The Writer’s Diary: 31 Tales Complete & The Spooky Season Anthology Hits eBook Stores!

​Boo! It's Done!

November is here, which means my spooky season countdown challenge has officially come to an end. After a month of daily idea generation, writing, editing and publishing on social media to meet my self-imposed sprint of terror, the 31 Days of Horror challenge is officially in the books. Quite literally!

​31 Days, 31 Tales: Mission Accomplished

​What started in September as an idea, and then on the 1st on October 1st as actual writing, my wild attempt to craft and post a new piece of horror microfiction every single day has ended. I also posted each story across Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and TikTok, which meant design, editing and polishing was also part of that challenge. 

Some of the stories were just a single slide, like The Trespasser Tree, and some were longer multiple slide carousels. I really enjoyed writing and collating 31 distinct stories under daily deadlines; it was a fantastic workout of narrative compression, tension-building, and quick-turnaround editing. 

Also, managing the daily graphic design, story formatting, and cross-platform posting was a trek, but crossing the finish line on Day 31 felt amazing.

​Spooky Season Tales is Out Now!

​As promised, these stories aren't just going to disappear into the depths of social media feeds or get lost under algorithm suppression. I’ve gathered the entire collection, polished the manuscripts, and assembled them into a single, comprehensive volume that I've called Spooky Season Tales.

​So, whether you may have missed a few days during October or simply prefer having a clean, standalone digital copy to read offline every spooky season, the collection is officially live and available to grab right now!

​Where to Find the eBook:

• ​Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.eu/d/0iq5sl2Z 
• ​Kobo & Kobo+: https://shorter.gg/tiCdRS 
• ​Google Play Books: https://shorter.gg/huuEWM 

​If you’re a subscriber to Kobo+, you can read the entire collection as part of your subscription starting today.

​What’s Next?

​With October out of the way, the word counts for my big 3 are now officially unpaused. November means it's time to return to long-form storytelling, and i can get back into the gritty streets of Manchester with Sanctorum’s Veil (picking up right at 17,999 words), dive back into The Void Between, and see what's happening with Rollo Whitglade in The Whisper in the Margins.

​I want to thank everyone who has read, liked, shared, commented, and enjoyed my stories. And to all those who followed along with the daily microfiction drops throughout October ... thank you! 

​If you do pick up a copy of Spooky Season Tales, please consider leaving a quick rating or review on your favourite site. Every review and rating makes a world of difference for indie authors!

The Writer’s Diary: 25 Tales Down, Social Media Fatigue, and an October Anthology

Keep on keeping on...

​We are deep into the final stretch of October, and the daily marathon of dread shows no signs of slowing down. While the main manuscript meters remain paused for the month, my desk has been transformed into a production line for short-form horror—and the milestone count is climbing rapidly.

​The 31 Days of Horror: Reaching Story #25

​By the time you read this on Monday morning, story #25 will officially be live, keeping the daily streak firmly intact as we barrel toward Halloween!

​The published lineup has been expanded every day this month, with a final plan for a complete collection of 31 stories. Since our last update, I've added a whole host of new nightmares to the list:

• ​The Hole in the Road
• ​Unlucky for Some
• ​Go Faster!
• ​The Video Feed
• ​Platform Two
• ​Still Life
• ​Descent
• ​Caller ID: Me
• ​Collection
• ​Parking
• ​Incoming
• ​Midnight Craving
• ​Black Cat
• Microwaved Demon

​From uncanny technical glitches (Caller ID: Me, The Video Feed) to classic atmospheric dread (Platform Two, Black Cat), maintaining this daily pace has been a fantastic workout for narrative compression.

​In addition to Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, I've also started bringing these daily microfrights over to TikTok, expanding where these short stories can be read and experienced!

​From Social Posts to a Bound Collection

​Writing 31 distinct stories in 31 days generates a substantial body of work—and I want to ensure these tales have a life beyond the fast-moving, temporary scroll of social feeds.

​I’m currently in the process of collating all 31 stories into a single collected volume. The plan is to package them into an anthology aimed for release on Amazon KDP very soon. It feels great knowing that this October challenge won't just vanish into the digital ether, but will instead become a permanent, standalone piece of work that readers can download, hold onto, and read every spooky season.

​The Social Media Grind: Battling the Algorithm

​It isn't all plain sailing, though. If I'm being completely honest, this month has brought a fair amount of social media fatigue.

​The constant pressure to push stories across various platforms—only to be met with zero views or find out through "insights" that a pitiful 2% of my own followers are actually being shown the posts—is thoroughly disheartening. Writing the fiction is the joyful part; fighting opaque algorithms just to reach the people who already pressed 'follow' is an uphill battle that many indie authors know all too well.

​That’s precisely why projects like the upcoming KDP collection, branching out to TikTok, and maintaining this direct blog are so vital. Social media platforms come and go (and suppress reach at will), but direct reader connections and self-published books remain under our control.

​If you want to catch the final stretch of daily tales before the full anthology drops, head over to my Instagram, find me on TikTok, follow along on Threads or find me on Facebook!

The Writer’s Diary: Pausing the Epic Projects for 31 Days of Horror

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And Now for Something Different...

October has arrived, and with it, a traditional shift in writing a reading for many. You may have noticed I haven't been posting word count updates for my big three over the last few weeks, and there is a very good reason for this.

I have temporarily hit 'pause' on my big WIPs and instead decided to challenge myself with a daily marathon of horror and dread.

​October Microfiction: 31 Tales of Terror

​For the entire month of October, I am taking on a personal writing challenge. I am crafting and sharing 31 distinct horror microfiction stories across Instagram, Threads, and my personal Facebook.

​It’s a complete shift in focus from the slow, deliberate world-building of Sanctorum’s Veil, The Whisper in the Margins or The Void Between. 

Instead, microfiction forces brutality. It demands absolute precision because you have to set a scene, build tension, and deliver a chilling twist or an uneasy atmosphere in just a handful of sentences or even, in some cases, characters.

​As of this morning's posting here, there are 11 complete stories published and ready for you to devour, with Day 12 creeping out later today!

​The published lineup so far includes:

• ​The Trespasser Tree (A favourite of mine that originally fit into the strict 280-character limit of a single tweet a few years ago, now dusted off and given a fresh lease of life in the carousel format)
• ​Slow Reflections
• ​Swarm Harvest
• ​Night Bus
• ​Tap Tap Tap
• ​Who?
• ​Underpass
• ​Ride Along
• ​Unexpected Passenger
• ​Behind the Boxes
• ​The ShortCut

​Crafting the Carousel Experience

​To make these stories pop on visually driven platforms like Instagram and Facebook, I’ve designed a dedicated, retro-inspired set of themed slides for each posting:

• ​Slide 1: A consistent cover graphic featuring a textured pumpkin-orange backdrop, retro ghost illustrations, and a clear callout for the specific day of the challenge.
• ​Slide 2+: The story itself, spread across as many slides as needed to let the horror breathe.

​I actually kicked off the month with a double-header—posting two distinct microfiction pieces on a single slide—mostly because I completely messed up and forgot to post on Day 1! Nothing like an immediate recovery effort to set the pace for October. Since then, the narratives have expanded in scale, with the longest story so far stretching across an immersive 7-slide carousel!

​Rejections & Resubmissions

​On the submission front, it’s not all smooth sailing—as every writer knows all too well. I recently received a rejection for one of my magazine submissions. The email was thoroughly automated, cold, and almost robotic, which takes any personal sting out of it! Rejection is simply part and parcel of the submitting game. I’ll be dusting the piece off, reviewing the manuscript, and finding a much better home for it elsewhere soon.

Main WIPs on Intermission

To give this spooky daily output the attention it deserves, my major projects are taking a brief, well-earned intermission:

• Sanctorum's Veil (sitting at 17,995 words)
• The Void Between (sitting at words)
• The Whisper in the Margins (sittng at words)

They will all be waiting patiently on the shelf when November rolls around. For now, it’s all about short, sharp shocks, eerie themes, and testing how much atmospheric horror I can pack into a carousel post!

The Writer’s Diary: Ruthless Edits, Expansion Strategy, and Entering The Shortys

Writing, Deleting & Writing Again

It has been a fortnight of structural surgery, narrative expansion and contest entering in the pond. 

Sometimes being a writer means knowing when to wield the delete key without mercy, when to leave the big projects alone in favour of something else and also pulling long-dormant lore out of your head and finally giving it room to breathe on the page.

And it was my birthday too ... yes, I completed another successful spin around our sun. Here's to many more!

The Big Three: Edits and Refinements

Progress across my primary focus projects has been steady, if occasionally dramatic:

• Sanctorum’s Veil: I made the executive decision to completely delete the original Chapter 13. It was only OK, and it simply wasn't working; the pacing felt off, and it didn't serve where the story needed to go. In its place, I’ve drafted a brand-new Chapter 13 and I have added roughly 995 fresh words instead that fit the narrative far better.
  
  Total Word Count: 17,999
  
  
• The Void Between: Progress has been a little slower here as I work through the intricate sci-fi mechanics, but I’ve added another 500 words to keep the momentum going.
  
  Total Word Count: 3,900
  
  
• The Whisper in the Margins: I have completed Chapter 4, I think. This story is shaping up nicely and now there are two incidents deeping the mystery in quick succession. 
  
  Total Word Count: 5,221

Forever Jupiter: A Different Modular Approach

While Sanctorum’s Veil, The Void Between, and The Whisper in the Margins form my main trio of WIPs, I am treating the novel-length expansion of Forever Jupiter as a completely separate beast.

Instead of a traditional linear rewrite, I am approaching the expansion work like a series of interconnected short stories. These will eventually be woven into the existing novella framework, with appropriate edits to blend it all together.

I kicked off this process by writing a brand-new Chapter 1! All the additional lore I'm putting down now was actually all in my head when I wrote the original version back in 2022, but I stripped it back so I was able to hit specific contest word counts. Now, James Hamlin's world is finally getting the full scope it deserves.

These additions also open up the world to give me aa potential for writing aaEsequel, or sequels. Only time will tell.

Entering The Shortys with Borrowed Time

On the contest front, I’ve officially submitted my recent short story, Borrowed Time, into The Shortys on Wattpad!

For those who haven't caught the story yet (it is free to read on Wattpad), it’s a tight, time-slip mystery following an author writing in a quiet café. Suddenly, time freezes completely around him, and he finds himself faced with an impossible choice: lend an hour of his own life to a mysterious stranger. It was a blast to write, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs with the judges and readers.

The Failing Writer's Podcast Flash Fiction Contest

Another contest I entered was the annual flash fiction contest from the (IMHO) best writer's podcast out there. I have entered two stories here --  one about a woman forced to use "the umbrella defence" and the other about prophetic baked goods.

The challenge here is to write a flash fiction piece no more than 300 words long, and to include a specific phrase -- to learn the rules and the phrase, you will need to listen to the episode. I'm not giving any clues here.

The Writer’s Diary: Creeping Fog, Sci-Fi Drafts, and Expanding Jupiter

Taking it easy?

It has been a slightly quieter fortnight on the main manuscript front, but that certainly doesn't mean the desk has been idle. While the major novels and novellas took a brief backseat, my creative energy shifted into horror anthology submissions, audio production, and foundational sci-fi world-building.

Shifted Priorities on the Main Lineup

Progress on my big WIPs was deliberately light these past two weeks:

• The Whisper in the Margins: I added roughly 400 words to Rollo Whitglade's investigative mystery. I'm keeping the gears turning nicely.
• Sanctorum’s Veil & The Void Between: Both took a short pause while I focused on short fiction and audio edits, but they remain queued up for the next drafting push.

Fresh Creeping Dread: The Fog that Knocks

My biggest triumph over the last fourteen days was writing a brand-new short story titled The Fog that Knocks. Sitting at just over 2,100 words, it’s a tale built entirely on atmosphere and slow-burn, creeping dread.

Previously, I was creating a new story called The White Rider, but I got a little lost in the weeds on it, so I've paused it for now. 

Interestingly, a beta reader for The Fog that Knocks recently introduced me to a term I hadn't come across before—'creepypasta'—which refers to those modern, internet-born urban legends and eerie horror stories shared online. They described The Fog that Knocks as a Doctor Who variety of the genre, which I think is a brilliant way to frame it!

​I’ve already designed a custom cover for the story to set the mood, and you can see that as my image for this ppost. Again, I have not used GenAI, and I am very pleased with the outcome here.

I’m also excited to share that I have officially submitted The Fog that Knocks to an open call for The Phantom Pulse, a fantastic horror anthology magazine. Crossing my fingers for good news from the editorial team!

The cover image I created as a "just for me and my friends" thing, because at no point is there a hint that the submissions form asked for any art work.

Audio Master Classes & New Sci-Fi Seeds

Work on Memory Letters hasn't stopped, either. I’ve been wading through the master audio files for the upcoming audiobook, splitting the tracks into clean chapter files and making detailed notes on any tiny audio tweaks needed before the final launch.

Between audio checks, I’ve also drafted the foundations for two brand-new sci-fi short stories:

• Letter to My Past Self (~700 words)
• Am I Still Human? (~800 words)

Both are early-stage concepts, but they are already offering some really interesting premises to explore for my upcoming Kindle Short Reads initiative.

Building the Foundations of Forever Jupiter

Finally, I’ve been spending quality time mapping out the world-building for the novel-length expansion of Forever Jupiter.

I hit a moment recently where I realised there were key aspects of the world’s history and mechanics that I had completely forgotten to detail. I've spent the week fleshing out these underlying world-building notes. Whether these specific background details make it directly into the final narrative or stay hidden behind the scenes, having them mapped out is going to make the actual drafting process infinitely easier and far more cohesive.

The Writer’s Diary: ONC Final Results, Fresh Covers, and Theme Park Horror

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Lots to Celebrate

The dust has officially settled on the Open Novella Contest for 2026. It has been a long, thrill-packed ride over the last few months, and while the waiting game was a test of endurance, the outcome is something I am definitely celebrating in the pond today.

​Memory Letters Earns an Honourable Mention!

​The ONC judges have finally announced the grand winner and the four runners-up. I want to share my heartfelt congratulations to each of the authors on that list. I've read many of the stories, and they absolutely deserve their places. 

While Memory Letters wasn't in that top five, the story ended its contest run on a massive high note. And I'm so pleased. 

​Along with the main winners, the judges also released an official Honourable Mentions list—a curated selection of just 40 stories chosen from the entire competition. I am absolutely delighted to share that Memory Letters earned a spot on that list! Starting from the thousands that entered, surviving every culling to reach the Shortlist, and finishing among those top 40 recognised pieces is a brilliant validation of Jane's story. 

Now that the contest has wrapped, I can finally focus on setting up the wider release and also on getting the upcoming audiobook edition into your ears!

​Fresh Ink: Sci-Fi Cafés and Dark Theme Parks

​Alongside my usual manuscript updates, I've had a productive burst with three brand-new short fiction pieces. Two I've completed, and one I'm about a third of the way into:

• ​Borrowed Time: A tight sci-fi piece centered around a mysterious man who approaches a writer in a quiet café asking for an hour of time. I've also put together the official cover design for this one, featuring a striking triple-hourglass concept that sets the mood perfectly. (Word Count: 1,272)
• ​The Last Ride: A horror short that hits very close to home for a theme park fan! It follows three friends exploring a theme park near closing time as the atmosphere shifts from fun to something far more sinister. It is a fully written flash fiction piece, and I've also created a cover for this one too. (Word Count: 660)
• The White Rider: This is shaping into an unsettling tale about a man returning to his childhood home to face his destiny. (Word Count: 591 ... and counting)

​These may well form part of the new Kindle Short Reads rollout I mentioned recently, giving you quick, self-contained tales to dive into between my longer releases. Or they could end up somewhere else. 

​Pushing Forward Across the Board

​My primary active projects are continuing to gain momentum:

• ​Sanctorum’s Veil: Adding fresh scenes, even just a few words at a time, and expanding the narrative depth now that the early chapter restructuring is settled. (Word Count: 17,312)
• ​The Whisper in the Margins: Continuing Rollo Whitglade's investigative adventures as he navigates the magical archives. (Word Count: 4,258)
• ​The Void Between: Adding new lore and content while refining the broader Voidborne universe. (Word Count: 3,458)

​Ventures in Dread: The White Rider

​Finally, I am continuing to lean into darker themes at the moment. This is for a dedicated submission. There's an open call for short story submissions to a horror anthology. My story, The White Rider, when it is finished should be perfect. Fingers crossed. 

It's proving to be a fun challenge, leaning into pure tension and atmosphere for this piece, and I'll keep you posted on how the submission fares once it's sent off into the world.

The Writer’s Diary: Shortlisted, YouTube Refresh, and Standing Firm on AI

Good News and New Words

​It's good to be back at the keyboard after an amazing family break at the House of the Mouse. Hugs from Mickey were great, even with the heat of the Florida, but coming back to the desk with some really big news has made returning to the pond so much sweeter.

​Memory Letters Makes the Shortlist!

​Yes, I can officially share the fantastic news. Memory Letters has been named on the recently announced ONC 2026 Shortlist!

​To say I am over the moon is a such a huge understatement. From the thousands of initial entries, being narrowed down to 672 in Round 3, then 300 on the Longlist, the judges have cut the field down to just 96 stories. Knowing that Jane’s story has made it all the way into that final 96 is an amazing milestone. I know that it has taken a long time to get here, and for the ultimate winners to be announced this year, but I am doing my absolute best to practice patience.

​The delay in the contest’s final stages is having a knock-on effect for the wider release of the story, including the upcoming audiobook edition. I've been assured that the audio production is now almost complete, and what I've heard so far is fantastic, but the full multi-platform rollout has to wait until the contest officially wraps up.

​Across the Multiverse: Ongoing Fiction Updates

​While Memory Letters sits in the shortlist spotlight, the rest of my fictional universe hasn't been standing still:

• ​Sanctorum’s Veil: The comprehensive rewrite and expansion of the opening chapters is coming along brilliantly. Having worked out the little plot hole in Chapter 7, the manuscript is sitting at a really solid foundation. And I'm able to push further into the narrative.

The big news here is that I've officially started Chapter 13.

Word Count Check:  17,145

• ​The Whisper in the Margins: My D&D-inspired wizard-archivist mystery with Rollo Whitglade is gathering pace. Chapter 3 is fully underway. Blending urban fantasy with magical record-keeping is proving to be a blast to write, but I'm really enjoying the story as it develops. 

Word Count Check: 4,007

• ​The Voidborne Saga: The foundational world-building for this HFY sci-fi series is taking root in my brain. I’ve been fleshing out characters and creating alien languages (like the untranslatable title 'Stoth') while I continue hunting for human-crafted, non-AI artwork for the cover of The Void Between.

• ​Forever Jupiter: The blueprint for expanding this 2022 novella into a full-length novel, and hopefully setting up a multi-book series following James Hamlin’s immortal Roman, is now mapped out and ready for the next writing sprint.

​What's Coming to the YouTube Channel

​Speaking of audio and covers, I’m planning a bit of a refresh for my YouTube channel.

​I'm hoping to begin posting more of my stories in audio format, including some of my flash fiction tales. Also, I’m going to start creating practical 'how-to' videos for fellow writers and indie creators. My main focus to start with will be practical, zero-budget author skills. My first one is going to be something on how to design book covers without using GenAI. Learning how to manipulate typography and clean, human-made imagery on a shoestring budget is a crucial skill for indies, and I’m looking forward to sharing all the tips I've learned. 

​Short Reads and Polish: A New Kindle Focus

​Looking ahead on the publishing front, I am planning a new initiative for my digital shelf. This will be a dedicated set of Kindle Short Reads.

​I’ll be kicking this off by dusting off some of my older short stories, giving them a thorough polish, before releasing them on a reasonably regular basis. Depending on how those go, I'm also considering a curated collection, bundling these shorter reads into one book.

​A Line in the Sand: AI in the Publishing Pipeline

​There’s been a lot of chatter in the writing community lately about traditional publishers adopting "AI detection checks" to screen submissions. The irony, of course, means they are feeding manuscripts into an AI tools to do the scanning. Thus compounding the AI issue. 

​As someone who prides themselves on human-crafted storytelling and transparent, non-AI cover design, this is a concern. These AI detectors are notoriously unreliable and frequently flag legitimate human prose (notably Mary Shelly's Frankenstein). 

Currently I'm fully committed to remaining self-published, but I’ll say this plain and clear: 

If I ever decide to change my approach in the future, I will not query any publisher or agency that claims to use AI to detect AI. 

The human element of storytelling needs to be respected at every stage of the process.

​Recent Rhymes

​Finally, my brain dipped into verse, rather than prose, over the last few weeks. My recent trip (and a contest I saw hosted by The Failing Writers Podcast) inspired me to write some really bad poems. They're all really poor attempts at humour, and I'm not lighting up the poetry world here, but I’ve included a couple below for your reading pleasure: 

A Spin on the Rides

This was inspired by our first day at Epcot.

Can you identify the rides we were on? 

The Invisible Man

We also went to Epic Universe for a day, and I met The Invisible Man!