Hello and welcome to episode 70 of The Saved as Draft podcast! This week, I sat down with Wild K. Nebula to talk about her latest projects and much more. It’s a fantastic interview, so I hope you all enjoy it!

And, if you’re curious to check out an excerpt from her upcoming novel, Beta Gamer Three, you can read an excerpt at the link below:

Community Spotlight

This week’s community spotlight is on Rebecca Watson (ReBe). If you’re interested in donating or sharing the recent GoFundMe page that launched to support her, you can find that right here.

Halls of Pandemonium Week 3 Leaderboards

Here are links to all the stories featured in this week’s episode, starting with our unranked shout outs:

* A Special Love Language by Terrifying Tales

* Cat Piss at the Foot of God by Every Root, Every Thorn

* So, I Wrote an ‘Axe’ Murderer by Wendy Russell

* My Draft-Eating Parasite Has Better Taste Than the Algorithm by J.M. Gooding

Week 3 Lightweight Leaderboard

* The Thing Inside by M. Brandon Robbins

* A Hymn Sung Softly by Yorviing

* Persephone’s Footsteps by Daria

Week 3 Middleweight Leaderboard

* Scars Refusing to Hide by Nimita Kaul

* Where Are They? by Sarah Tinney

* The Bone Witch Cometh by Richard Pack

Week 3 Heavyweight Leaderboard

* The Changing by Gary L Taylor

* The Tape by Verdant Butterfly

* The Director’s Cu— by L.G. Wells

Hello everyone! Welcome to this week’s episode of the Saved as Draft podcast. Please find links to all this week’s stories (and a link to Scriptorum, where you can see the mid-month leaderboard) below:

Community Spotlight

This week, the spotlight is on Vonnie G. Clemens Jr., who has been hosting a new series called Bedtime with Cooper that I absolutely love. Be sure to check out his profile and subscribe so you don’t miss out on new episodes!

Week 2 Unranked Story Shout Outs

* Melody Beneath Concrete by Eira Linden

* The Muses by Hazel

* My Muse Abandoned me and I Returned to Splatterpunk Roots by J.M. Gooding

* A Flight Curtailed by Leeron Heywood

* Limited Bandwidth by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

Week 2 Lightweight Leaderboard

* The Downward Spiral by M. Brandon Robbins

* Waiting on Nothing by Lila Cave-Park

* Me Times Three by Daria

Week 2 Middleweight Leaderboard

* Via Con Me by Nimita Kaul

* All The Time to Spare by Jeremy

* Dig Down to the Core by Sarah Tinney

Week 2 Heavyweight Leaderboard

* Ship Comes in Every Day by Gary L Taylor

* My Fairy Muse by Verdant Butterfly

* The Grief Buffet by Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hello everyone! Apologies for the late upload, but this week’s episode is here. I’m really excited to unveil the top stories from week 1 of The Halls of Pandemonium challenge.

And of course, my guest this week is eco-fiction author, poet, and podcaster, Mina Howell! Mina is here to share updates on all her projects and to talk about what’s next in 2026.

Find links to everything else mentioned on the show below:

Community Spotlight

This week’s community spotlight is on Tamsin G., a writer of cozy fiction, and an artist of immense skill and talent.

She’s been stuck in Substack jail after a short hitatus, so please head on over to her publication and check out some of her work to boost her back into the algorithm’s good graces!

Unranked Shout Outs

* My Must Got a Promotion and Rewrote my Childhood by J.M. Gooding

* Beginnings (Cento I) and (Cento II) by Wendy Russell

* The Spirit of Foul Play by Gregory Blair

* Art Imitates Life by Memphis King

* That’s No Iceberg by Hallie Jules

Week 1 Halls of Pandemonium Leaderboards

* DEIGN by Albert Kivak

* Chop-Chop! by Anton Anderson

* Joint Interplanetary Link Layer (J.I.L.L.) by Brennen Costa

* Paint with all the Colors of the Wind by Daria

* Morning Coffee by DJ Stapleton

* I Got Told! by Nimita Kaul

* My Mother, My Hero by Richard Pack

* Again by Sarah Tinney

* Multifaceted by Daniel Coates

* Main Sea Suction Valve by Vonnie G. Clemens Jr.

* Two Letters, One Truth by Verdant Butterfly

* Wet, Red, and Slick by Gary L Taylor

* Dear Kira by Mina Howell

* He Could Have Drawn Worlds by BentButTrue

* Tumble’s Bath by A.M. Bowman

The Writer's Journey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 67 of The Saved as Draft Podcast. I’m switching to a bi-weekly interview schedule, so it’s just me yapping this week, but I hope you’ll still tune in for all the great stories.

Community Spotlights

* Check out the brand new newsletter from J. Alleyn Winchester titled A Look into the World Tome.

* Get ready for Ani Beeler and Eliza James’ Porch Prompts challenge launching May 4th!

* A huge thank you again to my writing group for all the awesome feedback on my novel outline this week. Be sure to subscribe to Wild K. Nebula, Richard Pack, Daria, Daniel Coates, and Wilhelmina Owings. And of course, shout out to Trayvon R. as well, who is not currently on Substack, but is part of our group as well.

Wandering Prompt Winner

Well, J.M. Gooding did indeed make me cry again with his winning story Photographs. Read at your own risk, and bring tissues.

Weekly Shout Outs

This week, I took a look at five of my favorite stories from Flash Fiction February, to celebrate the launch of my new challenge, The Halls of Pandemonium.

* For the Love of Hot Water by Mariah K. Porter

* Mountain Music by Sarah Tinney

* The Playpen Incident by Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

* Xenophilia by The Circus Dragon

* Tourney of Fates by Mina Howell

* BONUS: A Heart Isn’t Born Black by Terrifying Tales

Power up Prompt Stories

Thank you again to Hazel for helping with this week’s prompt, and for reviewing some of the stories/ballads!

* The Tavern of Unfinished Things by Wendy Russell

* The Hush by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* Other Conditions of the Good Life by Guy Craig

* Memories of You by Mina Howell

* The Door in the Song by Sara da Encarnação

* The Hills of Peregrin by Vonnie G. Clemens Jr.

* Ballad Man by Hallie Jules

* The Ballad Called Felix by Felix Thornfell

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 66 of The Saved as Draft podcast. This week, my guest is author A. M. Shilling who recently published THE DEVOURING, which I reviewed over on The Writer’s Journey.

Be sure to check out her website, and click below to get your copy of this excellent cosmic horror thriller:

This Week’s Shout Outs

* Mermaid in the Bathtub by Tina Crossgrove

* Excess: The Useless Thing That Made Us Human by The Biological Imagination

* Night Watch by JR Phillips

* Cocooned in Wonder by Sarah Tinney

* A.V.A by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

Wandering Prompt Winner

* Blade Mistress Gail, Formerly Known as Pam by Verdant Butterfly

Power up Prompt Stories

* The Cleanest Restrooms in Hell by L.G. Wells

* Echoes of Dathomir by L.G. Wells

* A Body Made of Wanting by Connor Mancuso

* Bruises by J.M. Gooding

* The Ghost Weight by Abhishek Banerjee

* Site LETHE by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* The Shadow Mirror by Every Root, Every Thorn

Welcome to episode 65 of the Saved as Draft Podcast! This week, my guest is LM Sypher, an author and artist who many of you may recognize! If you have yet to check out their book The Serpent’s Rise, get your copy at the link below:

And don’t forget to check out the Indie Ink Fund’s new weekly portal prompt! You can also support this awesome group by grabbing some merch from their website.

Community Spotlight

This week, our community spotlight is on Luden Gray's Symposium! I recently got to meet Luden in person at an author event near where I live. Her book, The Kingdom of Deception, is out now!

Wandering Prompt Winner

Our winner of last week’s Wandering Prompt was Malrik Raithmoor—The Liturgist with the story Mars to Major Tom.

Weekly Shout Outs

* On Entanglement by Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

* The House With No Address by Mathew C. Bryant • Horror Poet

* RTSA 38 - Don’t Encourage Him by Wendy Russell

* Obviously Oblivious and Unfair Game by Nimita Kaul

* The Worms Took Less Than You by Spencer D.W.

Power up Prompt Stories

* The Spirit’s Gift by Anton Anderson

* Changing Places by Suparna Chakraborti

* The Bucc-ees at the Edge of Forever by J.M. Gooding

* Lock in, Chat by Wendy Russell

* Meet-Cutes in the Time of Brisket and Wormholes by Hallie Jules

* Parallax by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* Aisle Seven Incident Report by BentButTrue

* Wings of Suburbia by Malrik Raithmoor—The Liturgist

* The Hunger Between Shelves by Every Root, Every Thorn

Hello, and welcome to episode 64 of The Saved as Draft Podcast! This week, my guest on the show is Trevor Cohen! Find links to all the stories mentioned in the show below:

Community Spotlight

This week, our community spotlight is BentButTrue! Be sure to subscribe to him and to the Indie Ink Fund as well!

Weekly Shout Outs

* The Medusa Glitch: Part 2 by Tina Crossgrove

* Audrey the Unicorn Girl: Chapter 1 by E. H. Lau

* The Legend of the Broadsword Samurai by John Grishak

* Memories Worth Fighting For by Terrifying Tales

* Why do they feel familiar in a way I can’t explain? by Joel L

Wandering Prompt Stories

* Winner: Out of Leaves by Wendy Russell

* Runner-up: Madam Lurk’s Tick Tock Tea by Tamsin G.

Power up Prompt Stories

* Angel of Death by Mina Howell

* Black Dahlia Tea - A Short Story by Malrik Raithmoor—The Liturgist

* The Cursed of the Forlorn Forest by Gregory Blair

* The Girl and the Queen of the Grove by J.M. Gooding

* A Years and a Day by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* The Half Son Returns by Terrifying Tales

* The One Who Came Before by Every Root, Every Thorn

* Appointed Night by Rebecca Watson (ReBe)

* Patchwork Heart by Mina Howell

* Ruby by Anthony Michael Malec

Please enjoy this reading of The Order of the Pawn: Chapter 11!

Hello and welcome to episode 63 of The Saved as Draft Podcast. My guest on today’s episode is Maryellen Brady 💗📚, the winner of the heavyweight bracket in Flash Fiction February 2026.

Maryellen and I sat down to talk about her status as a two-time champion in my writing challenges, and she answered a bunch of questions submitted by the community.

Community Spotlight

Our community spotlight this week is Caley Robison! The first book in Caley’s enemies-to-lovers romantasy series is on sale until TOMORROW for just 99-cents. Grab you copy at the link below

Weekly Shout Outs

* The Threshold by Edward.Marlo.Ruiz

* It is Raining by Hazel

* The Art of Line Editing: How to Turn Prose into Music by High Priestess Lakeisha and Dansinger | Daan Katz

* Footprints by Tamsin G.

* Mass Extinction Event by Suswati Basu

Wandering Prompt Winner & Runner-up

This week, Sarah Rusch joins me on the show to talk about the winning Wandering Prompt story, Playtheon by Verdant Butterfly

We also discuss the runner-up from last week’s prompt, which was of course The First Spark by J. Alleyn Winchester.

Power up Prompt #28 Stories

* Extraction by Gregory Blair

* The Guy Who Hates Hard Tacos Asked me to Write a Haunted Scalpel Story. Kira Showed up by J.M. Gooding

* The Manor that Kept by Malrik Raithmoor—The Liturgist

* SUBCLINICAL by Maryellen Brady 💗📚

* They Found a Way by Terrifying Tales

* The Kiss of Peace by Hallie Jules

* Power up Prompt #28 by Mercedes de Santiago

This is a continuation of my entry for Mina Howell’s Week 5 Micro Fiction March prompt. While not required to understand this one, I recommend reading or listening to that first. You can find it here.

This is Jameson’s final story. I hope I did him justice…