Why is it that days that feel like they’ll never get here always end up sneaking up on you?
Today is the day my first book officially releases, although for weeks now support and early reads and reviews have been rolling in like a tidal wave of joy. And now the day–9/9–is finally here and I am swept away in it. Truly, it feels like a dream come true.
It all started with a high concept idea. What if, instead of someone going missing, there was an extra?
Ten people head out on a backpacking trip, but the first night eleven set up camp. Everyone remembers everyone else. Who is the extra?
Not sold yet? Here’s what some award-winning and bestselling authors have to say:
And reviewers:
Want to know what you’re getting into, exactly? Here’s what you’ll find inside:
And if you’re thinking that a slim little novella just isn’t enough, you’re in luck, because The Extra is book #1 in The Outsiders Sequence, a trilogy of shared-world novellas. The Other comes out next year, and The Spare in 2027, so make sure you get your copy of The Extra now.
I would love so much if you’d join us to celebrate at the virtual launch party tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 6pm CST. You can come whether you’ve read the book yet or not, or even upgrade your free ticket to one that includes a personalized print copy mailed to you. It will include readings by the audiobook narrators, Q&A, and a teaser of book #2! It’s being hosted by my wonderful publisher Alan Lastufka and fantastic agent Alec Shane, and it’s going to be a blast! Just look at this crew!
And last but not least, if you’re a writer who’s been following me on my blog, or anyone who’s intersted in the “behind the scenes” of the writing life, I’m back as a guest today at my old stomping grounds Writer Unboxed sharing this book’s surprising journey with “You Don’t Choose Your Train.” How lovely to be so warmly welcomed back.
Thank you so much to everyone who’s helping make this debut special. It means the whole damn world. ♥
Somehow, in the midst of moving across the country and all manner of global chaos and personal upheaval, release day for my debut book is right around the corner. My novella The Extra is officially out in the world on September 9th, although subscribers to Shortwave’s quarterly book box have already gotten theirs, and pre-orders direct from the publisher tend to ship out early, and advance review copies have been floating around for weeks now…
Feeling left out? It’s not too late to get your pre-order in before we drop that “pre.” If you order direct, your copy will come with fun swag goodies while supplies last: a signed book plate (autographed sticker) and a custom coordinating bookmark. It’s also available for preorder wherever you normally buy your books, including the audiobook on Audible! (Sean Patrick Hopkins knocks it out of the park with his reading.)
As I mentioned, my family recently (as in less than a month ago) moved from Texas to Minnesota, so I am in a brand new state with no writing connections and am still living out of boxes. Still, though, this is something I’ve been looking forward to for years, so we’re going to make time to celebrate. And I would love nothing more than if you could join me.
It’s a virtual launch party! On Wednesday September 10, 7pm EST (that’s 6pm central for my Texan folks), my fantastic publisher Alan Lastufka of Shortwave Publishing is hosting a Zoom event to celebrate the release of The Extra. Talk about going above and beyond. Alan is amazing. My literary agent Alec Shane will be co-hosting, and in attendance will be the stellar audiobook narrator duo Sean Patrick Hopkins and Patricia Santomasso, along with some other special guests, like authors Tanya Pell and Clay McLeod Chapman (who generously blurbed the book). My dearest critique partners will be there, and (I hope) as many family members, friends, readers, writers, followers, interested people, and whoever else would like to pop in as can make it.
We’ll have Q&A, live readings, and all kinds of fun. It should be a great time. I would love, love, love if you’d come too. It’s free to register through EventBrite, unless you’d like to upgrade to a personalized print copy of the novella that I will sign and mail out after the event. (There’s even an option to buy the sold-out Q4 book box from Shortwave!!) You are welcome to come whether you’ve read the book yet or not!
In case you missed it, the shared-world novellas being published by Shortwave now have a series title: The Outsiders Sequence. The Extra is book #1, and there might be a little sneak peek of The Other (book #2) during the event. 🙂
Questions? Requests? Drop them in the comments. And please reserve your spot for the event on Wednesday, 9/10/25 for a fun evening to help me celebrate this milestone. I hope to see you there!
Some news about the publication of my books! The publisher of my collection, Bad Hand Books, has signed a major distribtuion deal with Baker & Taylor, which is a huge win for me and their other authors; it means our books will appear in bookstores and libraries all over North America! This win does mean some adjustments, though, like shifting the release dates of several of their titles, inlcuding mine.
So You Have to Let Them Bleed will now release in the first quarter of 2026. If you’ve already preordered it (thank you!), everything is still good to go; it will ship upon release with a signed bookplate. If you’ve haven’t ordered it yet, please do! Direct from my publisher will include an autographed book sticker while supplies last. And everyone can also add it to your “want to read” shelf on Goodreads now.
What this means, if you’re keeping track, is that my novella The Extra will now be releasing first! The Extra releases on September 9th this year–so just about four months away! If you don’t yet have that one lined up to ship as soon as it’s out, you can preorder The Extra direct from Shortwave to also receive a signed bookplate and extra swag goodies while supplies last. (You can add The Extra on Goodreads too!)
If you like behind-the-scenes type stuff, like me unboxing my print copies of my first two books, be sure you’re following me on Instagram @AnnieNeugebauer. That’s where I’m most active online. You’ll also see author blurbs praising The Extra and You Have to Let Them Bleed on Instagram (as well as on my book pages on my website) as they come in. Highlights so far:
Huge thanks to these incredible (and incredibly busy) authors for reading my books and offering such generous support. It means more than I can say. 🖤
In other news, I have an amazing story acceptance to share! My new short story “We Have Always Been Red” will be in Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year, edited by Michael Bailey and Chuck Palahniuk!! It’s quite an honor; mine was 1 of only 6 stories chosen from well over 2,000 submissions. Slush pile for the win! The lineup here is incredible, with some of my favorite authors. Wicked cover. Coming next fall through Saga (Simon & Schuster); more as I hear it!
This is a busy, hectic time for me, but there is so, so much amazing stuff happening. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s supporting me and sharing in the joy! Thank you all!
What a wild time. I can’t believe I’m here sharing more good news with you, but I’ll take it where I can get it. I’m so, so happy to announce that I’ve sold two more novellas in The Extra universe to the wonderful Shortwave Publishing!!
The image above is the Publishers Marketplace deal announcement (with design fun by Alan Lastufka). Although the formula for PM listings (all one long sentence with a bunch of clauses, code phrases for deal types, etc.) might be baffling for people outside of the book industry, take it from me that many a writer has read the deals every day and dreamed of the time our book(s) would appear there too. It is such a cool feeling. So a quick less-weird way to tell you about these novellas that are in the same universe as The Extra:
The Extra: 10 people head out on a backpacking trip, but 11 set up camp. Everyone remembers everyone else. Who is the extra? (September 9, 2025)
The Other: A couple on an outdoor retreat meet their doppelgangers and soon must put to the test how well they truly know each other. (2026)
The Spare: A young woman is replaced by her nonexistent twin when this spare infiltrates her family’s reunion. (2027)
What a busy few years I’m gearing up for! Thank you so much to everyone who’s making time and energy to celebrate with and support me! And of course, thanks to editor Alan Lastufka for putting faith in me with these two extra titles.
And let’s wrap with one more big happy thing. Huge thanks to Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of BURN TO SHINE and COLD WAR (and one of the kindest and most hardworking authors around), for his amazing early blurb for The Extra:
“With THE EXTRA, Annie Neugebauer spins a disturbing tale of paranoia, identity, and horror packed with twists you absolutely won’t see coming! Highly recommended!”
What a dream. It’s my first book blurb ever, and such a thrilling one! I’m so grateful for the excitement around this debut. Line up your copy of The Extra now, and subscribe to my blog to make sure you’re first in line for cover reveals, preorder links for the sequels, and all the good stuff!
I’m not huge on New Year’s resolutions, but I do love the changing of the calendar as a chance to pause and take stock. I value intentional gratitude, need reminders to appreciate my successes, and enjoy dreaming ahead.
At the end of each year, many authors begin sharing their awards eligibility posts online, which is a way of summarizing what things they had published that calendar year for people who vote in various writing awards. For 2024 I only had one piece published that wasn’t a reprint, so I was feeling a little low about it. Then I started building a list of things I did this year, and it helped me put things in perspective. Reprints are awesome; work doesn’t expire, and having them published again can reach a whole new group of readers. Sometimes the things happening are behind the scenes, “old,” or forthcoming. It’s all well worth celebrating!
Here are my writing highlights from 2024.
I sold my first short story collection. You Have to Let Them Bleed is scheduled for publication in spring of 2025 by Bad Hand Books. This will be my debut book. You can preorder your paperback with a signed book plate.
“This is one of the most exciting high concepts I’ve heard all year, and frankly I need this injected into my body more than an antidote in a zombie pandemic.”
Because of The Extra, I signed with a film agent! There has been some cool movement there. I will share what I can when I can.
“The Pelt” by Annie Neugebauer was probably the best horror I have read in a long time. The story builds slowly, but at a nice pace that doesn’t drag. It takes the horror similar to The Yellow Wallpaper, but ups the ante. It has the same vibes, but make it country and darker.
The ending was woah. It took me a few minutes of staring into the void to even start my rapid texting of people to demand they read it. It was so good. […]
I could go on all day about this story. It was by far my favorite story in the collection. The others were great, but “The Pelt” was perfection.
Because of FEARS, I participated in a podcast interview on FEARMONGERS with Clay McLeod Chapman, alongside Ellen Datlow, Josh Malerman, Hailey Piper, and Dale Bailey. I was honored to talk shop with these greats.
Thanks to selling my first books, I finally took the plunge on something I’ve been saying I would do for years; I had professional photographs taken for author headshots. These were done by Melissa Spurrier, who is wonderful, and I loved the experience. Here are a few favorites.
A neat milestone: I sold my first literary fiction story with no speculative/horror elements. I’ve only written a few such stories, despite loving the genre, so I’m delighted to have “The Grief Machines” coming out soon in Swing. You can preorder Volume 2 Issue 1 now. It’s a story about grief, love, and sharks.
I received news of the second foreign language translation for my short story “So Sings the Siren.” (The first was into German!) For those who speak Spanish, it will appear as “Así Canta la Sirena” in Déjate Caer, La Tuerca Andante in January.
“13 Tourist Destinations for Horror Lovers,” my nonfiction essay, was reprinted in the excellent Gamut Magazine. Subscribers can read it here.
I sold another short story (chock full of weird and disturbing speculative/horror elements) to a stellar literary journal I’ve worked with before. Details about “A Song of Being Left Behind” coming soon.
I finished drafting my tenth novel. (Fifteenth(ish) book.) It’s a fresh genre for me, and maybe the most fun I’ve ever had writing something. It took ten months of slow determination to type it from my brain onto the screen. I’m really proud of it.
I also wrote a new short story.
Last but not least, seeing as this is my only item eligible for 2024 writing awards, which is what started this whole summation, my poem “Getting the Gigs” was published in the HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XI. It might make you look at laughter differently. (Sorry.)
So, not too shabby a year after all. I can’t believe how much I have to be grateful for. I’ve gotten to work with so many incredible people doing such fantastic work. I’m so lucky and glad to be here doing what I love.
Next year? Well, next year my first two books come out, along with at least two additional new stories. Beyond that, only time will tell. Here’s hoping it tells a tale worth sharing.
Thanks for being here with me. I hope 2025 brings you good things.
Annie is a novelist, blogger, nationally award-winning poet, and two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated short story author. She’s the author of The Extra, The Other, and The Spare (The Outsiders Sequence), and You Have to Let Them Bleed.
