Shades of Horror & Sci-Fi: Welcome to my Substack!
I’m excited to join the Substack community and share my thoughts and expertise on writing; indie publishing; short stories; and all things horror/sci-fi/fantasy/weird western.
If this is our first introduction, welcome!
1. A little about me
I’ve written fantastical stories ever since I was a kid. Today, I've had dozens of stories appearing internationally in podcasts, anthologies and magazines, including: Spaceways Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark Matter Magazine, the British SF Association’s Fission Magazine, Tales to Terrify, the Lovecraft eZine; Musings of the Muse; Dancing in the Shadows—A Tribute to Anne Rice; Field Notes from a Nightmare; The One That Got Away; Six Guns Straight From Hell; Shadowy Natures; Beyond the Infinite-Tales from the Outer Reaches; the Stoker-nominated Chromophobia; the Stoker-nominated Fright Mare: Women Write Horror, and many others.
I was thrilled to have a lifelong dream come true recently: in February, my debut book released from Brigids Gate Press. This weird western novel, Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger, has been described as a blend of Bonnie & Clyde meet The Witcher and Supernatural. Readers and reviewers call the book “a fun, fast-paced, monster-filled joy ride,” “genre-blending,” “a story that is fascinating and irresistible,” and a “massive crowd-pleaser.”
The “Weird West” subgenre is one of my current passions, so you’ll hear more about this rapidly-growing area in future communications. In the meantime, you can peruse my website, Weird West Fiction, for recommendations.
In addition to writing, I love connecting with the reading and writing community. I co-founded the San Diego chapter of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) in 2016; teach a short story workshop at conferences; and have made numerous appearances on panels, shows, podcasts and magazines.
2. Writing and reading resources
I love sharing writing tips, horror markets, memes and other news. Posts will be once a month, with notes occurring more frequently. To start, here’s a sampling of resources for writers and readers:
3. Free short story!
Every post will have a link to one of my free short stories. Today it’s a quiet zombie apocalypse tale about generational trauma: “Just Another Apocalypse” on Rooster Republic Press.
Until next time, happy reading!
-KC