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Shadows in the Attic Pre-Order and Cover Reveal

Come and dig beneath the cobwebs, under the dust and through the forgotten boxes with horror historian

J. F. Gonzalez.

Cover art by the amazing Lynne Hansen!

Shadows in the Attic

An unfinished history of horror

Collecting non-fiction works from J.F. Gonzalez, Shadows in the Attic takes the reader from Ancient times to the mid-40’s weaving a tale of the history of horror—all the while discussing writers and stories that influenced, that captivated, and cultivated the genre through the centuries. 

Includes articles from LampLightAfraidHellnotes and a never before published history of Splatterpunk, with a list of related works.

Shadows in the Attic Reader

Foundational Classic Horror 

This companion anthology to J. F. Gonzalez’s Shadows in the Attic collects dark tales that inspired, frightened and made new ground in the horror genre. 

Including writers like M. R. James, Francis Stevens, and Robert W. Chambers, the stories here compliment the rich history, a guided tour through horror’s past. 

So come, let us head to the third floor, and dig through the boxes and trunks stored in the attic and see what darkness we can find. 

Pre-orders

Pre-order today in print and ebook! Both titles will be released on 25 April 2023! 

(We are not sure why there is no Kindle pre-order, but it will be sold for Kindle!)

Shadows in the Attic Print: 

Shadows in the Attic Reader Print

Shadows in the Attic eBook:

Shadows in the Attic Reader eBook

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For Your Consideration

The last two issues of LampLight magazine were a special call. Each of these stories represent the first pro-sale of an author, marking an important step in their journey.

We want to offer both issues to you for free, that you may take these short stories into consideration for the Stoker Awards. Follow the link to find them in ePub, mobi and PDF.


March 2022

ePub

Mobi

PDF

Fiction From

  • Anuja Mitra
  • Lowry Poletti
  • Trix Middlekauff
  • Alys Key
  • S.E. Chapman

June 2022

ePub

Mobi

PDF

Fiction from:

  • Jessica Peter
  • Eammon M. Garland
  • Anne Perez
  • RB Kelly
  • Mo Usavage

They are two fantastic issues of LampLight containing love and betrayal and ghosts and war and horror. We hope you enjoy.

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All Good Things

We have two amazing issues of LampLight coming this year in March and June, filled with writers who have made their first pro-sale. My intuition says that it will not be the last you see of them.

March is out now, get your copy.

The June 2022 issue will be the last.

This June LampLight will be 10 years old; not bad for a small magazine. LampLight has had an amazing run, but it is time for other projects, other adventures.

Editor Jacob Haddon talks more personally about this on his blog post.

Thank you all who helped with the editing, reading, those who subscribed and supported, those who reviewed. LampLight would not have existed without you.

For any who are sad to see us go, there are still 40 issues of amazing dark fiction to read each filled with some of the best fiction I have ever read.

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Strange Nests is out now in Print – Again!

A relaunch of Strange Nests by Jessica McHugh, a book of Blackout Poetry inspired by The Secret Garden. Out now in paperback available all over, get your hands on this beautiful and dark collection of art and poems.

and in expanded eBook Distribution!

About Strange Nests

the secret about dying arrived scrawny. it’s growing stronger & fatter though & whispers,
“go mad.”

Beyond ancient gates, among thorny overgrowth and carnivorous blooms, a raven called Death waits tirelessly for its chance to roost within us. Using scraps of love, remorse, anger, and pain, it weaves. With erasure, memory, and discovery, it binds. And from the garden of wounds that grows within our broken hearts, it builds Strange Nests.

In the follow-up to her Bram Stoker and Elgin Award nominated collection, A Complex Accident of Life, Jessica McHugh uses poetry, design, and illustration to unearth the horrific, consumptive, and transformative nature of grief from the pages of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, The Secret Garden.

Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh is a novelist, poet, and internationally-produced playwright running amok in the fields of horror, sci-fi, young adult, and wherever else her peculiar mind leads. She’s had twenty-four books published in twelve years, including her bizarro romp, “The Green Kangaroos,” her YA series, “The Darla Decker Diaries,” and her blackout poetry collection, “A Complex Accident of Life.”

Please visit McHughniverse.com for more samples of the McHughniverse.

As well as both A Complex Accident of Life and Home Birth both published by Apokrupha!

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Strange Nests in Print!

The print edition of Jessica McHugh’s follow up to A Complex Accident of Life is here! (Finally)

We had some troubles with the KDP requirements (troubles Complex did not have…); and we are not going to compromise on this book. The book looks fantastic, and just as we want it, through Lulu! This title really shines in print, so we hope you’ll check it out.

the secret about dying arrived scrawny. it’s growing stronger & fatter though & whispers, “go mad.”

Beyond ancient gates, among thorny overgrowth and carnivorous blooms, a raven called Death waits tirelessly for its chance to roost within us. Using scraps of love, remorse, anger, and pain, it weaves. With erasure, memory, and discovery, it binds. And from the garden of wounds that grows within our broken hearts, it builds Strange Nests.

In the follow-up to her Bram Stoker and Elgin Award nominated collection, A Complex Accident of Life, Jessica McHugh uses poetry, design, and illustration to unearth the horrific, consumptive, and transformative nature of grief from the pages of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, The Secret Garden.

With an amazing cover by Lynne Hansen

Out today in eBook, print

And a PDF edition featuring the beautiful full spread of art and poetry available only on Apokrupha.com

Advanced Praise for Strange Nests

Strange Nests is a brilliant collection of poems that speak in a subtle voice of deep darkness. Jessica McHugh conjures real magic here.”

—Jonathan Maberry, NYTimes bestselling author of Relentless and Ink

“Jessica McHugh finds the deep truths hidden in plain pages. This collection will plant rose bushes in your heart. You’ll feel every bloom and bleed with every thorn.”

—Sarah Read, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of The Bone Weaver’s Orchard 

“Jessica McHugh’s Strange Nests is a beautiful, somber reflection on life, death, grief, and the bonds between siblings. A wondrous read that will lull you into a lovely breathless silence.”

—doungjai gam, author of glass slipper dreams, shattered

“McHugh’s newest offering of blackout poetry is more than words circled on printed pages, each set of two pages shows the original page covered in beautiful, colorful drawings, the poetry outlined and the second page with the reborn poems. The combination is two pages that visually excites our eyes and new poetry that touches our soul.”

—Linda D. Addison, award-winning author, HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and SFPA Grand Master.

Jessica McHugh

Jessica McHugh is a novelist, poet, and internationally-produced playwright running amok in the fields of horror, sci-fi, young adult, and wherever else her peculiar mind leads. She’s had twenty-four books published in twelve years, including her bizarro romp, “The Green Kangaroos,” her YA series, “The Darla Decker Diaries,” and her blackout poetry collection, “A Complex Accident of Life.”

Please visit McHughniverse.com for more samples of the McHughniverse.

As well as both A Complex Accident of Life and Home Birth both published by Apokrupha!

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LampLight Special Submission Call

Update 9 Nov 2021, we are full, submissions are closed, thank you everyone who responded and supported!

“If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.”

We are going to take a new turn for the submissions. The criteria to submit will be as follows, the following statement must be true:

“If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.”

And to make that true, we will be raising our pay scale to match:

6¢ (USD) per word (based on HWA guidelines)
5100 words MAX (firm)

Yes, this lowers the max word count, but that is to keep within budget. So this go-round, we will not take any stories over the word count. We’ve added a 100 word buffer, so target that 5,000 word mark as a max. (For this call, strong 1,500 – 3,000 word stories will fair best.)

One of the things we’ve loved over the years is finding new writers and showcasing them for the first time. These two issues are going highlight new writers and hopefully be just the first of many times you will read their work.

Now, since there will no doubt be some questions, here are some answers:

FAQ

Can I submit a story 5200 words?

No, 5,000 words is the max, with a 100 word buffer.

But what if you just don’t pay for those extra words?

Then it wouldn’t be professional rate, and would miss the intention of the issue.

What if my pro-sale was at a lower pay rate years ago?

If it was the professional rate at the time, it counts as a pro-sale.

What if I’ve had a pro-sale in another form / genre?

If this is your first short story pro-sale then you may submit, even if you’ve had, for example, a professional non-fiction release. If you have short story pro-sales in other genres, however, you are not eligible for these issues.

What’s a ‘Pro-Sale’? In this context?

LampLight is a horror market, so we are going by HWA guidelines for this. A ‘pro-sale’ will be 5¢ per word for a fiction piece, regardless of length. 

This was a flash fiction sale, not a short story sale…

The demarcations between fiction pieces, like flash, short, novelette, are to let the reader know how long they are, and aren’t really different categories. If it was pro fiction sale, it counts.

Submissions

In your cover letter, please add the following statement: “If accepted, this would be my first pro-sale.”

We open up 15 September, so there is time. We are looking for dark, quiet horror. Guidelines are posted here, good luck! We are excited to read your work!

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LampLight Volume 9 Issue 3

April 2021

The new issue of LampLight is here!

A restless ghost searches for answers. What happens when the stage lights are turned off? A strange illness and secrets from the past collide. A garden of second chances. A new mother’s restless night. Memories of a better time, of a better holiday. and directions Joe Langley’s house

Fiction from:

  • Anya Ow
  • Travis Tyler Madden
  • Natasha Pavlitsevits
  • Gillian Knox
  • Lisa Amico Kristel
  • Amanda Michele
  • Victor Sweetser
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A Complex Accident of Life is a Bram Stoker Nominee!

A Complex Accident of Life, by Jessica McHugh, blackout poetry inspired by Frankenstein is on the final ballot for the Stoker Awards for poetry collection!

Congratulations to Jessica McHugh!

This is a great title, and we hope you will check it out (and that amazing cover by Lynne Hansen!)

PrintKindleOur Store

Find the full ballet here, and congratulations to everyone who has been nominated!

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The Night Wire – LampLight RadioPlay

iTunesSoundCloudGoogle PlayRSS Feed

It’s 1926. Jim works the night-shift at a newspaper, sorting out the stories that come in over the news wire telegraph, so he’s used to reading tragic stories. But the story that comes in tonight isn’t a typical news story.

Based on the story by H.F Arnold, found in Volume 2, Issue 3

Starring Bryan Coffee

The audio of a church service was from Eelke, under a Creative Commons License. (https://freesound.org/people/Eelke/sounds/462593/)

Adapted and Produced by Andrew Wardlaw

If you enjoy this, don’t forget to grab your subscription to LampLight Magazine and never miss an issue!  A subscription supports both the magazine and the podcast.

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LampLight Volume 9 Issue 2

December 2020

The new issue of LampLight is here!

Fiction from: Monte Lin, DeAnna Knippling, V. Medina, Brigitte N. McCray, Sean Mabry

What would you do for your brother? A writer cuts out words, cuts up paper, what do they find? The cities speak, if only you know how to listen. The song of an Appalachian folk legend. A daughter comes home late with a secret. And a Christmas Eve ghost story from 1868.

Get it today in ebook, and subscribe to LampLight and never miss an issue!