Focusing on the Good Stuff Instead of the Bad Stuff
Plus, more extra calls for submissions and August book reviews!
How was your summer? Mine was mostly awful. But you know the saying, “The horrors persist but so do I.”
And despite the horrors of this summer, we DID manage to get something good out of it. Actually, quite a few somethings:
· We FINALLY got the first anthology for the Week of Terrors anthology series published by Twisted Dreams Press! I am still reading stories for the second book: Horror clown stories! We need just a couple of more before this anthology is full.
· I got poetry accepted at The Horror Zine and it was published in their print mag! Yay! Thank you, Jeani Rector!
· My youngest got a third chance to return to high school. He is now in 12th grade! (Go, Jax!)
· My youngest also got his first driver’s license. Woot!
· I finished writing a poetry book as well as a children’s book! Yay!
· I read A LOT of books this summer. I did a count at the end of August and discovered that I read 45 books this summer. Wow! That’s awesome! I’m always happy when I can read a lot of books in one month or one season.
· My science fiction story, “Almost Human,” was published in The Phoenix, a magazine published by the Pfeiffer University. I was thrilled to not only finally find a home for this story but also to receive a complimentary copy of the magazine.
· My short story, “If You Can Hear Me,” was published in the new anthology, Pocket Full of Posies: Silent Cradle.
So, yeah. It was definitely “the summer of my discontent” on account of my brother’s passing, but I am taking time to count my blessings because they were definitely there. It seems that something REALLY bad happens every season, but so does something that is REALLY good too. Some good things did happen this summer, which I am grateful for.
Now here we are, on the cusp of a new season. It’s time for Back-to-School and preparing for the holidays.
I hope that no matter what bad things might happen in the new season, we can all take the time to count our blessings and find the strength to press onward.
I hope you all will also find the time for your creative pursuits. May you have a prosperous and profitable fall season!
What’s New This Week
The second article in my three-article series, "Why We Love Science Fiction," was published in the August 2025 issue of First Chapter Plus Magazine. My article is on page 20.
My article "Tips for Generating Ideas for a Regular Column-Writing Gig" was published in the August 22, 2025 issue of FundsforWriters! You can read it here.
My article "Six Food Publications Hungry for Vegetarian Articles and Recipes" was published in the August 29 issue of WritersWeekly!
My article, "A Play in ASL" was published in the September issue of Able News. Check it out here!
August Book Reviews
There was no SPARREW Newsletter in August so I’m going to share all my book reviews on my blog from August here:
A Grievous Hole: The Hole in Your Life is a must-read for anyone struggling with grief and loss
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!
Week of Terrors Anthology series
Twisted Dreams Press is now accepting submissions for a new anthology series! It is seven books with ten stories in each book.
The first anthology will be published in June. The others will follow in the subsequent months. Submissions of stories for all anthologies opens the beginning of April.
Open until each anthology has ten stories. We will announce when an anthology is no longer accepting submissions.
Series Name: A Week of Terrors!
Here are the themes:
Monster Monday: Creature Horror Stories
Terrifying Tuesday: Evil Clowns
Werewolf Wednesday
Thriller Thursday: Zombies
Frightening Friday: Mix of horror subgenres: psychological horror, eco-horror, cyberpunk horror, erotic horror, etc.
Slasher Saturday: Slasher horror
Spooky Sunday: Ghost stories
Payment: One print and digital copy.
Submit your stories today!
Length: 3K-10K words
Reprints welcome! Simultaneous submissions welcome but please let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Email your stories as a Word .doc or .docx file. Google Docs are okay as long as you grant Dawn permission for access.
No PDF submissions, please.
Stories written with AI will NOT be accepted!
When you submit your story, please put the following in the subject line:
Submission: WOT Anthology, (Title), (Day of the week your story is for)
Please include in your email if the story is a reprint as well as your bio.
Please send your stories to Dawn at submissions@twisteddreamspress.com
We look forward to reading your story!
Friday the 13th Summer Camp Horror Anthology
It's that time of year again! Time for writers everywhere to start writing some summer camp horror!
At Twisted Dreams Press, however, we horror fanatics just can't get enough of Friday the 13th!
We are announcing a call for summer camp horror stories that take place on a Friday the 13th for our anthology: Friday the 13th Summer Camp Horror! This anthology is scheduled for publication on Friday, March 13, 2026!
Start submitting your summer camp horror stories now!
The deadline is December 5, 2025. Which gives you plenty of time to cook up a story that will knock our socks off!
Check out the graphic above to get the deets! Send us your Friday the 13th summer camp horror stories to get in on this!
NOTE: A tie-in to the movie is not required. No fan fiction, please.
BONUS CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS!
Lesser Cryptids of Appalachia Anthology
"Cicada Books / Brood XIV Books is planning a horror anthology about the lesser (lost or undiscovered) cryptids of Appalachia. We are seeking stories about lesser known creatures from regional authors: no Mothman or Bigfoot, please.
If you are a new or established fiction writer we invite you to submit your original short fiction (3-5k words) for inclusion in this anthology. We are seeking thrills, suspense, and horror! We would add weird, but it feels unnecessary for cryptid tales.
The book is set to publish in late 2025."
Deadline: September 15th, 2025
Payment: $50 plus two contributor copies
Theme: Cyberpunk
“A world dependent on computers and suffering at its core, there is no utopia to be found in this space. It is flashy neon advertisements juxtaposed against grimy poverty and cynical moral ambiguity. But there are plenty of poets and rebels fighting for a better tomorrow within the margins.
Show us what world you see among hackers and artificial intelligence. Is your cyberpunk vision filled with neon or drab utilitarianism? What does it mean to be human or machine in a world blurring the lines between both? Give us complex noir anti-heroes, explorations of punk culture, and a growing rebellion.
Fantasy and horror poets: You are encouraged to submit as well. This is not strictly a science fiction theme. Tell us stories of magic users stuck among technology and the conflicts that erupt. Describe a cyberpunk city powered by magic instead of electricity. Or what poetic horrors might lie waiting inside these future metropolises?”
Submit 1-3 original poems
Payment: $5-$25
Deadline: September 15, 2025
Theme: Sacrifice
“The Dark Corner is interested in publishing dark, weird, supernatural, paranormal, Gothic, sci-fi, horror writing. As long as there is a darkness at the centre of the story, we want it.”
Fiction or poetry welcome. No reprints.
Deadline: September 17, 2025
Payment: €50 for each story or accepted poems.
Fiction and poetry
"Trollbreath Magazine is a journal of speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, publishing electronic issues on a quarterly schedule. Our interests are as varied as the endless amount of genres, from dark fantasy to hope punk to surrealism, and everything in between. We have a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms, but what motivates us most are great stories by wonderful authors eager to share their visions of the past, the future, the in between, and everything that lies outside the margins."
Note: The call I came across on Horror Tree also stated they were open to nonfiction and art, but this is not stated on the site’s guidelines. Please read the guidelines carefully, with attention to when stories are made available to the public.
Deadline: September 30, 2025
Payment:
For Fiction: "We pay 4 cents (United States currency) per word for original works, and 1 cent per word for reprints at the time of publication."
For Poetry: "We pay a $25 flat fee for any poem we purchase at the time of publication."
For Nonfiction: "We pay a $40 flat rate for any article we publish at the time of publication, up to a total of 2500 words in length."
For Art: "We pay $150 for cover artwork."
Theme: Humor
Stories in any genre that are witty, humorous, and LOL funny.
“We love strong character voices, absurdity, momentum, vulnerability, and surprise. We want the pieces only you – yes you, weirdo – could write. We want to think, we want to cry, and we want to laugh our butts off. We’ve been attached to our butts for far too long.”
Payment: $25-$100, on publication
Deadline: October 1, 2025
Only one submission allowed. No reprints. Length not specified.
This Week’s Book Promo
This week, I promoted my free ebook, Self-Care Suggestions Book. I think that we could all use a bit of self-care every once in a while!
Enjoy the excerpt!
Excerpt from Self-Care Suggestions Book
Copyright © 2022 by Dawn Colclasure
What is intellectual self-care?
The self-care suggestions included in this book are meant to help you care for yourself on many levels: Emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. These are all very important aspects of your life as a whole. Establishing good mental health practices
can boost your mental health. The same goes for your intellectual side – that is, your mind. Just as you need to care for your emotions, your spirituality and your mental health, you also need to care for your mind. That is where intellectual self-care comes
in. Intellectual self-care is when you do things to boost your intellect and brainpower or establish practices to keep your brain going strong and in good health. Just as you need to take care of your body, you also need to take care of your brain. I like to call
the times I used to read as times to “feed the brain.” By using intellectual self-care, you will help keep your brain and mental functions strong.
Why is intellectual self-care important?
As mentioned above, intellectual self-care is good for your brain. It can keep your brain functioning well and delay mental decline as we age. A study was done that proved people who practiced intellectual self-care routines such as daily reading, working on crossword puzzles or remaining active learners had a better chance of delaying dementia as well as cognitive decline than their peers who did not pursue such activities. Another study showed that individuals who pursued hobbies had better memory after some time participating in this hobby because having a sense of purpose seemed to boost their brainpower.
Thanks for reading! See you next weekend!
I am sorry about your setbacks. And thank you for sharing your strength and perseverance.
Very true, Dawn. We all have to face difficulties, but a positive outlook and "counting our blessings" helps to overcome the negativity.