Tricky Treats and Sneaky Peeks

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Annie Neugebauer

Spooky people! (And normal people during spooky season!) I’ve had much going on since last week – so much so that instead of giving you more to read here, I’m going to tantalize you with bits and send you to read the things I’ve already written elsewhere. Here are three of my posts with a little sneak peek of each so you can pick your poison treat, though there’s no need to limit yourself to one. Like Halloween candy, the fun is in tasting them all. 😀

Last week I announced my #BooksBrewBoo October blog celebration and giveaway. Basically, I want to give you coffee and a scary book! The complete rules are here. This post is eligible, as are two of the three below. (The other has a giveaway of its own–’tis the season!)

13 Tourist Destinations for Horror Lovers at LitReactor

This has to be the most fun I’ve had putting together a post for LitReactor so far! The world is full of creepy, macabre, eerie, and horrifying things, and I want to go see them all. So far I’ve only seen two of the thirteen on this list; how about you?

Photo by Cordelia Persen

Taste: What’s creepier than an abandoned doll? How about hundreds and hundreds of them, mutilated and decaying, hanging from trees on a floating island? That’s what you’ll get if you dare to visit Isla de las Muñecas in Xochimilco. Legend says the owner of the island, Don Julián Santana Barrera, discovered a drowned little girl and hung her doll from a tree as a sign of respect. (Don’t ask me.) But after he became haunted by whispers and crying, he began hanging dolls all over the island in an attempt to free the little girl’s spirit. Although locals claim the place is ‘charmed,’ visitors consistently describe it as the creepiest thing they’ve ever seen.

[Click to read the rest; leave a comment with #BooksBrewBoo to be entered to win!]

How to Make Witch Books at the Horror Writers Association

Y’all know I’m crafty, so of course Halloween DIY is my favorite DIY. This year I decided to take some old hardbacks I’ll never read and turn them into wicked decorations for my mantel. The result is an amazing set of custom “witch books,” and I’ve talked you through making your own step by step at HWA’s Halloween Haunts blog series!

Taste: Click to enlarge!

Compendium Celestia, Serpents and Other Friends, Spells, Eros Enchantments, and Noctum.

[Click to read the steps; leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of Dark Hallows II! Bonus: includes an excerpt from my story “The Devil Take the Hindmost” in DH2, which you can win just by leaving a comment!]

Enter the Shadow Booth: An Interview with Annie Neugebauer at The Gingernuts of Horror

I do so love an interview, even more when it’s about horror and writing and my fantastically zombie-prepared hubby. As part of spreading the word about the Tales from the Shadow Booth Kickstarter, the Gingernuts of Horror are interviewing myself and the other contributors this month. It’s a lot of fun!

Taste: Q: The term horror, especially when applied to fiction always carries such heavy connotations. What’s your feeling on the term “horror” and what do you think we can do to break past these assumptions?

A: I feel so passionately about this that I’ve written entire essays. Here’s the short version: horror explores fear and associated emotions. That’s it. That’s the only defining requirement. Monsters and gore and genre conventions are secondary. So the best way to break past the stigma and assumptions associated with horror is to use the label liberally and consistently – to claim all of the types and styles of horror, not just a select few. People have to get past this equating of slasher gore with horror; there’s so much more out there that’s deep and intellectual and emotionally valuable. And fun, too. Don’t forget fun. They’re all valid uses of the genre.

[Click to read the rest; leave a comment including #BooksBrewBoo to be entered to win! Bonus: includes an excerpt from my story “That Which Never Comes” in Shadow Booth!]

Those are my three for the week! (I told you it’s busy season!) I hope you’ll go check out one or all of them and find something you like to snack on. 🙂 And don’t forget to leave a comment below and/or share any of my goodies this month to get your shot(s) at winning #BooksBrewBoo!

Happy reading!

Posted in Updates & Announcements | Tagged | 6 Comments

Books Brew Boo!

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Annie Neugebauer

Happy October!!

First things first, TODAY is release day for Apex Magazine Issue 101! This issue includes my horror story “So Sings the Siren,” and I am unbearably excited for you to read it. Unsurprisingly by now, it does come with a trigger warning. My story will go live on their website later this month, but if you, like me, can’t wait that long, you can purchase the whole issue now at Apex-Magazine.com for Kindle, Nook, PDF, you name it. Happy October to me!

As pretty much everyone in the universe knows by now, it’s my very favorite time of year. For several years now in October I’ve given away scary books to celebrate All Hallows Read, and this year is no exception – but there is a twist or two. (Plot or lemon—who doesn’t love a twist?)

Since coffee runs the world, and nothing goes better with a spooky book on a cool evening than a warm mug of boo brew, I’m giving away a book and a Starbucks gift card to one lucky winner! The gift card will be for the price of whatever Starbucks’ Halloween coffee concoction is this year (finding out is half the fun), but of course it can be used on tea, snacks, or any of their merchandise. And the book will likely be one of my two forthcoming October poetry anthology releases: HWA Poetry Showcase Volume IV by the Horror Writers Association or Undead: A Poetry Anthology of Ghouls, Ghosts, and More by Apex Publications. Choice of paperback or ebook as available!

Coffee and a spooky book, you want this, yes? Good. You can enter up to 13 times! (Lucky!) The winner will be randomly chosen from all entries, so the more you enter the better your chances. Eligible entry methods include:

  • commenting on any/each of my 4 October blog posts right here at AnnieNeugebauer.com (including this one!), 1 per post. All commenters will be automatically entered unless requested otherwise
  • commenting on any/each of my 3 October blog posts at LitReactor.com, 1 per post. To have your comment there counted, please include the hashtag #BooksBrewBoo
  • commenting on my interview at the GingernutsOfHorror.com. To have your comment there counted, please include the hashtag #BooksBrewBoo
  • tweeting to share any of my promotional links this month—up to 2 tweets. To have your tweet counted, please include the hashtag #BooksBrewBoo
  • posting on Facebook to share any of my promotional links this month—1 post. To have your share counted, please include the hashtag #BooksBrewBoo
  • purchasing my Writing Expense and Income Tracking Spreadsheet at its special discount price of $6.66 this month (use coupon code October). All purchasers will be automatically entered unless requested otherwise
  • donating to the Kickstarter for Tales of the Shadow Booth any time this month. A donation of $14 serves as a preorder for Volume 1, so this is a win-win. Tweet/Facebook share your “I donated” link with the hashtag #BooksBrewBoo to be entered, or privately message me a screenshot/confirmation to show you backed the project

All entries must be made by 11:59 CST on October 30, so I can announce the winner on Halloween!

Really the only things I have going on that won’t count are my stories/poems themselves (though sharing them does) and commenting on my post for HWA’s Halloween Haunts, since that comes with its own giveaway (details will be in that post).

Bottom line? Share any of the copious goodies I have going on this month using #BooksBrewBoo and you’ll probably be entered to win a free book + Starbucks gift card! If you have any questions or run into snags, feel free to message me. But the ghost spirit of the giveaway this year is to share my goodies to win your own goodies. Only treats, no tricks. 🙂

A few other things of note. The Kickstarter mentioned above is for a new journal called Tales from the Shadow Booth. Volume One will have my story “That Which Never Comes” in it! Pledging $14 or more not only helps make this project a reality, but it also serves as your preorder; you’ll get a print copy in the mail this December! This is a very cool project for eerie, literary horror stories (hello!) that otherwise have a hard time finding a home. Editor Dan Coxon describes it as “authors writing interesting stories in this hinterland – stories too philosophical and introspective to fit the horror genre, but too weird and unsettling to sit within the literary field.” My accepted story is an experimental look at what it means to run from our fears, and you’re not going to want to miss it.

Good news for writers: I’m offering a discount on my Writing Expense and Income Tracking Spreadsheet this month – because what could possibly be scarier than taxes? Use the discount code October to get this budget-keeping must-have for $6.66 all month long. This is geared towards all types and all levels of writers. If you spend or make any money at all, indie, trad pub, or freelance, you should be keeping careful track, and this spreadsheet makes it clean and easy. And does the math for you!

Finally, we have fun stuff to come here on this blog. I’ve gotten requests so far for my review of the new movie IT and a video reading of my poem “Light and Liquor,” so look for both of those. And if you have a request of your own to make, go for it in the comments. I can’t make promises, but it never hurts to ask.

Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and support during my busiest, happiest time of year. I hope this one brings you all as many treats as it’s bringing me!

Posted in My Works | Tagged | 20 Comments

The Giant Chart O’ Poems and What’s to Come

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Annie Neugebauer

Poets, I have a surprise for you! (Well, not a surprise if you follow me on Twitter, but probably otherwise.) Remember when I told you all about charting 500+ poems to make my submissions easier? That spreadsheet, the Giant Chart O’ Poems, is now available FREE for download at The Organized Writer.

If you’re a poet drowning in the complicated mass of poems, market requirements, contests guidelines, and submissions, do yourself a favor and use my spreadsheet template to sort everything. It will be MUCH easier from then on. 🙂

That’s really it for today – plus a quick note about what’s to come here on the blog. My favorite month of the year is only a couple of weeks away. I always do something to celebrate Halloween, and this year will be no different. I have several stories and poems releasing (October is high traffic time for us horror writers), several posts elsewhere lined up, a game, a discount for my loyal readers, and, of course, a giveaway! So keep your potatoes peeled and your eyes open, and check back often come October – or better yet, subscribe to get my posts by email if you’re not already! You won’t want to miss the fun I have planned.

See you ghouls come Spooktober. ♥

In Case You Missed It:

Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of Aquatic Terror has released in ebook and paperback! It includes my literary surrealism story “The Lighthouse,” along with many other wonderful tales of ocean horror.

And don’t forget to check out my latest posts on LitReactor: “When Books and Music Meet: 18 Literary Creations That Rock” and “A Gothic Literature Primer: Suggested Reading.”

Posted in Updates & Announcements | Tagged | 6 Comments

Poetry Reading of “The Fox”

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Annie Neugebauer

Hey guys,

I’m trying something new this week with a video reading of my poem “The Fox.” Watch below!

Click here if you’d like to order your own copy of Encore 2017!

Posted in My Works | 8 Comments

The Haps That Have Happened

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Annie Neugebauer

Staycation 2017

Hello out there, internet friends! I’m fresh back from my staycation, diving headfirst into a round of novel revisions and trying to get caught up on all of my business. How was the staycation, you ask? I think it all depends on what you’re comparing it to. Was it a vacation replacement? Not at all. Was it better than a normal work week? Absolutely. It was basically a week off to have fun with my husband. We tried new restaurants and bars, watched Netflix, went to a baseball game, that sort of thing. I didn’t get that Aaaaaaaah pressure release of visiting somewhere beautiful, and Texas is hot as Hell in July, but I am rested up and ready to get back to work.

Since it’s been a while since I posted a blog here on my main site, I thought I’d catch y’all up on what’s been going on that you might’ve missed. A big reason that my blogs here at home base have slowed down is because I’m busy busy posting them elsewhere! I’m writing more for my column at LitReactor – usually about twice a month. LitReactor has a cool, fun vibe and is geared towards writers AND readers. These are my latest three posts there:

I also continue to blog for Writer Unboxed every other month. This site is geared specifically towards writers, which is, incidentally, why I talk less about the actual craft/process of writing here than I have in the past. WU is a fantastic, supportive community for writers to talk craft, lifestyle, process, whatever. (Tip: the comments at WU are a huge part of the community and even of the content!) Here are my latest two posts there:

And of course in addition to my blogging adventures, I’m still publishing stories and poems when I can! Most recently out:

  • “The Fox,” Encore: Prize Poems of the NFSPS 2017 → Yay for placing first in this year’s nationals! This one is poem that shimmers on the edge of speculative—full of nature, whimsy, and longing. It’s one of my favorites, and I hope you love it too.
  • “Rocking,” Texas Poetry Calendar 2018, Dos Gatos Press → This poem is a reprint from last year’s Texas Poetry Calendar. 2018 is Dos Gatos Press’s last edition, so they did an editors’ choice anthology. This one’s a quiet little love poem.
  • “Pièce de Résistance,” Daunting Deviations, Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. → A short story reprint that you almost certainly missed the first time around. (The magazine it originally came out in was too expensive and hard to order.) But now it’s ebook-easy! This one’s horror with a literary edge.

Plus, can I get a heeeeell yeah for two exciting new short story acceptances? I most recently announced that “So Sings the Siren” will be appearing in the October Issue of Apex Magazine! AND that “White Paint” will be published in Cemetery Dance Magazine! (Issue TBA.) That’s two dreams come true right there. ♥♥ Both stories are literary horror – and they’re two of my best. I’m so pumped to share them with you.

While we’re looking forward to things, a quick rundown of what else is to come:

  • “The Lighthouse,” Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of Aquatic Terror (Vol. I), Scarlet Galleon Publications, August 29, 2017 → A weird, surreal, literary horror story that I think of as vaguely reminiscent of Julio Cortázar’s “La noche boca arriba.”
  • “Unravel,” HWA Poetry Showcase Volume IV, Horror Writers Association, 2017 → A very creepy free verse “love poem.” *evil laughter*
  • “Light and Liquor,” Undead: A Poetry Anthology of Ghouls, Ghosts, and More, Apex Publications, 2017 → A reprint of my spoon river poem delivered by a dead coal miner.
  • “Dealing in Shadows,” Suspended in Dusk 2, Grey Matter Press, January 9, 2018 → A heartfelt look at grief through the lens of speculative fiction.

Save some monies, because I’ve seen some cover previews and these are going to be GORGEOUS publications. And as always, if you ever want a recommendation or two catered towards your taste (or budget), just let me know!

As you can see, I’m as busy as ever. If you’ve been missing me here, rest assured I’m still around – just in different places. You can find me at LitReactor (my snarky side), Writer Unboxed (my sweet side), Facebook (my cat lady side), and my old standby, Twitter @AnnieNeugebauer. Or shoot me an email to say hi. 🙂

How have you all been? What has your summer held? I miss your sweet comment avatars; please fill me in on your latest below!

Posted in Updates & Announcements | 10 Comments