiction is mostly fantasy with a touch of horror from creepy doctors to heart-warming dragons. Firstly “Recurring Dreams” is a haunting story about a traumatised mother and a son who is at the end of his rope. They attend a doctor’s appointment and it triggers the mother’s trauma. This story’s plot twist was obviously coming, but it did not diminish how terrifying the situation is. Next, “Girl Stuff” is a fantastical short story about girls growing up and developing the ability to transform into anything they want. It is a reflective story about self-identity, dreams, and womanhood. Lastly, “Flying Takes Heart” is a fantasy flash story about a dragon who rests on the ground and spends years never returning to the sky until the dragon becomes part of the landscape and the species becomes a myth. It is a heart-warming story about never truly giving up. Enjoy reading! 

“Recurring Dreams” by Ely José Couto at The Stygian Lepus (Edition 31, pp. 45-54).

“Girl Stuff" by Claire Humphrey at Uncanny Magazine.

“Flying Takes Heart” by Adrienne Canino at Wyldblood Press (scroll down the page to read).

Writing Exercise: Bitter Almond

A young woman hides under her bed and reads. It is safer to read and forget her troubles. She reads Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle mostly, hooked by the multiple ways on how to murder someone. 

When her bedroom door bangs, she tries to ignore his shouts, his spiteful words, his fury as he slams against the door again and again. She prays he’ll grow bored.

Another book. This time it is non-fiction and she delights in the flowers and herbs. All poisonous.

She dreams of getting away with murder and considers how to slip cyanide into his drink. Even he wouldn’t be able to smell the bitter almond mixed in his alcohol.

What happens next is up to you…Let your imagination run wild!

Read Trembling With Fear Volume 7 Today!