anthology

Pearlskin, or the Oysterman’s Wife now available in If There’s Anyone Left, Volume 3

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Two posts in as many days—who am I and what have I done with Elou? Fear not, I am still the same word-fueled goblin child. Only now, I have another publication to share, which is always my favourite thing to share. If There’s Anyone Left, Volume 3, is now available in both ebook and print and I am so very excited! I’ve been looking forward to this one, not only because I adore my dark fairy tale flash fiction, but because I am sharing this table of contents with one of my favourite writers—and people—Taylor Rae, whose story, “The Light Will Leave You Warmer”, is one of the most beautiful pieces of flash fiction you will ever read.

My own story, “Pearlskin, or the Oysterman’s Wife”, is a dark fairy tale about an oysterman who dredges a bride from the bottom of the ocean and I love it a lot.

If you’d like to snag a copy, you can do so here.

Euan, who has not bathed in days, still smells like the sea and when he steps into the bathroom, she emerges at the scent, her wet head cresting the water so only her eyes are visible over the tub. 

The Oysterman’s wife looks at him as if she wants to kiss him or curse him, kill him or crawl inside him and curl up into the shell of his spine. 

— ELOU CARROLL, “PEARLSKIN, OR THE OYSTERMAN’S WIFE”, IF THERE’S ANYONE LEFT, VOLUME 3

Houses of Usher, out now!

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Hello, my darkest darlings. It seemed about time that I had an Edgar Allan Poe-inspired story out in the world, what with who I am as a person and everything; and so, I am thrilled to announce that Love Letters to Poe Volume II: Houses of Usher is now available to purchase. This purple dreamboat is the second in a series of anthologies inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and contains thirty pieces of gothic delight.

My story, “Good and Kind and Gone, All Gone”, features:

🏚️a good, kind man
🏚️a tortured brother
🏚️a dead sister
🏚️alliterative sibling names

Houses of Usher is available in hardback, paperback, ebook and large print.

If you’d like something to wet your whistle, here is the opening line of “Good and Kind and Gone, All Gone” for your delectation and delight.

The night the house split in two, Lucine was already dead.

Pre-orders for Their Ghoulish Reputation (featuring Foxmother) are now live!

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Greetings, wondercats. Recently, I have fallen in love with Folk Horror. Reading it, absolutely, but more deeply, writing it. Specifically, the story that will be appearing in Dark Lake Publishing’s stunning anthology Their Ghoulish Reputation. As soon as I saw the title, I knew I needed to try to weasel my way in—and weasel I did. Over a mad couple of weeks, I wrote “Foxmother”.

This story is close to my heart for several reasons. Firstly, it is the longest story of mine currently out in the wild—or rather, currently accepted for publication—at a lovely 7,500 words, give or take. Secondly, it features a fat main character, whose fatness is not the source of her troubles (though, like most people, she has hang-ups). Thirdly, our main character lives with excoriation disorder—something I live with myself but never see represented in fiction. Until 2020, I didn’t know excoriation disorder was a thing, despite having been struggling with it for more than half of my life. It feels really important to give that a voice in fiction—it also feels terrifying. (Wish me luck.)

And finally: this story has been haunting me for a while. It will be wonderful to finally see it out in print!

Their Ghoulish Reputation comes out in October but you can pre-order it right now from the Dark Lake Publishing website! (You might get some fun freebies if you order it direct.)

This book looks like it’s going to be stunning, if the social media graphics and digital booklet are anything to go by. Check out the booklet if you want to know more about the other eerie tales and authors.

Spirit Machine is here, & she is beautiful!

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Writing this post makes me so incredibly happy. Ever since I received the acceptance email in October 2021, I have wanted to hold this book. Not only did I know that it would be beautiful, having already purchased some Air and Nothingness Press titles previously, but it’s so completely my kind of book that I’ve been itching to dive in. I was lucky enough to have a PDF ARC so that I could crow about it on social media during the Kickstarter campaign but I wanted to leave the bulk of the stories until I had a print copy—there’s nothing quite like reading a book on paper. (My Kindle is, sadly, all too aware of this opinion.)

My story, “Girl in Glass, Brightly” (which you can read a tiny snippet of in the image below), is a story of unrequited love (and how you absolutely should not deal with it), ghosts and glassblowing, and I’m so happy that it’s finally out in the world. I love this dark, raw little story, and I hope you will too.

Spirit Machine has been printed on a limited run, so if you’d like one get in there quick! You can order directly from Air and Nothingness Press by clicking here. I would also recommend picking up more of their titles while you’re at it! Upon a Twice Time is my particular favourite.

Ghostlore has been announced, & Spirit Machine is at the printers!

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This post makes me giddy. Giddy, I tell you. (I have been using this word everywhere today and I regret nothing.) I have been sitting on this for about a week, which doesn’t sound like long in the grand publishing scheme of things but it felt like a long time. When I submitted to Alternative Stories & Fake Realities’ new audio fiction anthology, Ghostlore—edited by Lyndsey Croal—I tried to convince myself that I didn’t mind if it wasn’t accepted. That was a complete lie. I really wanted this acceptance and luckily for me Lyndsey and the Alternative Stories team loved my little story just as much as I do.

For the first time in my publishing journey, my writing is going to be featured on a podcast—complete with background effects—and I absolutely cannot contain my excitement. I’ve never heard my writing professionally produced and I can’t wait.

“We Cower in a Ruined Castle and Hope Not to Hear a Ghost” is a story about superstition and one of the ghosts that loiters around Dudley castle. It will be featured in Ghostlore Episode 2, Hauntings (trailer and release date to come).

There are several familiar names that I’m thrilled to be sharing a contents list with, the complete line-up sounds incredible. Not to mention that episode 1 features an author whose book is sitting on my shelf right now. A book I adore. (Do I have to keep telling myself to Be Cool, Elou? Yes. Yes, I do.) I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit starstruck.

I can’t wait to share more as and when I can!

The second bit of incredibly exciting news I have to share is that Spirit Machine: Tales of Séance Ficton is fully funded and has been sent off to the printers! Air and Nothingness Press books are always so beautifully produced—and I will say this every time I mention them for the rest of forever. I can’t wait to hold it in my hands.

If you missed the Kickstarter but want a copy, you can still pre-order the anthology from the Air and Nothingness Press website.

Spirit Machine Kickstarter Launch & Pre-Order!

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Greetings. It’s been a while! I’ve been busy squirrelling words away for various submission calls and my novel projects, as well as re-opening submissions to Crow & Cross Keys. This year, I’m trying to keep track of how much I’m writing (I’ve never been so excited by a graph), while also submitting more and finishing more. It’s been fun so far—long may it continue.

But that is not the point of this post. Ahem.

It’s that time again! What time? you ask. It’s Kickstarter time!

The Kickstarter for Spirit Machine: Tales of Séance Fiction is now live. Spirit Machine is an anthology collecting 14 new science fiction and 14 new steampunk stories (over 80,000+ words in a 356 page book) that mix those genres with Spiritualism (think séances, mediums, ouija boards, discarnate entities and spirit talking).

Air and Nothingness Press produces beautiful books. They all have gatefolds and lovely velvety covers. I have several Air and Nothingness anthologies on my shelves and I’m so excited to finally be included in one!

Spirit Machine features my glasspunk story “Girl in Glass, Brightly”

It includes:

💡unrequited love
💡glassblowing
💡extracts from a fake textbook
💡awful girls being awful to each other

If you fancy reading a load of great stories that mesh ghosts with technology, you can either back the project on Kickstarter or pre-order from the Air and Nothingness shop!

Grimm & Dread has been announced!

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Outside, there’s a chill in the air and the leaves are crisp, so it feels like the perfect time to share some publication news.

My short story, “Become a Flute, Become a Spyglass, Become a Knife”, will be published in Quill & Crow’s Grimm & Dread: a Crow’s Twist on Classic Tales anthology in December.

This story is a loose, gothic retelling of the Grimm tale, “The Singing Bone”.

I am so pleased that I get to share a contents list with another IN SOMNIO alum, Mary Rajotte.

If you want to read some spooky fairy tale re-imaginings, this might be the anthology for you!

Spirit Machine has been announced!

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Hello, wonderful creatures!

I am so proud to finally be able to share this news. I’ve been holding it tight for a little while now and it makes me giddy every time I think about it.

My short story “Girl in Glass, Brightly” is to be published in Air and Nothingness Press‘ spooky, exciting 2022 anthology Spirit Machine: Tales of Séance Fiction.

Name a better genre—you can’t, there isn’t one.

“Girl in Glass, Brightly” will appear alongside thirteen other steampunk-esque stories of séance fiction—though I have affectionately dubbed my own ‘glasspunk’—and fourteen works of science fiction.

I am so thrilled to be sharing a contents list again with In Somnio author, Lin Darrow, whose stories always have the most excellent titles.

Air and Nothingness Press is one to look out for—they always have the most wonderful submission calls, and the book design and production is stunning. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Spirit Machine.

In Somnio, Modern Gothic Horror Anthology Announced!

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Hello, you beautiful creatures. It’s been a while!

Things have been quiet on the publication front but I’ve been madly writing for Camp NaNo for the last few weeks and am twelve thousand words deep into a new project—I am on a roll and I am very excited about it.

However, that is not what this post is about. This post is about In Somnio, an exciting anthology which is launching on Kickstarter very soon and features a story by yours truly. It’s may be my favourite thing I have ever written and I can’t wait to see it in print—it is my ode to theatre and the sea.

From the announcement post of the brilliant Alex Woodroe, who has been charged with editing this beautiful beastie:

Tenebrous Press returns with its next highly anticipated Horror anthology, IN SOMNIO: A Collection of Modern Gothic Horror!

In the hands of Mary Shelley, Daphne Du Maurier and Shirley Jackson, Gothic Horror often explored the bleak shadows of our very homes and the darkest corners of the human mind. It examined themes of madness, personal transformation, phantoms, and the occult.

Drawing inspiration from these original Gothmothers, IN SOMNIO takes those familiar themes and recasts them in a modern light!

This collection features nineteen vibrant, unique stories ranging from deeply intimate one-room settings to sprawling fantasy worlds; from the depths of darkness to comedy and adventure. Each story brings a new perspective on our inherent love of Gothic Horror and what those vital elements of terror still have to say today!

—Alex Woodroe

For the teeniest, tiniest preview of my Phantom of the Opera x Waterworld crossbreed:

I can’t wait for you to meet Madrigal and Allegra in all of their glory. If you like gothic horror, the theatre and the sea, you might love this story.

Please consider backing this collection on Kickstarter

This anthology is going to be something really special, packed with a host of wonderful stories and (hopefully) lots of fabulous illustrations. I’m so excited for you to hold it in your hands, and beneath your ribcage.