Spring Cleaning starts…NOW!

Dear Reader,

You will notice a few major changes in the emails that you receive from this moment forward. I wanted to do a bit of Spring cleaning to make things easier to digest on a month-to-month basis:

NEWS & UPDATES

• Monthly News are now Sneak Peeks. This email will now be focused on future plans. Sharing any pre-order news, especially.

• Twice Monthly Updates [new email]. Every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month I’m going to share what you may have missed from the previous 2 weeks.

COMMUNITY WRITING

• #pentober52 & Free Writing Friday are now OPT-IN to participate. If you have never opted-in to received the Wednesday #pentober52 then chances are you will NOT receive the 1st of the month Free Writing Friday emails. So, make sure you OPT-IN to “COMMUNITY WRITING” so you won’t miss these great emails and ways to collaborate and participate in writing activities within the community.

APRIL 2024 CALENDAR

Dates and emails are subject to change.

THE FIRST 100 RELEASE PARTY!

As of tomorrow, April 2nd, The First 100 is no longer in Pre-Order or just an idea on my computer but you can hold it in your hands. I did the “math” and if all of you, my most loyal of subscribers, were to purchase just one copy of my book it would more than cover purchasing all the remaining 13 bookcases I need to possibly unbox all of my books for the first time in nearly a decade! Wow! Not that I’m in a rush to put together 13 bookcases all at once! But it would truly mean a lot and you could own the very first 100 stories I wrote when this crazy journey started back on May 1st, 2023!

Click the button below to order on Amazon US (but you can certainly find it on other online booksellers as well):

100 WORD STORIES IN APRIL

This month in certain writing circles is “Poetry Month” and so I’m preparing to write 30 days worth of poems. Till now I’ve only written a few poems that were exactly 100 words so this will definitely be a challenge.

REMINDER: All previous 100 Word Stories are now in ARCHIVE for Paid Subscribers only.

SLEIGHT OF HAND

As this is an email where I’m only allowed to look forward I will say that April will include two very special stories that I’m excited to share with you:

The first is a short story for paid subscribers only, The Private Lives of Hannah and Amelia. I give you a closer look at the two old biddies who travel to and from work in the carriage with Charisma and Flossie. I hope you enjoyed their brief appearance in Sleight of Hand because this is your chance to learn an important secret about them. [April 8th]

The second is a part of the “A History” portion of Wondermere and is free for everyone. I love writing these really short stories because it gives me a chance to share a bit of history with you that will hopefully convince you (if you aren’t already) to become a paid subscriber and get unfettered access. In this third installment I’m going to tell you the history of The Caretakers of the colosseum. Who are the Pomroy women and how exactly did they come to have such an important job as managing the colosseum? [April 22nd]

ANATOMY OF TYPEWRITERS

With two stories down (I realize I neglected to release Part III and the Epilogue of Night Shift, but fret not, both are coming this week to catch-up). I seem to be getting more and more excited with each story I come up with to tell. As you know, each story will feature a typewriter in some way, hence the name of the anthology. In April I’m going to delve deeper into a scenario I’ve always been fascinated by; heredity.

A woman has just buried her father. If that wasn’t difficult enough, in his will he left her a letter explaining that she was adopted when she was just three months old and her birthmother left her a house. But it comes with conditions; she can never sell it, she can only leave it to her child (should she choose to have one). Why? What she uncovers in this home about the mother she never knew will shock her and make her question the rest of her life.

The Serial Hour Podcast

Go behind-the-scenes of two serials for deep dive discussions and the occasional guest to share their serial journey as well.

By Erica Drayton

A writing routine can make all the difference

Dear Reader,

I did a lot of writing (and talking) in February. If you don’t want to be bothered with the deets here’s the TL;DR version:

• The First 100 Pre-Order is OUT! Buy it OR Learn more. The Second 100 Pre-Order is OUT! Buy it now and look for the official email March 15th!

• Thirty-One 100 Word Stories written in February.

• Sleight of Hand four episodes.

• A Curio Fiction short story in 3-parts.

• The Serial Hour Podcast, Episode 1 with co-host

• Community Writing Activities

  • Four #pentober52 word prompt weeks

  • Four Free Writing Friday image prompt weeks

MARCH 2024 CALENDAR

Dates and emails are subject to change.

THE FIRST 100 AND THE SECOND 100 PRE-ORDERS ARE HERE

I give all the details about the book here. But I wanted to share some interior “spreads” with you straight from the book.

With literally 20min to spare before this email is sent out to you I decided to check Amazon to see if it was there yet and BOOM! Now, I know, I know, there is an OBVIOUS typo in the title that I am kicking myself now for not noticing. I have fixed it but it will take a day or two for Amazon servers to acknowledge the title correction. In the meantime, I am off to get The Third 100 pre-order read for you by April 15th!

100 WORD STORIES UPDATE

February theme revolved around Creatures of the Night tarot cards. A deck I obtained via Kickstarter years ago that can now be purchased on their #78Tarot Etsy storefront.

From Etsy: 55 Creatures of shadow and light and everything in between provide guidance and foresight through their distinct emotions and personalities.

In March, I asked my fellow travelers of the fiction community to provide me with a first sentence. I will, in turn, take that first sentence and expand upon it to create a story. Each contributor will be mentioned in the story.

SLEIGHT OF HAND UPDATE

The story took a bit of a tumble for me. But, like anyone with a vision and a story to tell, I did not let it hold me back. I took the necessary steps needed to retrace my steps. I needed to spend quality time with my main characters. You can too by reading some questions I asked myself about each one here. And after some much needed time away I discovered what was missing. March is when I implement my plans and be they best laid or not, I have a feeling the story is unfolding as it was always meant to.

CURIO FICTION UPDATE

It’s been a rather long time since I’ve brought up my idea for writing a collection of short stories in the genre of “curio fiction” but I have not forgotten it. In fact, towards the end of January an idea came to mind and in a matter of days I managed to write over 10k words for the first story. It was so long I split it into four parts and sent them on their merry way in February to all my paid subscribers. Now, I’m hard at work on the next installment for my collection and with any luck paid subscribers will be receiving the next story the month.

I love a good theme. It helps make the story and characters more clear in my mind. So, keeping that in mind here is the tentative cover for my collection. It is one I hope to release by Spring 2025:

Coming this month, a night security guard at a mall thinks some items in an antique shop are out to get him!

THE SERIAL HOUR PODCAST

Trust me, this is not me trying to bury the lead but, and I’m wicked glad to announce this…

The very first episode dropped last week! and I have come together to discuss our respective podcasts with all of you. Our hope is that through sharing our different journeys we’ll learn from each other and you will, in turn, learn from us.

Who is this podcast for?

1. If you’re reading either of our serials and want to learn more about them.

2. You are on a serial writing journey and looking for a great community to share what it’s like.

3. If you’re reading any serial either on Substack or elsewhere and you’re curious to get a behind-the-scenes perspective.

The Serial Hour Podcast

Go behind-the-scenes of two serials for deep dive discussions and the occasional guest to share their serial journey as well.

By Erica Drayton

COMMUNITY WRITING UPDATES

#PENTOBER52 REMINDER

Just in case you forgot, if you are a subscriber (I suppose you must be if you’re receiving this email in your inbox) and you want to participate in this year’s weekly Pentober52 then you need to OPT-IN. Click the button below and make sure to turn on receiving emails for #PENTOBER52.

FREE-WRITING-FRIDAYS

Alas, February was the final month for weekly Free-Writing-Friday posts. From now on this will be a once a month affair. The first Friday of each month you can expect a Free-Writing email complete with the usual image prompt and the start of a story (50-words) for you to finish with your own 50 words. It was not an easy decision to make but with all the time I want to spend on my own fiction I had to let something go. I hope to see you the first Friday of every month starting this month!

A writing routine can make all the difference

Dear Reader,

I did a lot of fiction writing in January. If you don’t want to be bothered with the breakdown here is the TL;DR version:

• Thirty-One 100 Word Stories written in January.

• Sleight of Hand five episodes.

• First Curio Fiction short story in four parts. (today at noon)

• Community Writing Activities

  • Five #pentober52 word prompt weeks

  • Four Free Writing Friday image prompt weeks – And retiring these emails.

• Other Substacks Updates

  • Beyond the Wizard – 1/3 finished with book five; The Road to Oz.

  • The Murder Pen Club – More reviews.

  • The Pickwick Club – Introduction and Welcome.

FEBRUARY 2024 CALENDAR

Dates and emails are subject to change.

100 WORD STORIES

In January I explored The Twilight Zone original series. I chose 31 random episodes (many of which are not as popular) and using the episode titles, crafted my own twisted story. What are your favorite Twilight Zone episodes from the past? Perhaps I used one of them?

SERIAL UPDATE

With 14,000 words written so far in this serial I decided to make a few key changes. For starters, this first part will only be 12 episodes instead of the pre-planned 14. Because I’m taking a different approach and outlining each episode as I go from week-to-week, my original outline no longer applies. I’m in very uncharted waters but so far so good.

As for extra content, I’ve changed that as well. There will be only one more piece in the “A History” section where I’ll give you more background on the Pomroy Women and I’m increasing the number of short stories (under 10k words) because I feel it’s better for my paid subscribers to have this to look forward to. Four stories are coming that will all take place from a different character POV but remain within Wondermere.

Find out more by visiting the Wondermere Index which I update frequently.

CURIO FICTION UPDATE

Last year I discovered the phrase “curio fiction” and I was fascinated by the concept. It’s part speculative fiction with just a smidge of horror, science-fiction, and mystery. The way I like to think about it is if Alfred Hitchcock were the creative mind behind The Twilight Zone, what would we get? Well, my dear readers, you’d get curio fiction.

My first story idea came to me almost out of no way. Just a seed at the time and in three days I frantically wrote nearly 10,000 words! Now, this is very much a rough draft and I can already see places where I’ll need to make some changes. Keep that in mind as you’re reading.

I hope to make this the first of several stories that will have a very clear running theme that connects all of them together to create my first ever collection of short stories. Another passion and dream of mine I hope to make come true in 2024 and I have you all to thank for that. Here is a sneak peak of the possible cover for this collection.

COMMUNITY WRITING UPDATES

I do a lot for the fiction writing community. Or at least, I try to. Twice a week I send prompts for all writers. Whether you write as a hobby or a profession. I realize these prompts aren’t for everyone and it takes up a lot of my time to put them together. Therefore, I will be cutting back on the frequency of Free Writing Fridays to make room for Pentober52 which I believe in and want to give a fighting chance to resonate with readers and writers alike. How this change will look moving forward is something I am still working on with my schedule but before I make any drastic changes I will be sure to let you all know. For now, February will remain a twice a week community writing affair. March will bring some key changes.

#PENTOBER52 REMINDER

Just in case you forgot, if you are a subscriber (I suppose you must be if you’re receiving this email in your inbox) and you want to participate in this year’s weekly Pentober52 then you need to OPT-IN. Click the button below and make sure to turn on receiving emails from #PENTOBER52.

OTHER SUBSTACK UPDATES

BEYOND THE WIZARD

Moving at a pretty steady pace, the citizens of Oz (aka Readers of the Famous 40) are on track to read books five through eight in 2024. It’s never too late and you’re never too young to read beyond The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Beyond the Wizard

Let’s set out on that Yellow Brick Road to read The Famous 40 Oz books.

By Erica Drayton

THE MURDER PEN CLUB

This is my outlet for all things murderous. I love a great mystery. Whether it’s in book form, tv show, or movie. This is where I intend to share my thoughts on the genre, reviews on books, spotlight unknown writers, and much more.

The Murder Pen Club

A group devoted to the stories of Mystery and Suspense excellence of the past, the present, and the future.

By Erica Drayton

THE PICKWICK CLUB

Beginning in March a small group of us will do a slow and steady read through of The Pickwick Papers. It’s the first novel written by Charles Dickens and the first serial publication that dates back to the early 1800s! Join us as February I’ll share a brief introduction and welcome to all new readers and March I’ll share the Table of Contents. Yes, it’s a 300k+ word novel but we’ll read it in the length of time it was publshed back in 1836, over the course of 19 months.

The Pickwick Club

Kick-starting the serial novel craze during the Victorian era (1836).

By Erica Drayton