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This Week in Speculative Fiction with The Horror Tree for 10/10/2025
Stuart Conover
October 10, 2025
Word of the week: Vapulatory - Pertaining to or involving beating or whipping.
Hi readers and writers! Welcome back to The Horror Tree Newsletter. If all has gone well, then this newsletter is coming to you in a new format! I can’t wait to see it. If it hasn’t gone to plan, then we’re sorry for getting people’s hopes up, but I’m sure it won’t be long now. For me, this week has been less writing and more reading. I’m still unwell. My cough has turned into a nasty chest infection that won’t budge, so it has been a comfort to have two new books to read. What Stalks The Deep by T Kingfisher is the next novella in the Sworn Soldier series, and I highly recommend this monster horror. I’ve also managed to grab a hardback copy of The Last Witch by C.J. Cooke, and I can’t wait to dig in. What are you reading this October?
You can find me (Corinne Pollard) lurking on Bluesky @corinnepwriter.bsky.social, Instagram & Threads @Corinnepwriter, and my new website, corinnepollard.wordpress.com. Now, onto the latest articles on writing from around the web.
In this Newsletter, you'll find...
🌟 Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Updates
Hi all.
Well, folks, here we are, our first attempt at a newsletter on the new platform. I suspect there might be some bumps as we adjust to our new digital newsletter home. Fingers crossed, there won’t be many; however, fixing any issues that pop up will be one of my main goals over the next two weeks.
With a couple of our big goals out of the way, the next two are: Switching to our new website theme and working on the next edition of Trembling With Fear. I cannot promise a quick turnaround on these two; however, I’ll be trying my hardest to make this all happen!
If you post any writing content during the week and think it would be a good fit for us to feature, do reach out and let us know at [email protected]
Thank you, Patreons! As always, the site's lifeblood is in your hands, and we truly appreciate your support.
If you're interested in contributing and think you have something that would help out, PLEASE don't shy away from contacting us! ([email protected])
- Donate directly by either Ko-Fi or Patreon
- Sharing guest posts with us or reaching out to us to be a blog tour host.
- Article writers (articles, interviews, reviews, crowdsource compilations, etc.)
- Advertising and either Site or Contest sponsorships!
And now, I will return you to your regularly scheduled newsletter!
🌟 Newsletter sponsor
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.
🌟 Articles
This week, I’m sharing articles from General, Business, and Craft. Firstly, NowNovel looks at NaNoWriMo and the seven reasons why we should still take part in a similar writing challenge. For anyone struggling to write, a writing challenge could be what you need, and why not do it this November? Next in business, Author Marketing Experts explores the Amazon Algorithm and how authors can develop their presence within it. There’s some great practical advice here that makes the algorithm not so scary. Lastly, in craft, Fiction University compares writing a great scene to a recipe for cooking a meal. I love the comparisons, like the dessert is the reward at the end of the scene, and the appetisers are to whet the reader's appetite. What a creative method!
General:
Business:
Author Marketing Experts: “10 Proven Strategies to Own the Amazon Algorithm”
Craft:
Fiction University: “The Recipe for Writing a Great Scene”
From Horror Tree:
🌟 Free Fiction Roundup
This week’s free fiction is all about sci-fi. Firstly, “Earth to Echo” is a flash story about a robot called Echo who wishes to be a hermit, away from other robots. Echo hadn’t minded the humans and hadn’t welcomed the apocalypse like other robots had. It is a charming story about social pressure and personal growth. Next, “The Shadow on the Nest” is a 10,000 word story about a possible future where people develop memories of a past life or from a person who has been long deceased. For Renee Barnes, those memories are from a war criminal and she wants them gone. This is an intriguing future where world-building dives into morals, science, politics, and a society not unlike our present day. Lastly, “Wire Moth” is a short story about teenager Cassie whose mother is an AI. This is quite a dark story that explores neurodivergency, sexual consent, and the morals regarding keeping someone forever young on a computer. Enjoy reading!
“Earth to Echo” by K.C. Selby at Flash Point SF
“The Shadow on the Nest” by Alaya Dawn Johnson at Uncanny Magazine
“Wire Mother” by Isabel J. Kim at Clarkesworld Magazine
🌟 Writing Prompt
Writing Exercise: Is it Aliens?
Your protagonist is a mill worker (historical or present day, that is up to you), who walks home after a hard day’s labour and spots odd lights blinking in the far distance. They shrug it off, blaming fatigue, but the next morning, their town is in an uproar.
People have gone missing from their beds. What’s more, tiles have shattered off the victims’ house, and strange circular markings have been engraved on the roof. The police are baffled, and your protagonist keeps their head down. They don’t need any trouble.
Another day’s work at the mill and they spot more blinking lights high in the sky, but this time they hover over the protagonist’s home. They run, but it is too late. Their loved one has vanished.
What happens next is up to you…Let your imagination run wild!
🌟 Weekly Post Roundup
Taking Submissions: Summer of Sci-fi and Fantasy Volume 5 Deadline: October 15th, 2025 (Authors: Double-check website for accuracy. At the time of scheduling, it looks like the post may be a WIP) Payment: $0.005/word up to 7500 words. Minimum of $15 Theme: Science fiction and fantasy stories Note: Reprints welcome | Open Call: Very Special Episodes Window: Oct 15 - Jan 15 2026 Pay: $25, with $40 for their favorite story Theme: Stories that recapture the magic of some of the most disturbing, very special episodes kids shows of the 90’s which referenced horrific true crime |
Open Call: Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores November 2025 Window Window: Nov 1-2 Payment: 8 cents/word for original, 2 cents for reprints, Theme: Original sci-fi, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch | Taking Submissions: Dance, When They Want You to Cower Deadline: December 15th, 2025 Payment: Charity anthology - Contributors' copies for US authors Theme: Queer protagonists in any setting or genre with a story of defiance, survival, hope, and love |
Taking Submissions: NonBinary Review #43 Submission Window: Early submissions open 15 October 2025, regular submissions open 1-30 November 2025 Payment: Prose: 1¢ per word, Poetry: $10, Art: $25 Theme: Carnival Note: Reprints Welcome | Taking Submissions: Negative Space 3: The End of All Sanctuary Submission Window: January 1st - 31st, 2025 Payment: $25.00 and a contributor's copy Theme: Survival horror stories with a siege, home invasion, or isolation sub-theme |
Thanks for reading!
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