SPARREW ISSUE FORTY-FOUR
Welcome to the SPARREW Newsletter!
The newsletter for Self-Publishers, Authors, Readers, Reviewers, Editors and Writers!
Welcome to the September 2025 issue of the SPARREW Newsletter! So glad to have you on board!
You know the expression, never say never? The same idea can apply to writing. “I’ll never write like that” can turn into the writer writing like that. “I’ll never get published” will turn into the writer (finally) getting published – as long as they keep trying!
And the writer who vows “I will never write for them again” has the writer writing for them again (whoever “them” might be) because, you know, life has a way of teaching people some hard lessons, people change and, well, publications can change too.
The point is that as we navigate this journey as writers, there will be many ups and downs, twists and turns, and changes we may have never seen coming. My advice? Just go with it! Embrace these changes and these new paths in writing. You never know where they may lead, and when that part of your writing journey comes to an end (which it will, one day), at least you can say you’ve “been there, done that” and have that experience to look back on, as well as learn from.
We’ve got a great issue for you this month!
I love connecting with other authors. That’s exactly what happened when I was asked to contribute to an anthology. I was added to the group chat and I added everyone involved with it to my network. I recently learned that one of them, Claire Davon, is a hybrid author! Claire has enjoyed success both as an author published by a traditional publisher as well as a self-published author! Claire was kind enough to set aside time to be interviewed for this newsletter. Read all about her experiences below!
As I mentioned in the editorial, I pushed the issue of this newsletter out to the very last day of the month particularly for our featured author! And get this: Not only is this the author’s second book, but this particular author is six years old! Yes, you read that right! Boe Healy is the son of the author Chisto Healy, and Chisto has helped Boe to launch his career as an author! Check out my interview with Boe in the author section of this newsletter!
Also in this issue is my interview with the writer, A.M. Lowecey. She is most known for her novels but she writes short fiction, too! Check out my interview with her in the writing section to get some great advice from this veteran writer.
Jerry Blaze returns to the SPARREW Newsletter with a new article! Jerry touches on the controversial issue of drama in the horror community, and he gives some good advice on how to handle it!
And, once again, the lovely Carolyn Howard-Johnson returns with the latest installment for her “Tricky Edits” column. Our regular Tricky Edits columnist has tried a bit of satire in her July column where she names the word “entitled” as the word most likely to make editors, agents, librarians and other influencers in the publishing world groan! Find out why in her column in the editing section below!
I hope you enjoy this issue! Feel free to drop me a note or connect with me on social media! I'd love to connect with you!
Enjoy this issue!
****************************************************
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!
The SPARREW Newsletter is now a paying publication!
If you have an article you think might fight our needs, please send it our way!
We are interested in articles on the following topics:
Self-Publishing
Authors (interviews, articles promoting new releases, book marketing and promotion, website building and pointers, etc.)
Anything to do with books (analysis, reviews, breakdowns, etc.)
Book Reviewing
Editing and Editors
Writing
Each article should be no more than 2000 words. Must include a headshot and bio with your submission. Payment is $10 through PayPal, on publication. Reprints welcome and you retain all rights to your work. You grant SPARREW Books the right to reprint your article in a future ebook edition as well as the right to promote your article online.
Submit your work to Dawn at DMCWriter@gmail.com with "SPARREW Submission" in the subject line. Please submit your article as a .doc or .docx file. No PDFs. Any articles not relevant to the newsletter will be deleted unread. Please send your best work; articles will be published as-is.
****************************************************
ATTENTION WRITERS OF BOOKS AND ASPIRING AUTHORS!
A new publishing company is in town! This indie press specializes in horror, but it is also open to books in other genres.
Twisted Dreams Press is a brand new independent publisher accepting submissions of short story collections, novelettes, novellas and novels from authors in a variety of genres!
Check out the new website to find out all the details!
Be sure to follow us on our Facebook page and our other social media platforms, which are all easily accessible from our website and Facebook page.
Please like our Facebook page
Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on our news
****************************************************
MY SEPTEMBER SUBSTACK POSTS:
Focusing on the Good Stuff Instead of the Bad Stuff
Authors, You Need to Fall in Love with Your Book Cover
THANK YOU…
Thank you to Written Tales Magazine for publishing my poem “The Early Morning” on August 11.
Thank you to Lindsey Goddard for publishing my short story “Call Anywhere” in the horror comedy anthology, Tales from the Lark Side.
Thank you to Jeani Rector for publishing my horror poems in the Fall 2025 issue of The Horror Zine Magazine.
Thank you, First Chapter Plus Magazine, for publishing the second article in my three-article series "Why We Love Science Fiction" in the August 2025 issue. My article is on page 20.
Thank you, C. Hope Clark, for publishing my article "Tips for Generating Ideas for a Regular Column-Writing Gig" in the August 22, 2025 issue of FundsforWriters! You can read it on her blog here.
Thank you, WritersWeekly, for publishing my article "Six Food Publications Hungry for Vegetarian Articles and Recipes" in the August 29 issue of WritersWeekly!
Thank you, Able News, for publishing my article "A Play in ASL" in the September 2025 issue. Check it out here!
Thank you, Eva Bielby. for including an excerpt from my magical realism novel, I'll Be Ghosting You, on your blog. The link to purchase the book is included for anyone interested! Here is the link to the excerpt.
Thank you, WritersWeekly, for publishing my article "Lights, Camera, Submit! 9 Paying Markets for Movie Loving Writers" in the September 18, 2025 issue!
Thank you, Alien Buddha Press, for publishing my short story, “Blood Moon,” in Alien Buddha Zine #79. Black and white copy available here.
Color copy available here.
Thank you, First Chapter Plus Magazine, for publishing my article, "Science Fiction Novels That Remind Us of Why We Love Science Fiction" in the September 2025 issue. My article is on page 18.
****************************************************
Self-Publisher Interview with Claire Davon
1. When did you start writing?
I’ve been writing since I was young, but I didn’t start seriously pursuing publishing until over a decade ago. I’d collected a handful of rejections a little under 20 years ago and stopped submitting for a few years before I decided to pick up where I left off. My earliest remembrance of writing for fun was a Starsky and Hutch fan fic with a friend back in the late 1970s.
2. What came first: Self-publishing your books or getting your books published by a press? What was that experience like?
When I first went back to writing, my goal was to get the many first drafts I had edited. I wound up putting two books up on Amazon with zero fanfare. From there, I started editing on what wound up being the first in the Elementals’ Challenge series. I sent it to contests and publishers before Samhain Publishing picked it up. A few other small press publishers followed but when they closed, I decided to continue to self-publish. Both routes have their good and bad points. I liked working with a publisher – and more importantly, an editor – especially in those early years when I had old writing habits I needed to correct.
3. What kind of books do you write?
I write everything genre fiction related except for mystery/crime! I lean toward the fantasy and romance genres, but when I write short stories, I write horror and SF as well. I grew up around fantasy and science fiction, and that colors everything I do.
4. What can you tell me about your new books coming out this month? (Feel free to include an excerpt from each book, if you’d like.)
I have just released a book that is the fifth and final book in the Elementals’ Challenge series. It’s called Quintessence and completes the world building, and more importantly answers the questions that have been lurking throughout the series. I consider the series paranormal romance, but there’s also an urban fantasy feel to it.
I’ve included the blurb below – enjoy!
Tremors and
distant screams rattle Eliane awake in the dead of night, but they aren’t
coming from the ground. They’re rumbling through her mind, triggering the
supernatural connection between her and her best friend, Joao. A connection
they’ve shared since they journeyed to Argentina as children—and came away with
something that makes them more than human.
Joao knows something disturbing has awakened his and Eliane’s naguals—mysterious symbiotes they each carry inside them. One of the four Elementals has suffered defeat in their initial Challenge against their Demonos counterpart. When an Elemental is defeated, all four must fight in final Challenge. A battle in which he and Eliane have some part to play.
Joao’s first instinct, to protect Eliane at all costs, wars with their mutual promise to resist the attraction between them, at least while the symbiotes’ power is untapped. But as attacks escalate, they begin to understand this Challenge isn’t about who will have the power of life or death over mankind. Defeat will spell total destruction of all humanity, and time is running out on Joao and Eliane’s one chance at forever.
5. What sort of methods do you use for book promotion?
Facebook, BookBub, book tours, author assistants.
6. Where do you get your ideas for stories?
The idea for a story can be as small as an observation on life walking down the street or as big as some crazy notion in a dream. Often the absurdity of life will prompt a thought and if that thought is strong enough, I’ll start to craft an idea. I have far more ideas than stories, from the subline to the ridiculous.
7. I noticed that you are also a self-publisher. What makes you to decide to self-pub a book or to submit it to a publisher?
I’m actually facing that decision right now. I have two trilogies that are completed (well, first drafts, anyway) and I can’t decide whether to self-pub or to submit to new publishers and see if any are interested. The trick lies in how much you want to take on yourself. As a person who self-publishes, I have a lot of people I work with, but there is something to be said for having those decisions made by the publisher. Again, I don’t think there’s a wrong answer, just one that works for you.
8. How do you manage the self-publishing end of your books alongside those getting published by an indie press? Do you promote them equally?
With indie presses you do a lot of the marketing yourself, so you have to promote them the same.
9. What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on the fourth book in my contemporary romance series to send to Wild Rose Press for consideration. I also have a few short stories in the works, as well as a small-town romance shared world book that will come out at Christmas.
10. Any advice for other authors?
Keep writing! The best advice I ever got was to just keep going. Make writing a daily habit, even if it’s 100 words a day. Even if you think the words are terrible. I often look back at stuff I write and put aside thinking it’s not that great only to be pleasantly surprised. You can’t edit a blank page!
ABOUT CLAIRE:
Claire can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t part of her life. Growing up, she used to write stories with her friends. As a teenager she started out reading fantasy and science fiction, but her diet quickly changed to romance and happily-ever-after’s. A native of Massachusetts and cold weather, she left all that behind to move to the sun and fun of California, but has always lived no more than twenty miles from the ocean.
In college, she studied acting, with a minor in creative writing. In hindsight, she should have flipped course studies. Before she was published, she sold books on eBay and discovered some of her favorite authors by sampling the goods, which was the perfect solution. Claire has many book-irons in the fire, most notably her urban fantasy series, The Elementals’ Challenge series, but writes contemporary and shifter romances as well as.
While she’s not a movie mogul or actor, she does work in the film industry with her office firmly situated in the 90210 district of Hollywood. Prone to breaking out into song, she is quick on her feet and just as quick with snappy dialogue. In addition to writing, she does animal rescue, reads, and goes to movies. She loves to hear from fans, so feel free to drop her a line. Her website.
NEW IN SELF-PUBLISHING:
"How To Fix Mistakes In Your Self-Published Book" by Derek Haines
via Just Publishing Advice
Author Interview with Boe Healy
1. When did you start writing?
I think it was umm … the first Thursday when I was 3 years old, I started drawing to remember my stories since I couldn't write letters yet.
2. What was your journey towards becoming an author like?
Hmm… um … I don’t know. Spooky, I guess? I just made stories and told my daddy to make them books but I always played games and made characters
What can you tell me about your latest book? (Feel free to include an excerpt.)
The window? I like the cover. I like Christy. She's really nice. I like Jason Momoa. He was in Minecraft. I hope he reads it.
What sort of methods do you use for book promotion?
I sign it. I draw monsters. I tell people and play the story with my friends.
5. Where do you get your ideas for stories?
I don’t know. I just play. I draw. I imagine scary things coz I like scary things. Then I tell Daddy so he can write them down.
6. What are you working on right now?
I have soooooo many stories that need to be books. Tell Daddy to hurry up. Hahaha. The next one is The Cursed Baby.
7. Any advice for other authors?
Just think of it like a game coz you want games to be exciting. Death Digger came from a game I played in the backyard. Imagine the scene like your shed is a barn full of children in bags and the garden is where he buries the babies and you have to run and avoid him and get your baby back and you yell and and laugh and have fun and then when you're done playing, you're like, I want more of this story, so you write it down or tell your dad. That's it. Sometimes it's from my dreams, but you have to write those down fast or you forget them, so I draw pictures because I can't wait for Daddy or I'll forget. That's it. Yeah. That's it.
ABOUT BOE:
At six years old, Boe Healy has written two books, has five stories in anthologies and all of it is in the same universe that he plays his games in. He has a lot more coming. He loves Sprunki and Huggy Wuggy and Garten of Banban and Little Nightmares. He likes scary stuff.
AUTHOR NEWS:
"Book Marketing: Basic Elements Matter More Than You Think" by Penny C. Sansevieri
via Writers In The Storm
"Do Traditional Publishers Market Your Book for You? Here’s the Truth"
via BadRedhead Media, LLC’s All Things Book Marketing!
"Dreams Need Deadlines: The Path to Real Book Marketing Results" by Penny Sansevieri
via Author Marketing Experts
"Amazon Metadata for Books: The Hidden Risk Authors Can’t Ignore" by Penny Sansevieri
via Author Marketing Experts
"3 Publicity Mistakes Debut Authors Make (and How to Avoid Them)" by Shanetta McDonald
via Jane Friedman
"Why Amazon KDP Changed Their Rules and What Authors Should Do Right Now"
BadRedhead Media, LLC’s All Things Book Marketing!
My Reviews:
Dawn Reviews Books:
Fighting Zombies at Sea: Waves Take Your Bones is a captivating tale of survival against zombies
Other Book Reviews:
"One Man’s Extraordinary Journey of Survival, Sobriety and Success"
"True History of Monopoly’s Surprising, Crucial Role in WWII Espionage" by Linda Hitchcock
"Reluctant Healer and Reclusive Prince Drawn Together in Next Big Romantasy Series" by Katie Bloomer
"Ravens, Rock Stars and Romance in Thrilling Tale of Magic and Mystery" by Katie Bloomer
"Riveting Hidden History of 20th Century’s Most Influential Fashion Designer" by Linda Hitchcock
"From Personal Loss to Cosmic Terror: The Relentless Ride of “Veil”" by Caleb Thomas
"Captivating Story of Faith, Healing and Reckoning with the Past" by Kristin Keaton
"Wild Ride Through Southeast Asia in Whip-Smart Spy Thriller" by Katie Bloomer
"A Suspenseful Mystery About Love, Secrets and Immigration" by Philip Zozzaro
“Unforgiving Thresholds” by Don Trudeau
“My Husband Almost Killed Me” by Linda Beason
“Lucas and Emily’s Foodbank Adventure” by Dave Grunenwald
“Tripping the Allegory Fantastic” by Mara Recalis
“Mercy: Tears of the Fallen” by Chance Dillon
“The Tralls of Colum” by Gayle Torrens
“Banana Espresso” by Castille Viora-Marquet
“Tiny Wild Things” by Danielle M. Wong
“Glitter Phase” by Jay Mulling
“An Artist’s Life” by Carlton Davis
“Tango: The Eagle-Eyed Stallion” by Tom Handel
“The Roll-Away Snowman” by Junia Wonders
“Waking on the Ground” by Eamon Rourke
“Lightwaves” by David Edgar Grinnell
“The Pale Flesh of Wood” by Elizabeth A. Tucker
“Fleeting Moments, Eternal Memories” by Manmohan Sadana
“How the F*ck Would I Know?” by Kate Rowe
“Ruta’s Closet” by Keith Morgan with Ruth Kron Sigal
“Blackinese” by Patricia Bradby Moore
“Career School” by Mike Colahan
“Dancer in the Bullpen” by Chana Shinegba
“The One” by Aimee Chan & Pinky Wittingslow
“The Body in Zellar’s Barn” by Arian Harandi
“Charlotte: A Yellowstone Wolf Pup” by Celia Straus
“The Cartography of First Love” by Angela Grey
“Well, Mama, This Is It” by Adaina
“Red Shadows at Saugatuck” by Randy Overbeck
“Born or Made” by Larry G. Dix II
“The Manipulator” by Dan Buzzetta
“The Factory of Maladies” by Debbie Hartung
“The Breacher’s Playbook” by Tom Hruby and James Pomerantz
“Taste of Bravery” by R. Loomis
“Outback Odyssey” by Paul Rushworth-Brown
“The Mystical Guatemalan Robes” by Michael David Polansky
“A King’s Vision” by Dr. Spencer M. Dayton
“Short Stories from Faraway Places I” by Kevin O’Flaherty
“The Regression Strain” by Kevin Hwang
“Aletheia: In the Shadows” by Luigi A. Kohli
“Daemon Protocol” by JL Spears
“Your Tomorrow Was Today” by Oyindamola Dosunmu
“The Cartography of First Love” by Angela Grey
“Special Operations Group” by Christophe Glasl
“P.S. I Think of You Often” by Brenda Laface
“Fortress of Dreams” by C. B. Heinemann
“The Moss Lake Chronicles: Almagon” by Clara M. Nance
“The Competitor’s Kiss” by Patricia Dlamini
“100 Years to Extinction” by Peter Solomon
“Short Stories from Faraway Places II” by Kevin O’Flaherty
“Bugs That Bug You” by Lisa Rita
“Buried Secrets of the Copper Locket” by D.L. Bush
“Dancing Through the Shadow” by Agnes Bristow
“An Artist’s Life” by Carlton Davis
“A Life in Frames” by Leonora Ross
“Runes & Relics” by Taryn L. Wagner
“Emma, Polar Bear” by Daniel Blough
“The Ruby Demon” by Oscar O’Rourke
“The Book of Outcasts” by Matt Nagin
“The Power of Magical Women” by Connie Boyd
“The Misadventures of Nico and Maddie” by Maria Aldana
“The Transcendence” by Mara Recalis
“Where Despair Comes to Play” by Clifton Wilcox
“Hard Assets and Hard Money for Hard Times” by Ben Reinberg
“The Bayrose Files” by Diane Wald
“Cloud Dragon” by S.W. Lawrence
“Climate Dragon” by S.W. Lawrence
“Monday Afternoons at Three-Thirty” by Ron Talarico
“When Truth Cowers” by G.M. Ba
09/06/2025 - Danielle's Dark Corners
Rachel Schommer Reviews: 9.8.25
09/13/2025 Danielle's Dark Corners
09/20/2025 Danielle's Dark Corners
Other Book Reviews:
"A/S/L: Jeanne Thornton's Saga of the Sorceress" by Adam Wescott
via Stop Caring
"REVIEW OF DANCING WITH RED FLAGS, AN INCREDIBLE MEMOIR"
via The New Book Review
"Book Review: ‘The Whisper Place’ by Mindy Mejia" by K. Twaddle
via Little Village
Calls for Reviews
I’d love to find reviewers for my books! Contact me at DMCWriter@gmail.com if interested.
NEW IN BOOKS:
"The Enduring Power of YA Literature" by Alexandra Brown Chang
via Writer's Digest
"The End of Humanism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Part 1" by Elana Gomel
via A Guide to Unreality
"God and Science Fiction" by Tsvi Bisk
via MetaStellar
"Is this the Scariest Picture Book?" by Rebekah King
via Dr. King's Curiosities
"The Chill Quill: Books to Haunt You This Spooky Season" by Lindy Ryan
via BookTrib.
"The Forgotten Feminist Dystopias That Predicted Our Present" by JeriAnn Geller
via BookTrib.
NEW BOOKS:
Boe Healy
Genre: Horror
Joan Silber
Genre: Historical Fiction
Erin A. Craig
Genre: Fantasy
A Guide to Falling Off the Map
Zanni Arnot
Genre: YA
Patrick Ryan
Genre: Literary Fiction
Zoe Dubno
Genre: Literary Fiction
Laura Dickerman
Genre: Women's Fiction
Susan Metallo
Genre: YA
Angeline Boulley
Genre: YA
No Ordinary Bird: Drug Smuggling, a Plane Crash, and a Daughter's Quest for the Truth
Artis Henderson
Category: Biography & Autobiography
The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics
Michael T. Osterholm PhD MPH and Mark Olshaker
Category: Science
Phantoms of Christmas Past: Festive Ghost Hoaxes, Ghost Hunts and Ghost Panics
Paul Weatherhead
Category: Paranormal History
Judith Sonnet
Genre: Horror
Łukasz Drobnik
Genre: Apocalyptic Fantasy
Stories by Steff Sirois
Genre: Short Story Collection
J.D. Rhoades
Genre: Historical Western
J.D. Rhoades
Genre: Historical Western
Bracken MacLeod
Genre: Short Story Collection
All the Skies Go Hungry (Transplanted Trilogy, Book 2)
Emmie Christie
Genre: Fantasy
The Crone Zone: How to Get Older with Style, Nerve, and a Little Bit of Magic
Nina Bargiel
Category: New Age
To Hand: Serial 1 (Valley of Fire)
John van Stry
Genre: Science Fiction
Morag Edwards
Genre: Historical Drama
Ken Jaworowski
Genre: Crime
Hiliary Hamilton
Category: Poetry Chapbook
The Alien Buddha after The Alien Buddha #2
By Various Authors
Genre: Anthology
Clive Oseman
Category: Hybrid Collection (Poetry and Prose)
Vi Khi Nao
Category: Poetry Collection
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer: Season Nine (Space Traipse Hold My Beer Book 9)
Karina Fabian
Genre: Science Fiction
By Various Authors
Genre: Anthology
The Great Dick and the Dysfunctional Demon
Barry Maher
Genre: Horror
Rachel Harrison
Genre: Gothic Horror
Life, and Death, and Giants: A Novel
Ron Rindo
Genre: Literary Fiction
Lauren Morrow
Genre: Literary Fiction
Samantha Browning Shea
Genre: Women's Fiction
Alejandro Varela
Genre: Literary Fiction
Joseph O'Malley
Genre: Literary Fiction
Written By Natsuo Kirino, Translated by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
Genre: Women's Fiction
John Boyne
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer: A Mystery
Ragnar Jónasson
Genre: Mystery
All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation
Elizabeth Gilbert
Category: Biography & Memoir
Lakegrave School for Young Women
Lauren Carter
Genre: Sapphic Dark Academia Horror
Georgia Hill
Genre: Historical Mystery
The Alien Buddha Gets Isolated and Weird
By Various Authors
Genre: Anthology
Katy Farber
Genre: Mystery
The Exorcist's House: Resurrection (The Exorcist's House Universe Book 3)
Nick Roberts
Genre: Horror
Neil Sharpson
Genre: Gothic Horror
Food to Die For (Scareville Books, Book 8)
John Ward
Genre: Middle Grade Horror
Deathly Rose
Genre: Extreme Horror
Peter J. King
Category: Poetry Chapbook
Peter Berry
Genre: Cozy Crime Thriller
Angela Flournoy
Genre: Literary Fiction
Zoë Rankin
Genre: Suspense and Thriller
Boy from the North Country: A Novel
Sam Sussman
Genre: Literary Fiction
Catherine Chidgey
Genre: Literary Fiction
Leni Zumas
Genre: Literary Fiction
Elizabeth Wein
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Good and Evil and Other Stories
Written by Samanta Schweblin, Translated by Megan McDowell
Genre: Short Story Collection
A Murderous Business: A Harriman & Mancini Mystery
Cathy Pegau
Genre: Mystery
Alma Katsu
Genre: Gothic Horror
The Waterbearers: A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters
Sasha Bonét
Category: Biography & Memoir
Darius Jones
Category: Poetry Collection
David Washburn
Genre: Horror Suspense
Douglas Hardman
Category: Poetry Collection
Danielle Marie Cahill
Category: Poetry Collection
NIRA: A Constance Evermore Story
Wriiten by Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson, Illustrated by Thomas Brown
Genre: Dark Fantasy
To Hand: Serial 3 (Valley of Fire)
John Van Stry
Genre: Science Fiction
Jessica Hagy
Genre: Gothic Fiction
Edited by Mark Teppo & Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
Genre: Anthology
In These Haunted Hills: Ghosts of the Ohio Highlands
Mark Sebastian Jordan
Category: Paranormal
The Navigator (Book Three of The Rise Trilogy)
Robert P. Ottone
Genre: Dystopian
How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market
Ricardo Fayet
Category: Book Promotion and Marketing
Joshua Lillie
Category: Poetry Collection
Edited by Sarah Clithero
Genre: Anthology
Karen Bayly
Genre: Gothic Horror
A.H. Syme
Genre: Horror
By Various Authors
Genre: Anthology
The Happiness of Being an American
Steven Storrie
Genre: Hybrid Collection (Poetry and Short Fiction)
By Various Authors
Genre: Anthology
Patricia Dixon
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Ian McEwan
Genre: Science Fiction
Written by Emmelie Prophète, Translated from the French by Aidan Rooney
Genre: Women's Fiction
The Phoebe Variations: A Novel
Jane Hamilton
Genre: Coming-of-Age Fiction
Hannah V. Sawyerr
Genre: Teens & YA
Will There Ever Be Another You: A Novel
Patricia Lockwood
Genre: Literary Fiction
H. S. Cross
Genre: Historical Fiction
Dan Jones
Genre: Historical Fiction
Dan Chaon
Genre: Literary Horror
A Different Kind of Tension: New and Selected Stories
Jonathan Lethem
Genre: Short Story Collection
Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis
Priscilla Presley
Category: Biography & Memoir
The Edge of the World: Terra Incognita 1
Kevin J. Anderson
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Nancy Chadwick
Genre: Women's Fiction
Susan E. Rogers
Genre: Paranormal Horror
C.L. Jennison
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Scott Schad
Genre: Middle-Grade Adventure
Matthew Bell
Category: Literature
Death in a Shallow Pond: A Philosopher, a Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need
David Edmonds
Category: Philosophy
Lincoln Peirce
Genre: Middle Grade
DE McCluskey
Genre: Horror
Hal Small: An Unadjusteds Story (The Unadjusteds Book 9)
Marisa Noelle
Genre: Coming of Age Sci-fi Dystopian Action Adventure
In Her Fears (A Jenna Graves Mystery Book 8)
Blake Pierce
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Say Nothing (An Alison Payne Mystery Book Three)
Blake Pierce
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Kiersten Modglin
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Denisovans: A Thriller (World's Scariest Legends Book 7)
Jeremy Bates
Genre: Horror
The Infinite Glade (Maze Cutter, 3)
James Dashner
Genre: YA Action & Adventure
We Are Always Tender with Our Dead (Burnt Sparrow, 1)
Eric LaRocca
Genre: Gothic Horror
Defense Force: First Wave (Book 6)
Daniel Young
Genre: Science Fiction
Daniel Young
Genre: Science Fiction
Threat Level: Hellfire (FBI: Magical Threats Division Book 2)
TR Cameron
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Brad Ricks
Genre: Horror
Jonathan Janz
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror
Hailey Piper
Genre: Short Story Collection
If She Listened (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 9)
Blake Pierce
Genre: Mystery
C.G. Harris
Genre: Science Fiction
Star’s New York City Adventure: Being kind to animals (Adventure Cats Book 3)
Denise Alicea
Genre: Children's Book
Moon, Murder, and Mesquite (Sassy Shifter Shenanigans Book 2)
Isabel Campbell
Genre: Supernatural Fantasy
Devil of the Pines (American Horrors)
James Kaine
Genre: Horror
Fables from France (Fable Anthologies)
Samuel DenHartog
Genre: Fairy Tales
Fables from Germany (Fable Anthologies)
Samuel DenHartog
Genre: Fairy Tales
Liar & Champion: Dying to Date my Billionaire Prince of Beasts (Super Serum Billionaires Book 3)
Juliann Whicker
Genre: Romantic Comedy Suspense
Ben Farthing
Genre: Horror
The Girl in the Red Raincoat: Part 1
Written by Steven Roy Burton, Illustrated by Harmony Sutcliffe
Genre: LGBTQ Fiction
Dante Vereen
Genre: Psychological Thriller Mystery
Jyl Glenn
Genre: Horror
Jasmine C. Griffin
Category: Poetry Collection
Whispers of Fire and Fornication
Matthew Lutton
Genre: Fantasy Smut
Daniel Young
Genre: Science Fiction
Nadia Bulkin
Genre: Novella Collection
The Paper Hound: A Chapbook of Antipoems
Ryan Di Francesco
Category: Poetry Collection
Outside The Lines (An Isla Rivers FBI Mystery—Book Three)
Blake Pierce
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Xicanxfuturism Codex I: Gritos for Tomorrow
Edited by Scott Russell Duncan
Genre: Mixed Media Collection
Joe Mynhardt
Category: Trivia Book
Jeremy Eagan
Genre: YA Paranormal
Splinter Faction (Backyard Starship Book 29)
J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert
Genre: Science Fiction
Cal Macseoin
Genre: YA Fantasy
Tegan Anderson
Genre: YA
Garden Quartz and Paper Flowers
T.L. Garrett
Category: YA Hybrid Memoir (creative nonfiction and poetry)
Stormy Normy Goes Reining (Book Three in The Adventures of Stormy Normy)
Written by Leisa Fail, Illustrated by Amy Rennie
Genre: Middle Grade
Cato Avila
Genre: Fiction
Dearestfolk Poetry
Category: Poetry Collection
Witch'n 2: Witchier (Book Two of the Witch'n Collection)
Joshua Braun
Genre: Fantasy
Up & Down with JoJo Brown: and other humorous catastrophes
Tom McKenna
Genre: Humor
Clifton Wilcox
Genre: YA
Marci Lin Melvin
Genre: Historical Thriller
Must: Becoming the Person You Are Meant to Be
Stephen Rue
Category: Self-Help
James Dorr
Genre: Short Story Collection
Tricky Edits from Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Unofficial Most Improperly Used Word of 2025
The Most Embarrassing Tattletale Word of All
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
I have unofficially named the vocabulary word most likely to embarrass a writer. I feel entitled to do that because as a once-upon-a-time journalist I pay attention to things like real newspapers (you know, made of real newsprint!), great magazines (made of beautiful heavy-grade slick or textured paper that get delivered to my door), and TV hosts widely accepted as reliable resources as well, letting TV subtitle errors entertain me as I work at maintaining gratitude for the grammar tips they offer up—apparently unaware of their brilliance—to new ideas for this column that Dawn graciously lets me share with her audience and my Twitter (X) stream apparently provides enough characters unknowingly so I can share them with my followers there! (I’m @frugalbookpromo!).
Perhaps you’ve guessed. It gets used incorrectly often, sometimes in different ways—but we authors are faced with more occasions for using this award-winning blunder more than often than most. The word is “entitled.”
Here is the tweet I fashioned that meets X’s requirements: “When authors try to substitute the word “title” with “entitled,” they are sure to make some editor—some influencer—groan.” I have some replies ready for those who dare respond including, a little more elucidation on ways it can/should be used: “Entitled” and its cousin “entitlement” might be put to better use for a little subtle satire,” or “Avoid this mistake and other tricky edits by grabbing an e-book copy of my booklet Great Little Last-Minute Edits for Writers. It’s a frugal way to avoid humiliation or worse!”
PS: Did you notice the way I used the word “entitled” in the second line in this column, implying “snide,” and then went on to prove it for my pleasure and your edification? Aren’t we having fun with words today?
PPS: Did you notice the length of the second sentence in this column? It’s proof that correct English does indeed let a sentence go on and on. Some authors have even become famous using sentences like that as trademarks—certainly as a form of branding. It’s my closing tip reminding authors that everything they read that’s “correct” needn’t be emulated. Please keep in mind that telling readers your book is “entitled” isn’t “correct” and, though it may appear “smarter” than plain old “titled,” that’s an illusion lying in wait to snare the uninformed.
MORE ABOUT CAROLYN
Once a month Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares something writer-related she hopes might save some author from embarrassment (or make the task of writing more fun or creative.) The third edition of The Frugal Editor Modern History Press includes a chapter on some of the words most misused by the very people whose business it is to know exactly what those might be—like agents. It is the second multi award-winning book in her multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. The Frugal Editor, now in its third edition, has been fully updated including a chapter on how back matter can be extended to help readers and nudge book sales.
Carolyn blogs sporadically on editing at The Frugal Editor and at her SharingwithWriters blog on other aspects of the publishing world and welcomes guest posts with ample author credit lines and links and welcomes guest posts complete with credit lines and ample links for her guests. She also tweets writers' resources and tips at her Twitter account using #FrugalBookPromoterTips hashtag.
More About SPARREW’s Regular Contributor
Once a month I share something writer-related I hope might save some author from embarrassment (or make the task of writing more fun or creative.) The third edition of The Frugal Editor from Modern History Press includes a chapter on editing back matter you’ll love because it can help sell more books. It is an award-winning book in her multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. Find it on Amazon’s new buy-page offered in paper, hard cover, or as an e-book. (The availability of that new page for book series is another of her #FrugalBookPromoterTips.) The Frugal Editor has been fully updated including a chapter on how backmatter can be extended to help readers and nudge book sales.
Carolyn has a shorter book, Great Little Last Minute Edits for Writers. It is full of difficult edits that aren’t so easily figured out or remembered as Wi-Fi that you can keep at by your desk or in your car’s glove compartment—if your car has one! Ahem!
New in Editing:
Have commas gone out of style?
Don't fear the sentence-ending preposition
A tidy history of ‘spick and span’
Why ‘learn by heart,’ not ‘by brain’?
Interview with Writer A.M. Loweecey
 |
| Photo Credit: Molly McGreevy |
1. Have you always been a writer?
Since I was about nine years old, so not *quite* always.
2. When did you realize that maybe writing was actually a “thing” you could do, get published and even sell?
Much later! I'd won a few local writing contests in high school—when dinosaurs roamed the earth—but didn't try to go beyond that. The convent interfered with that too. Yes, I have LOTS of stories.
3. What was your first sale as a writer and how did it feel to sell your work?
My first sale was my debut three-book deal (I hadn't mastered short stories yet). My then-agent called me at my Day Job with the news and I managed to suppress my natural shrieks. I don't know what I sounded like, but my then-agent was enjoying my response.
4. How has writing helped you in other areas of life?
If I said it's a safe way to get revenge on your enemies? For most of my life, it's been a safe haven for teen angst, a way to work through nasty real-life stuff, and almost always a joy to create. I say all the time that we all need more fun in our lives.
5. What was your biggest accomplishment as a writer?
Easy! I successfully rebooted my writing career! Two years ago, I got the rights back to my ex-nun private eye mystery series. It was time to move on from that series, but where to move on to? I wrote the first book in a brand-new mystery series, and also polished a stand-alone historical. Then I jumped on the query-go-round again. (Sometimes there isn't enough coffee or whisky in the world, am I right?) I landed three book contracts with two different publishers. Never give up! Never surrender!
6. Who has inspired you the most in the writing field?
Sara Paretsky. Everything about her is amazing.
7. What are some of the challenges you have faced as a writer and how did you overcome them?
Time!
It's still my biggest challenge. When my kids were growing up, I snatched every
spare minute I could to write. I brought my trusty 3-ring binder to soccer
practices, band practices, games, performances, everywhere! I had to snatch
those 20-minute intervals everywhere I could.
Also, acquiring rhino hide. Rejections suck. Losing contests suck. Facing up to the truth that your writing isn't quite there yet really, really sucks. The first writing contest I entered (and lost) came with critiques. When I opened the envelope, I tossed the critiques into the recycle bin. Half an hour later I got a clue and retrieved them. Then I studied them and began to apply what I recognized my writing needed. That was my first layer of rhino hide.
8. What is the best writing advice you have ever received and why do you feel it is important?
I work full-time and I'm also a freelance copyeditor. I've written fourteen books and at least as many short stories, and you won't be surprised that I used to edit as I wrote. This made the process soooo sloooow. I tried several times to break that habit without success. Then I discovered Becky Clark's Eight Weeks to a Complete Novel. I spent six months forcing myself to master her technique and I DID IT. I cut two months off my first draft time. I work full-time and can write only in the evenings and on weekends, and this technique truly changed how I write and view writing.
9. What sort of writing do you do now?
Novels are my first love, and currently I'm writing cozy mysteries, horror with a touch of humor, and working on a mashup—cozy horror. My short stories all seem to be horror. I'm challenging myself to write a short in a genre other than horror.
10. Where can we find some of your work online?
Amazon and B&N for my 9-book mystery series. (I got the rights back.) My current book, Demons & Ramen, is also on those, plus at my publisher: epic-publishing.com
11. What advice do you have for aspiring writers thinking of taking the leap of getting their work published?
READ. Read widely. Read the classics. Sure, the "rules" have changed, but there's a reason they're still read more than a century later. Keep a notebook of ideas, images, interesting things you hear people saying. Also, don't be afraid to suck at first. We all did, and it takes a lot of writing to find your voice. This is a long game.
12. What are your final thoughts about being a writer?
I've loved writing all my life and that hasn't changed. Knowing that total strangers are reading and enjoying my work is icing on the cake. And now I want cake!
ABOUT A.M.:
Baker of brownies and tormenter of characters, A.M. Loweecey grew up watching Hammer horror films and Scooby-Doo mysteries, which explains a whole lot. When A.M. isn’t finding new ways to scare the pants off readers, she's growing vegetables in the garden and water lilies in the koi pond. A.M. also has 9 books in the Giulia Driscoll PI mystery series (as Alice Loweecey) and 2 stand-alone horrors as Kate Morgan: Staking Cinderella and The Redeemers. She also has several anthologized short stories. Visit A.M. online here.
New for Writers:
"What is Truth in Fiction?" by Donald Maass
Via Writer Unboxed
"7 Book Proposal Pet Peeves From Publishers" by Debra Eckerling
via Writer's Digest
"An Opinionated Guide to Writing British Characters (When You’re Not British Yourself)" by Sarah Chamberlain
via Writer's Digest
"12 Paying Science Fiction Markets For Writers" by Karoki Githure
via WritersWeekly
"How Ghostwriting Has Helped Me Build a Sustainable, Ongoing Freelance Income" by Mary Wanjiru
via WritersWeekly
"Writer Fuel: Why Your Book Needs a Subplot" by Gabriela Pereira
via diyMFA
"So You Want to Write a Memoir" by Coffee Quills
via The Writer's Workshop
"Make Yourself the Most Useful Writer in Your Critique Group" by Lisa Poisso
via Writers Helping Writers
"Hidden Ways Procrastination Affects Productive Writers" by Colleen M. Story
via Writers Helping Writers
"4 Signs You Might Be Confusing, Not Intriguing, in Your Opening Scene" by Janice Hardy
via Fiction Writing University
"Chasing Trends, A Writer’s Dilemma" by Ellen Buikema
via Writers In The Storm
"Five Ways Authors Sabotage Their Story’s Tension" by Oren Ashkenazi
via Mythcreants
"How to Reconnect with a Draft You No Longer Want to Write" by Anne F Hag
via Jane Friedman
"Breaking Bread: The Role of Food in Building Character" by Karmen Spiljak
via Jane Friedman
"To Write Interesting Things, Live a Good Life" by John Pucay
via Writing to (L)Earn
"Is That You? Developing Voices for Different Point of View Characters" by Janice Hardy
via Fiction University Blog
"How to Polish Your First 5 Pages for Agents" by Jenn Windrow
via Writers In The Storm
"How a Character’s Personality Shapes Arc, Voice, and Goals" by K.M. Weiland
via Helping Writers Become Authors
"How to: Writing Dark Fiction When Reality Feels Dystopian" by Lynette M. Burrows
via Lynette M. Burrows Blog
"Writing: Mixing It Up with Tropes" by Margot Conor
via Writers On The Move
"9 Tips from an Old Writer" by Doreen Rosevold
via WritersWeekly
"Outlines, Outlines, Outlines" by Tim Schildberger
via Script Magazine
"Why Do I Want to Tell THIS Story?" by Tim Schildberger
via Script Magazine
"Productivity Hacks to Write Faster Than Ever" by Paula Rizzo
via Writer's Digest
"5 Steps to Avoid the Muddle in the Middle of Your Novel" by Hank Phillippi Ryan
via Writer's Digest
"How to: Make Your Poems a Book" by Laura LeHew
via Writers In The Storm
"One & Done: Lit Mag Submission Strategies" by Mark Danowsky
via Stay Curious
"Smut and Storytelling: Acts of Resistance" by Alexa Bitsko
via Smut Ed
"A Legacy of Class: The Parallel Worlds of Literary and Genre Magazine Publishing" by Jennifer Pullen
via Lit Mag News
"Plant a plot in a pot?" by Dr. Bob Rich
via Bobbing Around
"Magical Realism: What it is and how to pull it off" by Fallon Clark
via MetaStellar
"How To Push Past The Fear of Never Getting Published" by Lucy V. Hay
via Writers Helping Writers
"Q: Print vs online--should you specify your preference in your cover letter?" by Becky Tuch
via Lit Mag News
"The "Christopher Nolan Effect" on Audience Building" by John Pucay
via Writing to (L)Earn
"5 Ways to Manage Reader Expectations" by Kathryn Craft
via Writers In The Storm
"7 Things Agents and Publishers Really Don’t Want: 2025 Edition" by Dan Brotzel
via FundsforWriters
"Conflicting Conjuring: How to Cast Tension That Hooks" by Ellie Potts
via Tea and Ink
"Tarot as Story Structure: Plotting with the Arcana" by Ellie Potts
via Tea and Ink
"Conflict Alchemy: How to Brew Antagonists That Echo the Hero’s Soul" by Ellie Potts
via Tea and Ink
"Villains in the Shadows: Writing Antagonists Through the Dark Side of Tarot" by Ellie Potts
via Tea and Ink
"What Pop Culture Villains Teach Us About Writing" by Ellie Potts
via Tea and Ink
"Five Important Ways Romances Engage Readers" by Chris Winkle
via Mythcreants
FEATURE ARTICLE
A Dive into Horror Community Drama
The Pettiest People are the Scariest People!
By Jerry Blaze
There’s an old saying, “Where there’s people, there’s drama.”
Normally, I don’t pay attention to such adages, but in the horror community of today, it seems to be set in stone. In the last few months, I have seen several prominent writers announce their departure from the community-at-large as well as a mess of reviewers. The reason? Drama.
Drama is the unwanted and unneeded taxing of mental power. People get bent out of shape over the smallest inkling and wind up calling on followers/fans to fight their battles for them.
Sometimes this works in the author’s favor and helps them grow a larger fanbase, especially if they were called out for something that was untrue or unnecessary, however, in most cases, it causes the author to look petty and lose what promise they had to start with.
A lot of drama stems from new authors receiving reviews that they don’t like and flying off the handle over it, sometimes attacking the reviewer with all their hatred and lack of understanding. To me, this is unprofessional and sociopathic.
Being an author is more than being a writer and scribe for wicked fantasies, it’s also a marketing job. The author must market their work, promote their books to gain prominence and be in the public eye as much as possible. Therefore, expressing angst or slight against a reviewer who felt their book was bad, uninteresting or otherwise fell short of their professional opinion, is the quickest way to career suicide. Blowing up over something trivial is a sign of being unready and unable to cope with the world of readers and reviewers ready to rip something to shreds.
There are a huge number of reviewers in the horror community and they work with a modicum of pure love for books, especially those who post nonstop about the books they’ve read. The reviewers in the community make a habit of posting their reviews in several groups, usually groups with the same readers in it, hoping that their review will help boost the sales or reads of the book in question. It’s their job. The only difference between the author and the reviewer is that the reviewer is practically unpaid for their work, unless they are sponsored by a magazine or newsletter.
However, reviewers are the key to the success of an author!
Without arc readers and prominent reviewers, an author’s blood, sweat and tears can go largely unnoticed by the community at large. So when an author, especially a brand-new one, throws a hissy fit because a reviewer gave them a less than stellar review, it goes without saying that they don’t understand the way that all of this works.
I personally suggest that all authors, particularly newbies, take a free course in communication or public relations from Coursera™ before they take the dive into releasing their work to the world. The book that you spent years writing might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s never a reason to blow your lid at them. It doesn’t make you look like a rebel, it makes you look like a rube.
Of course, authors attacking reviewers isn’t the only form of drama in the community.
One of the biggest forms of drama is when authors forget their place and attempt to use fans for their own purposes, sexual or otherwise. Last year (as of the time of writing this) two prominent authors were revealed to have been collecting nudes from fans in the community, as well as making fun of them in some way or another. One said, perhaps in jest, that they were “Rockstars” in the legend that rockstars generally have armies of groupies desperate for their attention.
I wasn’t surprised when they were found out, despite myself being new in the community at the time. One was an edgelord that thought he was hotshit and the other I hadn’t really heard of until what happened came to light, the revelation caused loads of waves and unraveling of friendships in the community. Another was when a well-known author was revealed to be abusive towards one of his fans, both physically and emotionally. Another happened when an author attacked another author over some misunderstood TikTok videos and was mauled by that author’s waves of adoring fans.
Authors need to know that fans are the bread and butter of their career. Fans are the constant readers and the friends you make along the way; they are not there to sate your sexual urges. I’m not saying an author can’t pursue a romantic relationship if all parties are consenting and it’s normal, but what I am saying is that treating constant readers like fleshlights is unprofessional, unwarranted and disgusting.
Another bit of drama that comes from this same concept is the idea that people need to be policed in what they wear. If a woman (or man) wears something skimpy, some lingerie or a swimsuit, then it’s their right to do so. Nobody has the right to bitch about it. A lot of women and men suffer from body dysmorphia and complexes over their shape or weight; it takes a lot of courage to show themselves in outfits that may be revealing or otherwise. People whine and complain about it in unhinged numbers and it needs to stop. It’s nobody’s business how someone wants to dress. Appreciate them for taking the courage to be themselves or piss off.
It’s that simple.
And sending your penis to someone is just wrong. Nobody wants to look at your caterpillar nor do they want to think about it trying to satisfy them. You aren’t the little engine that could; you’re the big idiot that can’t and shouldn’t try.
Finally, one of the biggest forms of drama in the community is the general nastiness that comes from people being hurtful to each other. It can be over something as petty as disliking a book, being angry at the writer for affiliating with a certain trope or niche, having a pissy day and blowing up at another person, not receiving books from an author, an author not sending books that were bought and paid for, authors talking shit about other authors, reviewers talking shit about other reviewers, false accusations and general petty punches that go nowhere.
My thoughts on drama in the community are that we are all adults (at least, I hope so), and if something is wrong, don’t do it. If you’re mad about a review, let it go. If your favorite author killed your favorite character, let it go. If you think you can get away with harassing a reader or fan, don’t do it. If you got cussed out in the DMs, block and move on.
Seriously, why do we have to fall back into the primitive approach of violence and angst when we’ve come so far as a species? We’ve reached the point where anyone can be a writer or reader or reviewer or publisher. Why must we respond to self-perceived slights with anger or hate? Why must we think appreciation is a sign for sexual advance? Why do we have to be hurtful when we can support others?
Human fallacy, I suppose.
But at the end of the day, it doesn’t solve anything and leaves everyone with a bad taste in their mouth. Drama is like herpes, it comes back when least expected; but unlike herpes, you can ignore it and move on with your life.
Maybe it's time everyone moved on with positivity and released their negative opinions.
But where there’s people, there’s drama…
ABOUT JERRY:
Jerry Blaze is an award-winning author of Horror and Bizarro fiction.
After achieving success in the erotic market, Jerry decided to undertake Extreme Horror/Splatterpunk/Bizarro fiction writing and released several books. Some of his books have been bestsellers on Amazon. He has been awarded the 2025 Golden Wizard Book Prize and the Literary Titan award.
Jerry is a fan of Grindhouse and exploitation films from the 70s and 80s, often modeling his work on them. He currently lives in the American Midwest, but travels often to get inspiration or to run away from angry mobs.
***************************************
Thanks for reading!
