There is something incredibly exciting about seeing the contents list of a publication for the first time—for so long, you’re a house on a hill, far away from civilisation and then, suddenly, you’re in the middle of a village, and it’s real. It’s always wonderful to learn that you’re surrounded by friends. When Shacklebound Books revealed the contents list for Drabbledark – An Anthology of Dark Drabbles: Volume II this weekend, I recognised so many of the names listed that it felt a little bit like coming home.

That’s a dramatic thing to say, but I stand by it.

My tiny story, “Beside a Cemetery, a Stone Wall, a Skeletal Tree”, will be appearing alongside work by Taylor Rae, Tea Riffo, Ai Jiang, Antony Frost, Emma Louise Gill, Patrick Barb, Vanessa Jae, Chelsea Pumpkins, TJ Price, Carson Winter, Stephanie Parent, and so many other writers that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting through the brilliant writing community (and horror community) on Twitter and elsewhere. It’s the first time I’ve been acquainted with a solid chunk of my co-contributors and, I can’t lie to you, it feels really good.

Drabbledark – An Anthology of Dark Drabbles: Volume II is going to be an excellent book for dipping in and out of—each story is its own little mouthful—and I cannot wait to read it.

Set for release on June 1st, you can preorder the anthology on Kindle by clicking here. If paper is more your style, you will be able to order the anthology in print when it’s released.