Creatives Getting Coffee

Michael Bettendorf returns to the podcast!

Last we spoke, Michael was in the thick of edits with TRVE CVLT, the weird metal interactive game book from Tenebrous Press, the premier publisher for all things weird.

TRVE CVLT has been officially released (and scrambled this poor broadcaster's brain). In this episode, we discuss the road to publication, the complicated formatting process for a book like TRVE CVLT, Michael's book tour, and the types of stories he's looking to publish moving forward.

Purchase TRVE CULT on the Tenebrous Press store!

View Michael Bettendorf's personal site

Diane Billas is the author of the YA sapphic contemporary romance novel DOES LOVE ALWAYS WIN? and the YA superhero LGBTQ+ novel SUPERFICIAL releasing September 2024. In our discussion, we chat about both novels, the intriguing murder mystery novel she's actively querying, and her writing process as a toddler mom. Diane also discusses the queer representation in her books and why she believes it's important to provide that perspective to modern readers.

Diane Billas lives in Philadelphia with her husband and son. When she’s not writing she can be found reading multiple books at once, performing the French horn and piano, or dreaming of the next country she’s going to visit.

Diane can be found at dianebillas.com, on Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @dianebillas, and on Instagram @dianebillaswrites.

Find her books via LinkTree 

Kelly Brocklehurst is the co-editor of and a contributor to the Blood Rites Horror anthology Welcome to the Funhouse and has contributed to several other anthologies. The House That Remembers, the newest publication in the Price Manor series, is Kelly’s debut novella.

In this coffee chat, we discuss her history with the Deadline Horror Collective, a group of horror writers who contribute to anthologies and who work together to publish the Price Manor series of standalone long-form works. We also discuss her life as a librarian and how she balances writing with work and her community involvement.

Purchase The House That Remembers Here

View Kelly's Work on GoodReads

Follow Kelly on Instagram

Sam Beck is a writer and illustrator living in Toronto, and the author of the fantasy trilogy VERSE. She has worked with publishers like Dark Horse and Vault Comics on multiple series spanning across science fiction, fantasy and horror.

In our discussion, we chat about her recent graphic novel Loving, Ohio, as well as her upcoming third installment in the Verse Trilogy, Verse Book 3: The Song (Preorder now!).

Follow Sam on GoodReads 

Loving, Ohio: Available Now!

Verse, Book 3: Available October!

Stephanie Sanders-Jacob is an author and artist. She writes horror and weird fiction. Her alien abduction novel, Singing All the Way Up, came out in July 2023. Pyramidia, a horror story about multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes, came out in February 2024 with Slashic Horror Press.

Stephanie lives in Sandusky, Ohio. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Author Site

Follow Stephanie on GoodReads

William Sterling is a novelist, screenwriter, and the host of the Killer Mediums podcast from Dacula, Georgia.

His latest works include String Them Up, a murder-puppets horror novel from Crystal Lake Publishing, and the upcoming Dead Men's Chests, which is releasing in October 2024.

He loves all things horror, but has a soft spot for accessible "popcorn flick" horror with grandiose set-pieces and unexpected endings. Please check out the BOOKS tab above for a complete bibliography.

Reach out on Twitter: @Spooky_Sterling

Subscribe to the Killer Mediums podcast

Haley Newlin is one of the hardest-working creatives in the indie horror space. In addition to her publications, she’s one-half of Twins and Talent, a book marketing team that aims to help writers get better visibility on their published work.

About the Author:

In 2016, Haley’s gothic short story “The Tactics of a Cryptic Arbitrator," was a finalist in the Penmen Review fall fiction contest. She has since published two novels and is working on her third. Her short story "The Butcher on Blue Jay Way," is featured in Kandisha Press' SLASH-HER anthology, which has received praise from Stephen Graham Jones and Barbara Crampton. ​ 

Find her on Instagram: @haleynewlin_author ; @twinsandtalent 

Emily Ruth Verona is the author of the novel Midnight on Beacon Street, a 90's set home invasion thriller published by Harper Perennial in January 2024. In this discussion, she shares all things Beacon Street, including her inspiration, the writing journey that led to its publication, and the joy of injecting her love of horror movies into it.

Emily received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. In 2014 she won the Pinch Literary Award in Fiction. She is a Bram Stoker Award nominee, a Rhysling Award Finalist, a Jane Austen Short Story Award Finalist, and a Luke Bitmead Bursary Finalist. Previous publication credits include fiction and poetry featured in several anthologies as well as magazines such as The Pinch, Lamplight Magazine, Mystery Tribune, Black Telephone Magazine, The Ghastling, and Nightmare Magazine. Her essays/articles have appeared online for Tor, Bookbub, Litro, BUST, and Bloody Women. In 2023, she founded the horror book blog Frightful. She lives in New Jersey with a very small dog. 

Find Emily's work via the links below:

Author Site

Instagram

X (Formerly Twitter)

Find more information on the podcast and Mad Axe Media at www.madaxemedia.com.

Mallory Cywinski is an author specializing in book club fiction, horror, erotica, and PNR. She's also the Founder and Director of Fox and Dagger Publishing, a graphic designer, a social media manager, an editor, a paranormal investigator (you read that right), and a Mom.

In this discussion, we chat about Mallory's writing journey from her first book Making Friends with Ghosts all the way to starting a new publishing company and gearing up to release Six Troubles, Seven Sins on June 21st, 2024.

See her work at the various links below:

Author Site

Fox and Dagger Publishing

• Submissions are now open!

Instagram @author.malloryc

Subscribe to her email newsletter