This month, my newsletter grew by nearly 100 subscribers, and I’m very happy to have you all here. Hopefully you’re also checking out the blog posts I write and you’re seeing this – but I also link posts to my Newsletter so you don’t miss the good bits.
CONTENTS
Live Events
I had events this month, one virtual, one in person, and ticked off some more author goals for 2026. It’s been a good month for that.
Right at the start of the month, I did a live author reading for SWSW – reading a section from The Crows. That was a lovely experience. It was a speed date with a book event, where 6 of us read for 5-8min each, with time at the end for discussion.
I got my ticket for Saturday of BristolCon and attended as a guest. I wanted to just be very lowkey and bob about for my first one and see what it was like. I had a great time! I loved how friendly and inclusive it was. The workshops and panels got things going in my mind, and I made quite a few notes. It was also great to meet Thomas Wrightson in person, and listen to Trip Galey’s interview!
New Writing in October
This month, I completed The Exorcism of Brackenridge Grange, a hyperfixation project. It’s a little book of trauma, set in a magical AU 1920s, five years after a 10-year war that has devastated the country. Major Charles Excalibur Thorne is a demisexual bachelor around 60, hopelessly in love with ex-frontline nurse, 30-year-old twice-widowed Amelia Aldridge. When they are both invited to an exorcism at Brackenridge Grange, they are thrown together for a weekend of danger, dark secrets… and romance? Novella: 32.2K words.
I immediately started writing The Abbot’s Treasure, a sequel in which Amelia finds herself haunted by a young treasure hunter she meets on a ferry, and has his curse passed unfairly onto her. While others have hunted the cursed treasure of a medieval Abbot for the riches and spells it contains, Amelia and Thorne attempt to find it themselves before time runs out and Amelia’s curse becomes terminal. Novella: ~15K words so far.
Submitted Work
I beat the clock and submitted a heavily revised version of my 37K word novella, The Butterfly Bride, to x2 open calls for fantasy novellas, to tick off one of my scary author goals. I now await the rejections! This wasn’t ever about acceptance, it was about actually submitting things.
The Exorcism of Brackenridge Grange – 32.2K Novella. I completed this at the end of September, when it was a 23.1K novella, and worked on it through October. I’m leaning to this being a novella s/eries, and I do love the characters, so I’m already thinking about the sequel. I’ve also submitted this to two open calls.
The first draft, which is me telling myself the story and getting to know the characters, as well as sketching out the plot without paying attention to structure, foreshadowing, or beats, was a Ko-Fi Members exclusive reward. It was much shorter, but if you’re interested in the way I construct a first draft, and you’ve got an Eldritch Seekers or an Eldritch Family membership, you can have a peek.
Articles Written (Non-Reading Challenge)
BOOKS/AUTHORS
- Author Spotlight: Gothic Historical Fiction author L.C. Winter
- Author Spotlight: Victorian Gothic Comic Artist, Goulwen R
- Indie Press Spotlight: Snakeskin Press and PROMETHEUS: A QUEER FUTURISTIC HORROR ANTHOLOGY
FILMS
- Werewolf Women at the Movies: Part 4
- Werewolf Women at the Movies: Part 5
- Modern Welsh Gothic Horror On Screen: Starter Pack
- #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2026 – Films 71-80
- #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2026 – Films 81-90
- #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2026 – Films 91-100
- #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days 2026 – The Complete List
A Scare A Day: Daily Reading Challenge Posts
- October 1st – Joanna Baillie – Night Tales of Other Times – 1790 – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 2nd – Nikolai Karamzin – The Island of Bornholm – 1794 – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 3rd – Anne Bannerman – The Black Knight of the Water – 1802 – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 4th – William Harrison Ainsworth – The Spectre Bride – 1821 – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 5th – Charles Pigault-Lebrun – ‘The Unholy Compact Abjured’ – 1825 – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 6th – Mary Elizabeth Braddon – ‘The Cold Embrace’ (1860) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 7th – Amelia Edwards – ‘In the Confessional’ (1871) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 8th – Elizabeth Stuart Phelps – ‘Since I Died’ (1873) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 9th – Mary Elizabeth Coleridge – ‘The Witch’ (1893) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 10th – Arthur Machen – ‘The Novel of the White Powder’ (1895) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 11th – Gertrude Atherton – ‘The Striding Place’ (1896) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 12th – Elia Peattie – ‘From the Loom of the Dead’ (1898) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 13th – Mrs Wilson Woodrow – ‘Secret Chambers’ (1909) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 14th – W W Jacobs – The Well (1911) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 15th – Violet Hunt – ‘The Prayer’ (1911) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 16th – Rabindranath Tagore – ‘The Lost Jewels’ or Monihara (1917) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 17th – Ellen Glasgow – ‘The Past’ (1920) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 18th – Mikhail Bulgakov – ‘The Red Crown’ (1922) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 19th – John Masefield – ‘The Haunted’ (1923) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 20th – Elsa Morante – The Secret Game (1941) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 21st – Dorothy Quick – ‘After an Air Raid’ (1943) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 22nd – Mayra Montero – ‘Corinne, Amiable Girl’ (1991) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 23rd – Ahmed Khaled Tawfik – ‘The Wall’ – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 24th – Mariana Enríquez – ‘The Little Angel’s Exhumation’ (2014) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 25th – A. C. Wise – ‘The Stories We Tell About Ghosts’ (2017) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 26th – Brandon O’Brien – ‘The Lagahoo Speaks For Itself’ (2017) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 27th – Darcie Little Badger – ‘Those Hitch-hiking Kids’ (2023) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 28th – Tyler Sookralli – ‘The Devil Wears Skin’ (2024) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 29th – Eleanna Castroianni – ‘They Return’ (2025) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 30th – Ash Vale – ‘consumed’ (2026) – Read it here, my post is here.
- October 31st – Quincy Lee – ‘The Dark Follows Me’ (2026) – Read it here, my post is here.
Previous Writing Round-Ups
September 2026 Writing Round-Up
My writing round-up for Sept 2026 – I wrote a whole novella this month! Check out my articles as well.
August 2026 Writing Round-Up
Writing Round-up for August with a little bit of What I Did On My Holidays…
June 2026 Writing Round-Up
A round-up of my writing this month – with sales updates (grab my books at discount prices!), PUBLISHING NEWS (exciting announcement!), and more!
Mid-Year Writing Round-Up: Progress and Projects
I can’t believe 2026 is half over?? Here’s my writing progress for the first 6 months of the year.
May 2026 Writing Round-Up
May Writing Round-up! I haven’t done a lot of this, but that’s ok. Here’s what I’ve been working on.
April 2026 Writing Round-Up
A round-up of all my words in April 2026! This includes new distribution channels, publishing stats/news, and what I’m writing.
March 2026 Writing Round-Up
A round-up of all my words for March, plus what’s new, book awards, and other updates!
February Writing Round-Up
Read on for the stats, the updates, and the forthcoming news! I’ve got a few books in Itch bundles coming up, there’s the Smashwords eBook sale 01-07Mar to look out for, and I’ve set out a round-up of all my writing this month.
January 2026: Writing Round-Up
Read on for a round-up of my writing this month, the WIPs I’ve been working on, and my published works!
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