Another Self Promo Post --This Time for Reals

 And I know, the last blog entry about an anthology barely included me in it -- the Dancer anthology -- which had a couple of my haikus and a lot of short horror gems from other writers. But this time I need to give a shoutout to Graveside Press and this beautiful horror anthology called Tiny Terrors: Spring 2025.

I have checked out Graveside Press in the past, and was blown away by A Mortuary for Songs by Elizabeth Guilt in particular. It inspired me to submit something to an open call for submissions, and I did, never thinking it would get accepted. But it did, and here it is: The Body and the Blood, among a list of over thirty stellar pieces by various authors. It's fresh out, as of today and while I haven't had time to read all of the stories in it yet, I have read a few. So let me touch on those three because, again, I was blown away.

The ones I chose at random to read gave nods to classic horror authors while maintaining their own originality.

Lawyer, Captain, Cook by Kevin Oldham tells the tale of a lawyer who makes a disturbing bargain while on a privateering journey across the high seas in order to save his own skin, as it were...

The Echo and the Altar by P. N. Harrison pays respects to Lovecraft, as a son discovers the reasons behind his veteran father's PTSD.

The Confession of R. N. Renfield (Undated and Unread) by Kay Hanifen presents Stoker's side character from Dracula and gives him an intriguing backstory.

and then there's mine, The Body and the Blood, about a priest on the edge of losing his faith until he finds himself locked inside his church with others taking refuge at the dawn of a zombie apocalypse. George Romero is mentioned... 

Okay, maybe my entry has a totally different tone, but that's the beauty of this anthology. There's a little something for the niche horror fan and a whole lot of everything for the general horror fan. The writing of the above three mentioned stories is stellar, and I give props to the Graveside Press editors who tackled mine. So go to the direct link at Graveside Press, or go to your favorite book retailer and buy your copy. It's a worthwhile edition to any horror reader's collection.

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Self Promo Time—But Not Really: Reviewing Dancer, A HauntedMTL Charity Anthology

Cover Image
Courtesy of Czykmate Books

So, I’m between a rock and a hard place with this unique little anthology of horror. You see, I'm in it, and I have made a commitment to refrain from rating my own work. My contribution to this collection consists of two haikus, six total lines within 150 pages. So maaaayyybeee I can review it? Without technically rating it? The haikus are fantastic (haha jk), but seriously, the collection of short stories and poetry is worth a look. Standouts for me include:

Kevin Hollaway's graveyard crime story Unrest

Nicole Luttrell's environmental horror piece Everything Is Fine

Sci-fi horror The Hunger Between the Stars by Kody Greene

Kathy Sherwood's The Roadside Room about a dangerous one night stand

Glenn B. Dungan's weird The Bug Room about a boy and sentient bugs with cryptic lessons

Rob Swystun's touch of folk horror with Canta Hotinza, about a mysterious construction site spreading across the land

But that’s not all. Sarah Das Gupta has both poetry and short stories of merit, and the rest of the collection has the potential to resonate with readers of a variety of tastes and interests.

Better yet, the curator of this collection, Jim Phoenix, plans to give the proceeds of this book to a worthy charity, the children of Ukraine. Anthologies are a great way to get in a touch of reading when you’re too busy to commit to a full fledged novel. And this one is for a great cause! Check it out. I recommend it even if I’m technically a part of it. My part is two cents worth of the entire book, so I think I might get a pass this time. 😉

Find it here, or wherever you choose to buy your books.