This Week in Speculative Fiction with The Horror Tree for 11/14/2025

In this Newsletter, you'll find...

• 🌟 Intro

• 🌟 Newsletter sponsor

• 🌟 Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Updates

• 🌟 Newsletter sponsor

• 🌟 Articles

• 🌟 Free Fiction Roundup

• 🌟 Writing Prompt

• 🌟 Newsletter sponsor

• 🌟 Weekly Post Roundup

🌟 Newsletter sponsor

Read Project Threshold

🌟 Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Updates

Hi all.
Well, as mentioned last week, my mother-in-law had passed away. Nearing the end of the week, I’m back and playing catch-up everywhere. I will say that Lauren has started looking at the next physical edition of Trembling With Fear, and we’ve begun the hunt for a cover, so there is some progress there!

I did have some good news on the personal writing front as well. My latest horror western has been included in ‘Twisted Trails’ and continues in the world that I’ve been building, which is pretty neat.

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. 

Looking To Help Horror Tree?
Here are the main things we're looking for:
- Advertising and either Site or Contest sponsorships! 
- Article writers (articles, interviews, reviews, crowdsource compilations, etc.) 
- Sharing guest posts with us or reaching out for us to be a blog tour host. 
- The obvious one here is also to become one of our Patreons!

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, Writers Helping Writers advises on what makes writing good enough for publication by redirecting the writer’s attention to a different focus. What writers should consider instead is the effect on the reader, does the message of their writing get through to the reader by the end of the story? I felt that the metaphor of a telephone message is a great visual to get this message across. In business, Writer Unboxed has author Randy Susan Meyers share practical advice to networking towards book clubs. From championing other authors to swag at events, there’s plenty to consider when gathering publicity and interest to attend a book club. Lastly in craft, Metastellar explores the beginning of how to worldbuild with the advice to look at your own physical world. The technique of worldbuilding is very complicated and this article is the first of many to come with clear concise advice.

General:

Writers Helping Writers: “Is Your Writing “Good Enough” to Publish?”

Business:

Writer Unboxed: “How Do Book Clubs Find You?”

Craft:

Metastellar: “How to Worldbuild (Your Physical World)”

From Horror Tree:

Winter Is Coming: 10 Eerie Tales to Read by the Fire

Should You Submit To Non-Paying or Semi-Pro Markets?

Cradle of Horror: New YouTube Audio Horror Channel

🌟 Free Fiction Roundup

This week’s free fiction is a mixture of horror and sci-fi from a haunted house to a haunted orbital station. Firstly “Belly Full of Eyes” is a horror story told from the point of view of something that is part of a collective living in an empty house, but everything changes when humans invade their home. The language is interesting with beautiful dark imagery and at times abnormal as if the being doesn’t have a full grasp on their language. Next, “We Don’t Like That Term” is a sci-fi flash story with a dark twist of an ending. The story throughout is dialogue about Brenda Jones who calls a company help desk from where she purchased her Replicant robot. It is a compelling read that looks at physical abuse towards machines. Lastly, “The Ghost of Cerrera Orbital Station Makes Herself Known” is a sci-fi/horror flash story under 500 words about a ghost who keeps an orbital station running, no matter what. With the clever use of direct address, this flash story sucks you in and sends shivers down your spine. Enjoy reading! 

“Belly Full of Eyes” by K.S. Walker at Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine.

“We don’t like to use that term” by James A. Miller at Factor Four Magazine.

“The Ghost of Cerrera Orbital Station Makes Herself Known” by Laila Amado at Psychopomp’s The Deadlands

🌟 Writing Prompt

Writing Exercise: Memory Loss

Your protagonist wakes up in a hotel room with no memory of how they got there or how they got handcuffed to a severed arm. They look for the key to no avail and then try to wiggle their hand from the handcuff. While they struggle, there comes a knock at the front door. It is housekeeping.

They call out with no need for housekeeping, but this is the wrong call. Suddenly there comes loud bangs as someone tries to barge in and knock the door down.

Time running out, the protagonist must decide whether to run, hide the arm inside their dressing gown, or give up to whoever is violently after them.

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

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🌟 Weekly Post Roundup