April Opening
Spoiled Vol. 2 Iss. 4
The name April comes from the Latin ‘aperire,’ meaning ‘opening,’ as in the buds bursting into bloom in the Northern Hemisphere. For me, April was a personal opening: of my mind to new possibilities, my guts to a violent illness, my heart to a world that would rather see it hidden, and my spirit to the muses.
In a season of rapid growth, everything can feel a bit uncertain, but it’s on the edge of comfort that we can expand and blossom in surprising ways. April reminded me that I am always a work in progress. And that’s okay.
I’ve got lots of fun things to update you on.
But First, Indulge Me!
Last month I posted a little contest to name the new scary doll logo that the very talented Shane Bzdok created for Only Child Originals.
And while there were some great entries, I had to go with Gigi, submitted by Evelyn K. Brunswick. She didn’t know it at the time, but Gigi is what my beloved grandpa used to call me, and it just seemed like a great fit for our creepy-cute mascot. Evelyn will get a six-month comped subscription to OCO as a thank you!
AND COMING IN MAY
I’m re-releasing my serial Dark as Dawn, Bright as Night with a brand-new cover and spot illustrations for each chapter created by the very talented A.C. Sanders at Ink & Poesy Publishing!
I can’t wait to rerelease the story with new human-made illustrations from an artist that actually read and enjoyed the serial. And hopefully I’ll get a few more eyes on a story that’s near and dear to my heart. I like to think of it as Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher x Rosemary & Rue by Seanan McGuire.
Anthologies
A special section this month! I am so thrilled to be a part of the Eye See You horror anthology from Erica Drayton and The TiF Team! It’s TiF’s first title and I’m honored to have my story, Solanine, included. Sentient potatoes FTW.
And just announced TODAY, my story, For a Muse of Fire, will appear in The Midnight Vault II anthology of Twilight Zone-inspired stories from Tiny Worlds. Brought to life by the incredible minds and creative talents of J. Curtis, Bryan Pirolli, and Shane Bzdok, TMV II is coming your way June 1.
I was also very excited to be a runner-up in the TMV II Editor’s Choice Awards, determined by editors extraordinaire S.E. Reid, Emil Ottoman, and Kristen Weber. Congratulations to the winner Ian Patterson and my fellow runners-up Layne Mercer, Sandolore Sykes, and Ben Wakeman.
Journey to Publication Day
Over the years (!) that I’ve been working on my circus romantasy, Cotton’s Curiosities, this space has served as a way to record my progress. First it was a word count tracker as I chipped away at that first draft. Then it was a fun visual to keep track of my progress as I worked toward becoming an agented author.
And with that mission accomplished—I’m now proud to be represented by Katie Reed—and with the amazing good fortune of finding my manuscript a home at City Owl Press, I’m going to make this a place to keep track of my journey to publication day.
I’ll start with a progress tracker of my first round of edits from my angel of an editor at City Owl, Sibyl Rose.
For now I’ll be using my former tracker generated by AI, but if you’ve been following along, you know I’m on a mission to purge all AI from my newsletter. If anyone would like to come up with a similarly circus-themed tracker for me, I would be eternally grateful!
Published in April
This month I posted an excerpt of my dark urban fantasy, On the Verge. It’s a love letter to my hometown, to the folklore and legends that have fueled my imagination since my youngest years, and to painting and art, which have always filled me with joy.
Substack Gems
I always reserve this section of my newsletter to highlight pieces from the month that resonated. In April I had the great honor of being a guest judge of the latest horror round of the Lunar Awards! You can find the official winner announcement here, but I wanted to draw attention to some of the exceptional stories that I had the privilege of reading.
The Shadow That Follows by Ian Dunmore: The winner of this round, Ian’s story is an immersive, tension-filled read with a final image that will leave you with chills.
Anniversary by Jeanona Dias: The runner-up, Jeanona’s story felt visceral and immediate and has a gut-wrenching twist that carries real impact.
Coverage by The Faraday Room: Honorable mention. Well-written reality-TV horror with characters to care about.
The Brothers Boise by Paddy Turner: Honorable mention. Reads like a fever dream you’ll wish you could wake up from.
And a couple more that have stuck with me:
The Beyond by Nick Winney: A take on the haunted house set in Brittany. Atmospheric and interesting.
Chair—A Haunting by K.Lynn Grey: Haunted, hungry furniture. Delightful.
Onion Soup and the Girl from Briar House by Gracie: An odd to-do list from a dead woman creates a story that will keep you guessing.
And that’s it for April! Hungry for more Only Child Originals? I’d love for you to join me at my witch’s table where things are sometimes dark, sometimes scary, but always served up with heart. 🖤
Garen, thank you so much for the shoutout! And this is a great list, will be checking out these titles!
Thank you for adding a story of mine! I appreciate it!