Read Me A Nightmare

This episode originally aired on Read Me A Nightmare 3 years ago! But I am sure many of you missed this magical and fun performance.Rachel Luttrell is not only an award-winning actor, but also my very best friend. Listen to the story and stay tuned afterward for a conversation about acting, life, and our friendship. NOW for the story:Wyatt is having the baddest of all bad days...And when he gets sucked into a magical world,it's about to become wildly worse. Read by Rachel LuttrellThis story is rated "PG"Wyatt & the Whog was written by Angelique Fawns and first published in the Mannison Press anthology, "Little Boy Lost". Rachel Luttrell is an actor and singer, and my lifelong best friend. She was born in Tanzania but moved to Toronto at the age of five. She's accomplished many wonderful things in her life, including performing the role of kick-ass warrior Teyla Emmagan in Stargate Atlantis. Check out her website and acting school at https://www.rachelluttrellstudio.comA few questions with Rachel Luttrell:AF: I love how engaged you were with the character, and I know you are voicing a novel for an author right now. What is it that you love about voice work?RL: I love VO because you can inhabit characters that you would never get the chance to perform on camera. I have always loved singing and playing with my voice is an extension of that. VO allows for that kind of play!AF: What kind character is your favourite to portray?RL: Hmmmm… my favorite character… That’s a tricky one. So many characters. Some intriguing with little screen time. Some on stage some on camera. There are even characters that I have only had the privilege of performing in class that I loved. But the character of Teyla was very fulfilling and fun. Teyla has certainly brought me the most love back. I am eternally grateful for that.AF: What did you think of Wyatt & the Whog? (gratuitous begging for compliments here. Lol.)RL: This story was so fun! My daughter, Ridley, just loved it. She wanted more! I love that it’s so accessible for all ages. What’s going to happen next? It reminds me of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Stumbling into a new dangerous realm as told from the perspective of a child.Thank you so much for joining Rachel and I today! If you want to learn more about her acting, cooking, and lifestyle, join her Substack here! Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to (drum roll please) episode 50 of Read Me A Nightmare! Betty might be forgetful lately, but she KNOWS her daughter-in-law would never leave her son. Can she find Angel before it’s too late?Today, we are featuring a story starring one of my most popular protagonists, Betty, a detective battling dementia. (Based on my fierce mother-in-law, Linda Fawns).“Losing Angel” continues the tale that first began in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine with my very first pro sale, “Three Calendars.” “Losing Angel” was first published in a pro-pay sale to Mantelpiece Lit in April 2024, and is based on a vacation to Florida that I went on with my mother-in-law as she navigated the progression of her disease while tackling everyday life. Our voice actor is Karen Shute, who also played the role of Betty in the “Three Calenders” episode. Karen is a professional editor, voice actor, and she and I were co-creators/hosts of the Big Brother Canada podcast. Grab your beach towel, toast a bagel, and let’s go hunting for Angel.Angelique’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive my latest open short story calls (the best paying ones I just found!) Please upgrade! Bruce McAllister talks about VOICE and his writing journeyIt’s rare I “hero-worship” another writer, but it when it comes to Bruce McAllister, I am definitely star-struck. McAllister is a Hugo and Nebula nominated science fiction and fantasy writer. My first taste of his genius was the imaginative telling of an alien assassin “Kin” on actor Levar Burton’s podcast Levar Burton Reads.Issac Asimov himself says, “Bruce McAllister is one of the greatest talents working in the science fiction field today.”He published Stealing God and Other Stories in June 2022 which showcases how strong a role voice should play in a short story. He kindly agreed to chat with me about his anthology, writing process, and career. He even drops a few priceless pieces of advice for authors. AF: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today. Tell us what inspired your latest collection of short stories?BM: Though I’ve published three novels in my career, it’s the short story that’s always held my heart—from the Golden Age of Science Fiction short stories I read when I first started reading SF (and writing SF) through the experimental New Wave of SF’s 60’s and 70’s to the present. The form just won’t let go of me; it’s a Siren that, rather than dashing me on rocks in the sea, has always made me happy, made me feel guided by a muse of some mystic kind, and always rewarded me in my life. The loyalty has been worth it.A novel (as I learned from writing DREAM BABY) can be sprawling and epic and cover a lot of time and have many character points-of-view, and is a glorious thing because of these virtues, but the short story can achieve a kind of craft perfection—or at least the possibility of it—for an author when a novel has, as one writer friend put it, and as Faulkner, for one, would agree, “too many words ever to be perfect.” This isn’t to say that the short story will ever replace the novel; it won’t and it shouldn't, because novels take us away to magical places and keep us there when short stories just can’t—at least in the same rich embracing way. The short story is an American invention, they say, so I suppose I’m very American. My writing has always been mainly short stories, so collecting them—in the case of STEALING GOD AND OTHER STORIES collecting what people feel are my best “new millennium” science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories since my first collection—was natural; and I’m grateful to John Kenny at Aeon Press in Dublin, who also published by last novel, THE VILLAGE SANG TO THE SEA (which was a novel of linked stories—you can see the theme here), for making it happen.AF: How long did it take for you to create the collection, and what was your writing process?BM: As I said, all the stories in the collection are from the new millennium. They were written as I always write: a short story idea (and main character and “voice”) inspires me to write it; and by that I mean the emotion is pretty intense. I don’t “think” my way through the fiction I write—which people tell me puts me in a Bradbury camp rather than an Asimov camp by “method” and in turn brain-and-heart wiring. I write it and send it out and still, after nearly sixty years of publishing SF and fantasy, have no idea which editor it will click with. Some of my best stories (i.e., those destined to make a splash with people) have appeared in smaller venues, I should add—which means that it’s important, as some writers can be, not to be a snob: A good story needs a home, and once it finds one, all sorts of good things can happen. I’m not saying a venue with terrible writing is the place to go; just not to think that the profile height of the publication is more important than the quality of the story. I’ve had stories in tiny venues people have barely heard of end up reprinted and reprinted again. (Are you hearing advice for new writers here? Of course. I never can resist.)The story is published (sometimes it takes twenty submissions to find a home for it; sometimes it finds one right out of the gate; but, again, predicting where and who and when is, even after over half a century of doing this, impossible) and when people start telling me it's time for a new collection, I take a look—and ask them to help me with that look—at the possible stories. In the case of this collection, since I suspect you’re wondering, I had three times as many stories as the number that appeared in it eventually; but many of those that didn’t were short, since in the new millennium I’ve had a lot of fun trying to see how much of a story can be delivered in very few words, i.e., in flash fiction. A good editor like John Kenny at Aeon is also invaluable in helping an author get distance from his own stories, see more objectively why a favorite story may just be an infatuation and not based on much more, and order them sagely and aesthetically for the book.AF: Is there a story within STEALING GOD that is your personal favorite? Why?BM: Love this question because I flinched reading it, and I flinched because it felt in that instant impossible to answer…and indeed, after more reflection, it is impossible. Let me hedge (of course): Four stories I like particularly from the collection are: (1) The title story, a horror piece, “Stealing God.” Why? Because it’s so autobiographical—autobiographical beyond what any reader could possible imagine—and because its central event, the theft imposed on me, I still carry with me, haunted by it. (2) “Blue Fire.” Why? Because I love Bonifacio. Who wouldn’t? I’m not a Catholic, and yet two of the stories in the collection seem to be “Catholic” (capital “C”). They’re not really. That’s simply a Judeo-Christian-iconographic away to reach for the mystical, which I do often in my fiction (including ”Kingdom Come,” which appeared in OMNI under Ellen Datlow’s directorship back in the day). They’re about something else entirely. (3) “Courtship of the Queen.” Why? Because I lived a childhood like this—yes, all those seashells and battle and “first love”—and because it’s a gentle, loving story when so much of what we read is darkness, though of course “the light shines brightest against the darkness” even in a story like this. (4) “My Father’s Crab.” Again, an autobiographical story and one driven by love—love of more than one kind.AF: I noticed some of the most esteemed names in genre fiction have given you endorsements. What is your secret?BM: I’m lucky to know these people, and I’ve gotten to know them over the years as the editors I’ve submitted stories to. That they’re willing to endorse is beyond the call of duty.AF: You are a man who wears many hats. Author, Editor, Mentor, Coach… How do you structure your days and find time for writing yourself?BM: I do my coaching and consulting in the morning for some hours, then writing-relating things, then actually write whenever the Androgynous Muse slaps me during the day, if that makes sense. The Muse can be harsh (but is always fair). Do I write every day? No—the doctor does not take his own advice. I hope to get back to that soon. “Writing is what we do when Life does not intrude…but we must not use the chatter of Life as excuse…..)AF: What does Bruce McAllister do for fun when he isn’t working in the creative world?BM: Another question that, if it doesn’t make me flinch, certainly makes me squirm. My passions have always been my fun, I’m afraid; and while this is true of many “artistic”-chemistry people, I have a particular bad case of it. But when I do break away from the Word, I like to walk a nearby canyon looking for fossils not et discovered (or should I say recorded) and doing art projects of one kind or another. When you’ve lived a decently long life you discover what’s true to you and what’s not, I guess. And of course I liked adventures of any kind—taken with my adventurous wife Amelie, former choreographer and medical Qi Gong teacher, my kids and their kids. And by “adventure” I don’t mean the usual tourist trip. If I don’t come back from a trip with a scientific discovery or a major, revealing, epiphanic encounter (of the good kind) with people from another world I’m not happy, so I plan and behave accordingly.AF: If you could give one piece of salient advice to writers struggling for success, what would it be?BM: Ah…. Any committed writer will make it very simple if you ask: “Write every day and read, read, read.” Why does the writer put it so succinctly, often not offering anything but these few words. Because if you do these things you will grow and actually BE a writer. If you don’t, you won’t. I’d definitely add—because I’m a coach/consultant for new writers and established ones hitting blocks of one kind or another: You must read what you wish to write and read it voraciously--eat it, breathe it, become it (re-read favorite works, coy favorite sect

What’s that dark spot on the wall?Ink was written by Akis Linardos and first published in Maul Magazine in September 2022. Sadly, Maul Magazine is defunct. Then I bought the story and reprinted it in my Cursed & Creepy anthology.Check out Cursed & CreepyIn a cove of a Greek island, Akis was born a sane infant but has since then grown to enter the chaotic world of adults--a choice he deeply regrets. His stories delve both into epic worlds and ones of extreme darkness. Find him at Apex, Dread Machine, Flame Tree, and numerous anthologies. https://linktr.ee/akislinardosPete Lead is our voice actor, and you can learn more about this incredible start-up genius here. He’s also writes compelling short stories. I bought one from him as well, called Review of Bondi Beach by Henry the Shark.https://petelead.com/Tuck yourself in and turn the lights down for this short horror story…Akis and I at World Fantasy Con..Akis Linardos is one of my short story writing friends and we’ve been tackling the markets together. Self-labeled “Author, Scientist, 33% Human,” he has a unique approach and has attempted some very cool experiments. I finally met him IRL at World Fantasy Con this October and he was just as intriguing as expected. He has managed to get many miles out of his story Ink. Let’s learn a bit more about this growing concern in the spec world.AF: What was your inspiration for InkAL: There is this game called Bendy and the Ink Machine—a horror of cartoon characters coming alive to haunt their creator. Besides that, I had a leaking ceiling in the toilet at the time of writing this in Barcelona. So Ink must have emerged from the thought: “What if it was leaking because my upstairs neighbors were doing something FUCKED?”AF: I bought this story for my Cursed & Creepy anthology, but I wasn’t your first sale. Tell us about your tales many homes.AL: This one was actually my very first “pro-pay” sale. It was bought by Maul Magazine back in 2022, and since then has also been features in Tales to Terrify podcast.AF: When did you first decide that you wanted to become a writer? Describe your journey to this point.AL: It was in 2019 that I first started writing. Before that I had dabbled with drawing, piano, and guitar, but nothing scratched that itch quite like storytelling did so I followed that much more passionately. It was a lot of self-learning with internet resources, then I found editors within the community that helped me understand the industry better (primarily Alex Woodroe, Avra Margariti, and Rebecca Treasure). What put me on the map initially was my Apex sale at 2022, then my writing momentum picked up wildly with an average of 2.3k words daily in 2023 and a wild number of submissions as well. It was a bit of a manic period following months of major depression, so I guess I turned a dark time into a powerful boost for growth!AF: Who are your influences?AL: A lot of the primary influences are actually not writers but mostly manga artists Junji Ito, Kentaro Miura, Hayao Miyazaki, Hajime Isayama, and video game designers such as Hidetaka Miyazaki. I do have some literary works to mention though, especially dystopian novels such as 1984 and Brave New World, and also the Song of Ice and Fire, and Name of the Wind. Finally, there’s the Greek mythology and ancient Greek writers that I was familiar with from a young age. I think you can see my affinity for mythology in a lot of my work, including Ink.AF: You recently released a Cosmic Horror Chapbook. Tell us about it. How did you market it? Have you made many sales?AL: Yes! Crooked Gods! I pitched it around social media and made a teaser trailer about it with royalty-free images! Not many sales at all!Check out Crooked Gods hereAF: You've found incredible success in the short story world. What are your secrets?AL:* I don’t judge my work.* I don’t rewrite after something is done never mind what personal rejection might say. Better use that time and that feedback to inform my writing of the next.* I keep submitting everything, everywhere, all the time. (and all at once but we don’t talk about that)AF Do you have any advice/tips for writers who wish to make sales to pro-speculative markets?AL: Understand the mathematics of the submission system. 100 rejections are not a reflection of your work, but a statistical inevitability. Which in turn means you have to submit like a damn monster.You don’t have to write every day, but it is definitely a good idea to set at least one period (could be 3 or 6 months) where you do write over 1000 every day. This would show you that you have the capacity to do it, it will improve your confidence as a writer.To make the former possible and to also improve your confidence, you must shut down the critical voice of your brain. Once you stop judging what you write at the moment of writing it, you will write much faster and have more fun with it. You will also be taken down unlikely paths and make surprising twists, because you did not judge your creative voice for going down a weird path with a story.AF: Finally, what is the ultimate goal/career for Akis?AL: That seems to be changing all the time, but at this point I’m content to create and be happy through the journey of being both a scientist and writer. I don’t think there is an “ultimate” goal for me because once a goal is achieved, I set another goalpost. It’s who I am. So I can’t tell you my ultimate goal is to be full-time writer, because part of me knows that even if I achieve that, I’ll still want to be engaged in more fields.In terms of something tangible, the major goal now is to finish my 2nd novel, which has been the universe I’ve been aching to write for a while. In terms of success, publication and all that, I will do the work and hope it comes out as a natural byproduct. It’s a savage industry after all. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Episode 48 of Read Me a Nightmare, I’m Angelique Fawns, your host.  Today I’m sharing a creepy tale featuring a Haunted Circus and a bloodthirsty clown.  Peggy’s Hungry Haunted Clown first appeared in It Was All A Dream 2: Another Anthology of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right, released this August by Hungry Shadow Press.  This is a gorgeous anthology with custom art for each story and I share the TOC with some phenomenal writing friends of mine, including Yelena Crane and Amanda Cecelia Lang. Check out the show notes for the link to check out the book.  My inspiration for this story was watching the transport trucks carrying rides trundle into the little town of Sunderland for the annual Maple Syrup Festival.  Kristi Stewart does a fantastic job bringing this Middle-Grade Horror story to life. She’s a professional voice actor and frequent performer for this podcast.  Prepare to meet a clown just as terrifying as Stephen King’s Pennywise as we all head to the circus.   Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

This guy tried to pick up the wrong witch…Body Count was written by myself and recently published in DreamForge’s Dark Visions magazine, its annual Halloween treat. You can read the story for free here:https://bit.ly/Body-Count-A-FawnsBody Count is read by Kelly Pidgeon, one of the best voices in the business. No one does a tough guy character like he does. Kelly is also a member of the band, Boats Against the Current. You can listen to their music here:https://boatsagainstthecurrentmusic.bandcamp.com/Jane Noel created the art piece above, and I absolutely love it.Check your shoes for dead mice, and get ready to grin like a dang Cheshire cat.Scot Noel from DreamForgeHow does an author sell to DreamForge? Firstly, I recommend joining the Dreamcasters. https://dreamforgemagazine.com/dreamcasters/This is one of my favourite writing groups and the monthly meetings have helped me hone my craft immensely. Plus I’ve made some wonderful lifelong friends. (Many of whom I met for the first time this October at World Fantasy Con! Including Jane and Scot Noel.)Here are more hints right from Scot Noel pulled from past interviews I’ve done with him:AF: When looking to buy for your magazine, what is your perfect story? SN: That’s easy, the perfect story generates a powerful emotion in me when I read it, and I either end the tale with a big smile or in tears. Tears not necessarily because it is sad, but because something powerful and resonating happened, like an affirmation that the future is not lost, humans are not doomed, and the Human Adventure is Just Beginning. Oh, and don’t: * Start in Medias Res, especially if that means lots of explosions and chaos- don’t care. * Bore me with expositions and explanations that you think are world-building. * Misuse dialog as a way to make your point or an alternative way to exposit, instead of to reveal the mental state of the speaking character. * Use unusual names, words, or ways or speaking that do not make your story more engaging, but do provide a speed bump or road block to smooth reading. * DO keep the reader with the actions of the protagonist and engage us with their challenges and emotions as they face the problems you’ve set before them. AF: Your website says, “Our tales revolve around those individuals and groups who bring meaning and value to the world, whose actions are of consequence, and whose dreams are the vanguard of things to come. Whether you call that Solarpunk, Hopepunk, or just DreamForge stories, you’ll find them here.” What is "Hopepunk"? SN: We were well into the development of DreamForge when I started looking around to see if anyone else was sharing a more hopeful vision of the future. In that search, I found author Alexandra Rowland, author of A Conspiracy of Truths and A Choir of Lies, and whose novel In the End I was reading at the time. As I learned, Alexandra first coined the term Hopepunk in 2017. In a Den of Geek article, she went on to say: “Hopepunk is a subgenre and a philosophy that says that kindness and softness doesn’t equal weakness, and that in this world of brutal cynicism and nihilism, being kind is a political act. An act of rebellion.” It was catching on, and even as we prepared our first issue of DreamForge, I could see that people were using the term in relation to hopeful fiction.  At DreamForge, we don’t think of ourselves as a Hopepunk publication, but we do believe we’ve published some Hopepunk stories, as well as Solarpunk (where humanity overcomes present day challenges to achieve sustainability). The two terms often seem to show up together, being part of a growing optimistic radicalism. AF: Any advice for writers submitting to DreamForge? SN: The one piece of advice for writers submitting anything to anywhere is to read the publication! That doesn’t mean you have to go spend a lot of money; if you cast your net wide enough and give it a try, there’s usually someone who can loan you a copy, and many of today’s stories can be found free online. I know writers wonder if they are making a nuisance of themselves or are getting a bad reputation with the editor when they submit story after story that gets rejected. The answer is no. As editor of DreamForge, I’ve sent back a lot of stories to authors who tried again and again, yet I just didn’t have a place for those stories or perhaps they just didn’t quite rise above the others I chose. But I enjoyed the stories and respected the authors. When I did get mildly peeved, it was when it was obvious that the writer knew nothing about us, and we were simply on their “making the rounds list.” I don’t mind being the 5th or 25th publication on your list; that’s practical. What I do mind is when you gave no consideration to what we publish and then get upset about it when we send it back. We’re not here for stories about seduction, revenge, and murder, or to read screenplays, children’s books, and novel manuscripts. AF: I’ve submitted a few stories to DreamForge, and you spent some time giving me helpful advice with all my rejections. Why do you offer feedback to writers? SN: Feedback is a thorny matter. I figured people might appreciate a few notes about what we thought when we sent back their story. Not always. Many hopeful writers just want to hear what a good job they did or take anything you say as an attack against their special social or political interest group.  I was looking at it like learning a martial art or a craftsman’s skill, like woodworking. You don’t show up at the doing to get praised; you come to get worked over, beat up and disciplined into becoming a stronger self. You don’t get to pull a misshapen table leg off the lathe and get paid for it before you’ve even built the table. Writing takes a lot of work and has a lot of nuance to it. Some things can be learned quickly and take a lifetime to master, like chess. Fiction writing, on the other hand, can take a lifetime to both learn and master. Yes, there are people who become famous and rich early in their careers, but there are also people who have been hit by lightning multiple times. Famously, a gentleman named Roy Sullivan was hit by bolts from the blue seven times and survived them all. That’s because, all other things being equal, statistically improbable things must happen. So, you can either type and hope for providence or put in the time to learn the craft. One is so unlikely as to be inadvisable, and the other is fun and fulfilling whether or not you are ever published (because probability also says some of the best fiction ever written has never seen the light of day). But I digress. We still do offer feedback, just more carefully these days, starting by asking if any is wanted. Speaking of podcasts…John Goodwin from Writers of the Future interviewed ME! I spill all my secrets on selling to short story markets and discuss my Horrorlite anthologies.LISTEN HEREThis was John’s favourite book.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMM44YPZ Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

A ghost story at an all-girls boarding school just in time for Halloween…The Matron of Hawthorne Hall was written by myself, and inspired by my time working at an exclusive boarding school in the countryside outside of London England.  The story is read by Kristi Stewart, a professional voice actor and frequent performer for this podcast.  The Matron of Hawthorne Hall is published in the current issue of Max Blood’s Mausoleum HERE.Max Blood’s Mausoleum: A Home for the Weird and TerrifyingMax Blood’s Mausoleum launched on March 1st with a new home for horror. The editor, Max Blood, says, “We’ve read it all before and will read it all again, so send us something that will really set us back on our heels. Terrify us. Make us squirm. Send us the best of your worst.”Max Blood’s Mausoleum is a paying market, offering $30 per piece, and has three issues out in the world. He recently published my Halloween ghost story, “The Matron of Hawthorne Hall” and I thought this was a good time to check in with his experiences so far. AF: How has the reception to Max Blood’s Mausoleum been?MB: Reception has been fantastic! I’ve had many great authors submit stories to our publication, and this has been really exciting for me. I worried when I started this that I would have a difficult time discovering enough great stories. That was a pessimistic view of the future. In reality, I had too many great ones. There are a ton of exciting, engaging authors out there whom I’d never heard of, and it excites me every time I discover another great one. The hardest part is choosing which stories to accept and which to pass on. I’ve had to pass on some pretty good ones.On the reader front, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to receive multiple emails from readers praising our stories, and I’ve passed those praises onto the respective authors. It brings me tremendous joy to get to do that.And then there is the continuing success of our authors. Several of the stories we picked up have since been picked up to be republished in other publications. And one story (we can’t reveal which at this time) has been picked up by a production company to be made into a short film! AF: Do you have any numbers as to your downloads and submission stats?MB: Well, we just published our third issue, so we’re still pretty small. That said, our numbers are not bad at all. In September, we had nearly 400 unique visitors to our site, about half of which were authors viewing our submission guidelines. So, it’s a good place for authors, for sure. That said, I’d say it’s a great place for readers. That’s 200 readers for our latest issue. Your story, “The Matron of Hawthorne Hall,” had a fantastic 32 readers get into it. And these are stories that the authors poured their blood into. They have each brought something special to our site. I certainly plan on increasing those numbers as we continue to publish such brilliant horror stories, but this is not a bad start at all.AF: What types of stories are you buying/what kind is most likely to be successful?MB: The ideal story for me is that which I wish I had written. Honestly, it’s that simple. If I read a piece and think, “Why didn’t I think of that?,” that’s a great sign. This often comes in the form of a story that pushes the limits of comfortability. Read “The Blood Horse,” by Kurt Newton, published in Issue 3, and you’ll see what I mean in action. That story even pushed my limits, made me uncomfortable. “Pavement Spatula,” by David Vonderheide, is another great example of this. It is psychologically terrifying. I wish I’d written that!That said, it doesn’t always have to push limits in these ways. I love horror that touches on other genres. Especially Science Fiction. It has to still be definitively Horror, but touching on another genre offers complexity that is often missing in mainstream Horror.AF: What did you like about The Matron of Hawthorne Hall and why did you send me a revise and resubmit?MB: There are times when a piece doesn’t touch on the above, but when it comes to actually reading the piece, I simply enjoy it. It’s difficult to qualify a reason behind it, so let’s just call it Magic. Some stories just have a bit of Magic. A bit of Charm. Your story was just such a story. I seriously enjoyed it. That said, it was initially pretty far from what we publish at Max Blood’s Mausoleum. In many cases, no matter how great a story is, this is a hard pass for me, but when that Magic is particularly strong for me, I will sometimes offer a chance for revision to bring the story at least a little closer to what we are looking for. It’s important to me that the story remains THAT AUTHOR’s story. I don’t want to get rid of what makes the story unique to them. So, I try to structure some remarks around where I think we can meet halfway. Compared to stories like “The Blood Horse” and “Pavement Spatula”, your story was a bit tame (I mean this in the nicest way) for what we publish normally, but this process worked well, and the story retained its Magic. And perhaps most importantly, you were willing to work with us, to work through drafts of your story. One thing I definitely believe in is rewarding hard work.AF: How many stories do you buy “as is” and how many do you send back for another chance at acceptance?MB: This is a tough question, and my answer is closely related to my previous answer. Most stories (let’s say eight out of ten that I am considering), I accept as-is. Those other two stories are the ones that get through on Magic and Charm. I receive hundreds of submissions every month, and I honestly try to give each story its chance. There’s just not a lot of time to go back and forth on revisions, so when I choose to do that, it’s because the story is special to me in some way.AF: You have an anthology in the works, can you tell us about that?MB: I would love to. The anthology is the first part of the Terror Songs series of anthologies I’m planning. This first volume is titled “Songs from the Void.” We ran our call for submissions for it primarily over Spring and Summer this year, and I must say, you’re in for a treat. The volume consists of Horror stories set in space. Not sci-fi with horror elements. Horror with sci-fi elements. Horror first is important to us. If you’ve read “Nightflyers” by George R. R. Martin, or watched the “Alien” movies or “Event Horizon”, you’re in the right zone. Many great stories came in, and many were selected. We have seventeen stories for you thus far and are waiting on two more we intend to accept. We have already commissioned human-made art for the end sheets and the cover, and have actually received the finalized cover artwork.But that is not all. In our current plans for this project, there will be a companion novel to the volume. We are working on something pretty special for it, though we cannot yet give specifics in that area.A lot of this is subject to changes, as nothing is finalized until we get closer to the crowdfunding campaign that will help fund the printing of these books. The campaign will run on Kickstarter in mid-2025. Anyone interested in keeping up to date can sign up for our newsletter at https://maxblood.pub.AF: What’s in the future for Max Blood’s Mausoleum?MB: We intend to continue forward as we have been, though with a slight modification coming at the start of 2025. This year, we experimented with producing quarterly issues. While that has been received well, we believe we can increase exposure for the authors by switching to a weekly format. We will be publishing one new story each week, rather than making readers wait three months between reads. This has another advantage, and this is perhaps the advantage that means the most to us. With a weekly format, we’re not limited to selecting ten stories. This enables us to accept more of the great stories we find. We believe this will be a great opportunity for writers, opening more doors to them, and exposing their terrors to more readers. That is more in line with our vision for the publication in the first place.We are currently closed for submissions as we finalize Issue 4, but will be opening back up closer to the end of the year. I’m looking at November to post a new call for submissions. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

What are those dark shadows in the trees? You may never camp again…PLUS - Building a career with short stories.This episode features a short horror story by Mark Leslie called The Shadow Men, read by himself.Would you love a print version of this tale and other creepy offerings? Mark Leslie is in the last days of a Kickstarter for his updated and illustrated anniversary collection ONE HAND SCREAMING.Don’t miss out! KICKSTARTERMark Leslie has published more than 25 books. He has a comedy horror series featuring a Canadian Werewolf, several standalone thrillers and horror novels, a set of paranormal non-fiction books, and guides that help authors navigate publishing. You can find him at markleslie.ca After the reading, Mark Leslie and I chat about the author life and how to make money with short stories. We Mention:Mark's BooksMark's PodcastThe Canadian MountedCursed & Creepy AudiobookThe Horror Lite AnthologiesFrightmares in The FallsGrab your sleeping bag, a flashlight, and let's go camping. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 44 - Treats and an Interview with Robert StahlSticky Pumpkin Guts and Unlikely Ghouls…Read Me a Nightmare presents “Treats”, written and read by Robert Stahl. Stay tuned after this short horror romp for an interview with the author where we talk about the writing process, life as a horror writer, rescue dogs, and the pros and cons of writing long.Treats was first published in Oct 2019 in Rigor Morbid: Lest Ye Become, and reprinted in Cursed & Creepy in Nov 2023.Learn more about Robert at www.robertestahl.com.Grab some stale Halloween candy, lock your doors, and enjoy this taste of Halloween in August. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Even Scarecrows love a carnival…Our episode today features Christopher Henckel and his short story "Remember the Gallscream."I bought this tale for Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies CURSED AND CREEPY.Born in the backwoods of West Virginia, Christopher Henckel is a country boy down to his molecular structure. He now lives in New Zealand with his lovely partner, Annaliese, and two equally lovely daughters, Avery and Coco. His stories can be found in Galaxy’s Edge magazines and various anthologies. When he’s not writing, Henckel works as a Senior Procurement Specialist for the NZ Government.The Gallscream is a hero or a devil. It all depends what car of the Ferris wheel you’re swinging from… Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Jingle, Jingle. Any time of year is a good time for Christmas Horror.R.J.K. Lee not only reads his own story, "Memo From the Jolly Overlords", but also sticks around for a candid interview. Are you addicted to short stories? Desperately trying to figure out how to make money writing? Yup. Hang out for the chat afterwards.Memo From the Jolly Overlords was first broadcast on the Weird Christmas Podcast in December of 2020 and then published in Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies CURSED AND CREEPY.R.J.K. Lee immigrated to Japan in 2005 from Oregon. He's puttered along train tracks to meet quotas for the overlords ever since, currently as a teacher, proof reader, and voice narrator, while churning out fiction. Ryland and I have shared a few Table of Contents, including DreamForge, Parsec's Triangulation anthology, The Seven Day Weekend, and Space & Time Magazine.Grab a bag of sugar plums. Oh. And make sure to meet your quota... Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

You never know what you might find-- or lose-- in an antique shop.Our episode today features Shannon Fox and her short story "The Garden Party."I bought this tale for Book #1 of the HorrorLite Anthologies CURSED AND CREEPY."The Garden Party" was originally published in September 2019 in the anthology Cursed Collectibles.  If you are interested in learning about a great writing conference and the pros and cons of indie versus trad publishing, you will enjoy the interview after the story.Shannon writes as both Shannon Lynn Fox and S.L. Fox. Her short stories have appeared in DreamForge Anvil, Air & Nothingness Press, and Third Flatiron among others. She also has a short story in the Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem Anthology, alongside Johnathan Maberry, Rick Wilber, and Hailey Piper. Edited by Kevin J. Anderson, it won the 2021 Colorado Book Award for Best Anthology.Shannon is the owner of Minute Marketing, a marketing company based in San Diego, CA, that helps Realtors and other housing industry professionals save time with their marketing. You can check out more about her company here.Karen Shute is our voice actor for this episode. Learn more about her here.Grab your significant other's hand, double-check your life insurance, and let's go shopping... Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

This tomato is spicy!"Minny and the Mutant Tomato" is an original story written by Angelique Fawns for the anthology Cursed and Creepy.Minny Brown wants to win the local fair and she’ll do anything to make sure her tomatoes are the biggest on Pelee Island. Including stealing her dad’s ultra-secret growth serum. The new formula works too well. A mutant tomato pops up and he's not about to fill a bottle of ketchup. Can  Minny stop the tomatopocalypse? Bill Wiesner is our reader for this episode. Bill Wiesner is a Toronto-based technical and creative professional.  He is a promotions and commercial producer/director/writer, post-production editor, and voice actor. Grab your trowel, put on some gardening gloves, and prepare to meet the next generation of killer tomatoes.  Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Not all snakes are reptiles."A Cold Slither Killing" first appeared in Heavy Metal Nightmares anthology by Phobica Books March, 2023.This story is voiced by Kristi Stewart. She is a regular performer for Read Me A Nightmare.Her career has taken her from the newsroom, as an associate producer, a promotions director in country radio as well as a public relations manager for a not for profit, and, sponsorship manager for Rogers TV Toronto… all the while keeping her fingers in the entertainment field. She found a second love, as a voice actor. Learn more about the Horror Lite Anthologies here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMM44YPZPut on your best concert gear, hide your beer in a paper bag, and let’s listen to some heavy metal. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

If you go into the woods today...Beware the Zaggamung.James Hancock is a writer/screenwriter of comedy, thriller, horror, sci-fi and twisted fairy tales.  A few of his short screenplays have been made into films, and he has been published in print magazines, online, and in anthology books. He lives in England, with his wife and two daughters.  And a bunch of pets he insisted his girls could NOT have.Zaggamung is a short atmospheric horror story written byJames Hancock and performed by Karen Shute. In our interview, James Hancock talks about the differences between screen writing and the short story world. We also hit on the importance of writing groups.Here are some links if you want to learn more:https://twitter.com/JimHank13Bring Out the WickedDark Day Collection of Drabbles Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

So you're a shark, and you are looking for the best place to hang.What if there was a Trip Advisor for sea life? On today's episode, Pete Lead, a fellow author and improv actor presents his own story, "A Review of Bondi Beach, written by Henry the Shark."   Pete Lead is a writer, narrator, and facilitator who currently calls New Zealand his home. You can learn more about him at www.petelead.com  Stay tuned after the reading for a conversation about looking at writing as a business and strategies for success. Grab your towel, some sunscreen, a sharp harpoon, and let's dive into this review. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

What is the secret behind the skull of the Peking man?Plus, how does one become the most famous sci-fi writer in Canadian history?Robert J. Sawyer is our guest today and he reads his award-winning story, "Peking Man."Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world's top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He’s also won more Aurora awards than anyone in history. He recently received the L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement award in April at the 39th Annual Writers of the Future Awards Gala. His varied career includes script writing and television series production, including ABC’s Flash Forward which aired in 2009-2010. You can find his latest print novel, The Oppenheimer Alternative, a science fiction reimagining of history, on Amazon:The-Oppenheimer-AlternativeThe interview that follows the story is full of good advice for authors at any stage of their careers and some cautionary warnings about the advent of AI. Dim your lights, grab your nail file, and let's curl up for the award-winning horror-tinged tale, "Peking Man."   Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Who is the ghost you see everyday?A gothic cautionary tale.This episode features a flash fiction piece by Amanda Cecelia Lang called "The Woman in the Churchyard".  It was first presented by Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast in June 2020.  Our retelling is brought to life by Karen Shute, one of the biggest horror experts I know, and a regular performer on this podcast.  Amanda Cecelia Lang is an author and aspiring recluse from Denver, Colorado. She writes weird novels and short fiction, tales of horror laced with whimsy, magic, and mayhem. When she isn’t plotting her next imaginary murder, she sleeps all day and plays all night—but probably isn’t a vampire since she thinks hickeys are seriously gross. You can learn more about her at https://www.amandacecelialang.com.Grab your warmest shawl and curl up for this creepy ghost story. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

How do you win Writers of the Future? Coordinating Judge Judy Lynn Nye answers a selection of questions put together by the Wulf Pack writing group. ADDED BONUS. Jody Lynn Nye also reads her story "Superstition."Superstition first appeared in Furry Fantastic an anthology featuring otherworldly animals published in October 2006.You can also find this story in her collection Cats Triumphant. Jody Lynn Nye is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction books and short stories, many of them with a humorous bent.Before breaking away from gainful employment to write full time, Jody worked as a file clerk, book-keeper at a small publishing house, freelance journalist and photographer, accounting assistant and costume maker.For four years, she was on the technical operations staff of a local Chicago television station, WFBN (WGBO), serving the last year as Technical Operations Manager. In 2016, Jody joined the judging staff of the Writers of the Future contest, the world’s largest science fiction and fantasy writing contest for new authors. She is now its Coordinating Judge.Learn more here:https://jodynye.com/Enter the writing contest here:Writers of the FutureCheck out the latest anthology here:L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39Grab your favorite black cat, and let's curl up for a dark story with Jody Lynn Nye. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

Beware! If you enter this bookstore... Plus how can you build a career and sustainable income with short stories?This episode features a short horror story by Mark Leslie called Browsers, read by Eric Bryan Moore. Mark Leslie has published more than 25 books. He has a comedy horror series featuring a Canadian Werewolf, several standalone thrillers and horror novels, a set of paranormal non-fiction books, and guides that help authors navigate publishing. You can find him at markleslie.ca After the reading, Mark Leslie talks about how he found a path to a profitable career as a writer. There is INVALUABLE advice in this chat. We Mention:Stark PublishingThe Canadian MountedDraft2DigitalFindaway Voices Public Lending RightsThe Relaxed AuthorGrab your favorite pen, collect your old short stories, and let's enter a mysterious bookstore. Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe

How do you win Writers of the Future? What are the steps to growing a successful writing career?  PLUS how do you retire from dragon slaying?David Hankins has returned from the Writers of the Future Awards Gala. His story "Death and the Taxman" was a winner and can be found in L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 .For this episode we are presenting another story of his. "The Last Quest of Corbin the Coward"  is written and performed by David Hankins and was originally published on May 31, 2022 by Factor Four Magazine.   David Hankins is an award-winning author who writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats. He devotes his time to writing, traveling, and finding new ways to pay his mortgage. You can find him at davidhankins.com Stay tuned after the episode when we chat about his experience at the gala, military life, and strategies for success. We mention:The DreamCastersWulf MoonDean Wesley SmithGrab a dragon's tooth, sharpen your pencil, and let's learn what it takes to conquer Writers of the Future.  Get full access to Writing & Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns at angeliquemfawns.substack.com/subscribe