Claire Vaye Watkins – Yellow Pine

Claire Vaye Watkins

Yellow Pine

Released July 21st, 2026 by Riverhead Books

In The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot asserts, “In the mountains, there you feel free.” The line evokes wonder and, obviously, a sense of freedom, in strong contrast to the rest of the poem, which explores what Eliot felt was the sterility and spiritual emptiness of existence in his modern era. Yellow Pine, the third novel by Claire Vaye Watkins, relocates this contrasting terrain to the desert, specifically the Mojave Desert, where both of her previous novels were set. In this one, Watkins tackles what it means to live in the Mojave in the modern world, as that spiritual emptiness creeps in inexorably. She also weaves a will-she-won’t-she narrative about a woman deciding whether or not to have another baby, on her own terms. Both themes have come up often in her previous two novels, but in Yellow Pine, she paints her characters in rosier hues, crafting people who know each other’s hearts are in the right place, even when things go wrong.

Caitlin Mullen – Heather

Caitlin Mullen

Heather

Released June 9th, 2026 on Celadon Books

Per Spectrum Culture:

Were Heather to be Caitlin Mullen’s debut, there would be more forgiveness available for some of the clunkier spots. Having arrived six long years after the much better Please See Us, though, Mullen’s second novel fails to capitalize on the strengths of her debut. Her obvious skill with language is still in place, but her protagonist has a jarring gap between the skills she’s supposed to have and those she displays. It’s the sort of book that you’ll finish, but also one that won’t stick with you long afterward.

We Make The Village: The Kickstarter

Out now live and loud is the Kickstarter for We Make The Village, a new collection of short fiction by Canadian authors surrounding the theme of community, and what it means.

Put together by West Coast author Asha Jade Goodwin, this collection features a wide array of thoughts on what it means to be in and out of community with others. As per the Kickstarter page:

From rejection to acceptance, support to sacrifice; in this anthology, you’ll find a mix of it all, fiction and non-fiction, stories and poems. What does community mean? Who is a part of our community? How do we cultivate community in our own lives? What if we are rejected from our community?

We Make The Village will feature 40 stories from 30 Canadian authors and at least five original illustrations from a Prince George artist.

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More to the point, We Make The Village will feature “Rooming Situation,” a new short story from me that was written during a period where I was in some despair about the state of the housing market and the future of how we live together. That period has not ended, of course, and it’s worth taking some time to think through the consequences of a world where you aren’t likely to be able to buy a house if you didn’t own one by 2021 at the latest. Multiple roommate living situations become a sort of forced found family situation, and while that can be difficult to deal with, there’s also a certain magic in the relationships that get formed.

Until one of them snaps, of course.

There are a lot of great reward tiers available for We Make The Village and it’s worth the time to go through them. In addition to getting the hardcover edition, you can also get collection boxes with stickers, bookmarks, and postcards, as well as multiple copies of the book that you can give as gifts. The authors are from all over Canada, so if you’re looking to keep your elbows up, you might as well go all the way, eh?

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Lost Ghosts – Get a Top Seller Now!

Lost Ghosts is #54 in Genre Anthologies on Amazon today! If you haven’t gotten ahold of this dark anthology of decay and despair, get your Kindle copy today!

Christmas is for Ghost Stories: Get Your FREE Yuletide Horror Reads

Get free books, discounts, and more! Christmas is for ghost stories, and we’ve got horror bursting out of the stocking for you.

New Short Horror Fiction: “Come In And Get Lost”

Fresh from Livina Press comes Midnight Ink 2025, a new collection of eerie, spooky tales sure to get your holiday-season horror vibes going. This latest installment in the long-running anthology series features original short fiction from some of today’s most exciting voices in dark literature: otherworldly hauntings, creeping dread, and psychological unease all wrapped into one perfectly bite-sized volume.

My contribution to the collection, “Come In And Get Lost”, examines the ghosts of a Toronto that has gone by. When a mysterious new shopping center appears across the street from an anarchist coffee shop, people go in to check it out…and never come back out. When it’s Clara’s turn to track down her coworkers, she discovers that the concept of ‘taking payment’ can encompass many different forms. It’s a compact, atmospheric tale written to scratch the itch for readers who love slow-burn suspense, unexpected twists, and horror with emotional weight.

If you’re looking for new horror stories, a fresh anthology to add to your reading list, or a chilling companion for long winter nights, Midnight Ink 2025 is an ideal pick. The collection is available now in both digital and print formats through Livina Press, and it’s a great way to support small-press publishing while discovering new authors in the genre.

Check it out today, and let the shadows follow you home.

Under Cover of the Night: A New Slice of 80s Horror Fiction

A Nostalgic Return to 80s Horror Fiction

There’s something magnetic about 80s horror fiction. The neon glow, the pop culture touchstones, and the everyday settings turned sinister make it endlessly re-readable. With my new novelette, Under Cover of the Night, I wanted to bring readers back to that world: a place where teenage rebellion meets supernatural terror under the fluorescent buzz of the mall.

Lost Ghosts: A New Collection of Haunting Short Fiction

February Dark Reads

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s also the darkest. Behind the hearts, roses, and chocolates lies a chilling history of mystery, death, and the supernatural. As the days stretch longer, the shadows grow deeper, and the veil between worlds feels thinner than ever. Are you ready to uncover the spine-tingling secrets of this cursed month? Good, because we have a pile of dark reads for the bleak midwinter just for you, for $1 or less!

FREE STORY SUNDAYS: THE EDEN STREAM

For today’s free story, we venture into the schema of the end! In conjunction with the two promos being run about the apocalypse, beginning today, we’re bringing you a little extension, a little DLC as it were, of one of the books being run this month, Disappearance.

Photo by Joe Halinar on Unsplash