Amber Hathaway, Little White Flowers author

My guts churn as my parents’ voices echo in my head. I’m in a circle surrounded by other troubled kids and we’re spilling our confessions out for a man in a perfect grey suit who never stops smiling except to tell you he’s disappointed. He’d clap his hands. I’ll never forget the clap. It was a clap and then a rub, and he’d say “let’s get started.” He made it sound like a buffet. He’d give us homework. Most of the time that meant writing something and sharing it with the group, but there was another trick he taught us, one I kept doing even after the sessions ended. Ritual was important, he told us. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so what does that tell us about starting our day right by God? So each morning I’d walk to the bathroom before I did anything else and stare at myself in the mirror. I’d look myself in the eyes and I’d tell the Josh on the other side of the glass that he wasn’t gay. It was then I’d know everything was going to be okay. - The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle

The conifers past the small airport look the same as the ones on Echo Island. Fog seeps over and between them, their branches sloped beneath the weight of a hundred remembered winters. She watches them like they’re special, and as I stand beside her the specialness of these mindnumbingly ordinary trees in this mindnumbingly ordinary place infects me too.

Quote from the book: “The lights in the bar cast their mirror images into the eyes of the audience: a dozen moons reflected in bowls of water. Everyone and everything is stillness and silence—a bated breath given physical form” - The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle, Steve Hugh Westenra Reviews: “If there were Oscars for books, this one would win ‘Best Ensemble Cast’ as well as a host of others.” - Paul, Queen’s Book Asylum “It's a crime this book doesn't have more exposure.” - Al Hess, author of Key Lime Sky “Hypnotising and lyrical prose . . . a sort of fever dream-like reading experience.” - Esmay Rosalyne, Before We Go Blog About: A Queer Horror Comedy A cryptid-hunting YouTube darling follows a video of his presumed-dead mom to an isolated island that was once a gay conversion camp and may house the monsters he swears aren’t real

“If you don’t open up, I’ll give you a Chelsea smile. You won’t like that much.” I plead with my eyes, with everything I have. All the pathos I can summon. And it’s not an act. It’s real. It’s real. [Redacted] slices half an inch into the right corner of my lip. It hurts it hurtsithurts. My skin feels loose in a way that’s not good. It’s no good. “Please.” Speaking hurts, but the word spills from me, liquid to blend with my tears. I clamp my eyes closed. I can’t look. “Please. Please don’t. Don’t.” Every word is a stutter, my teeth clacking together, my chest heaving. “Hold still, baby.”

The #transrightsreadathon is coming up! If you like unusual books, literary horror that combines a pop, camp sensibility with darker themes, & Twin Peaks, may I humbly suggest:

books2read.com/u/boB9YL

steve-westenra.itch.io/the-erstwhil...

#transauthor Art by @littleevil0ne.bsky.social

Sisters in Hell: The Women of My Friends in Hell March is Women in Horror Month, and today I want to share with you a little bit about the women in My Friends in Hell who I am lucky to share the table of contents page with. My Friends in Hell is a f...

Celebrating Women in Horror Month with the women of My Friends in Hell:
www.amberhathaway.com/post/sisters...

#WriteSky #WiHM #WomenInHorrorMonth #HorrorSky

He stepped past her into the foyer. Mahogany molding accented the cream walls, and a wide staircase stood opposite the door. A crystal chandelier refracted the afternoon rays streaming through the towering windows in fragments of brightness that shimmied about the space.

#WIPSnips

Happy Thursday! I hope you have a terrific day!

Wordle 1,727 3/6

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#HorrorWritersChat Lemon Balm's e-book is typically $8.99, but currently on sale for $0.99 until March 12th! If you've been wanting to read it, now is the time to grab it!

Link to the full Indie Queer Quarterly sale: www.mnbennet.com/pride-promo

Where to grab my book: books2read.com/Lemon-Balm

Autumnborn Autumnborn eBook : Marsh, Jacob: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

Thanks for the questions, Gree! Loved hearing about everyone's favorite action horror.

Fitting the topic, my latest horror/supernatural thriller is now available in print. Check it out if you're looking for a tight, fast-paced, creature feature: a.co/d/0fmd8tbY

#HorrorWritersChat

The Kickstarter for LIVING ADJACENT is live; anyone who wants alternative zombie stories may want to hear about this one:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/sms...

#HorrorWritersChat

Thanks for a fun one, Gree!

Find me at writesinister.substack.com

Right now I'm posting flash pieces every week or two, with a goal of posting them more often. There are two really weird ones up there now that I wrote last week. #horrorwriterschat

All's Well That Ends Well Read it now

Thank you for the action packed questions!

My collection= guts, creatures, gore, action. I put the motion in the ocean of horror. Come for a swim, but keep your head above water. Actually stay out of the water. ;)
mybook.to/AllsWell

Thanks for an action-packed chat!

Autism Acceptance Month (April) is right around the corner. While I'm booked up for in-person events, if there are any interviewers or podcasters looking talk to an autistic writer/horror person, feel free to reach out.

#HorrorWritersChat

Ow, that stings! I blink furiously, trying to clear the blood from my eyes. Wait, who gave me an axe? My arms shake, struggling to hold it upright. The beast glares down at me. I don't think another swing is going to fix this.

#HorrorWritersChat

I'm a physicist, so while I don't mind consuming zombie media that is completely unrealistic, I like to keep mine as scientific as I can.

Indeed!

The ones in my story are people infected with a zombie virus, so they move within whatever limitations their human body has. Some can be fast, but if you've got a broken foot as a zombie, you're not going anywhere quickly.

I'm a zombie girl through and through. I haven't written a lot with the zombies to date, although I do have an unpublished zombie short story I wrote that I love.

#HorrorWritersChat

Yeah, I really like to see characters who break the mold at least in some ways.

I'm not a big fan of stereotypical action heroes, but I really loved Barbara in the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead. I think partly because of her character transformation; she doesn't start out as an action hero.

#HorrorWritersChat

My university would do siren tests every Monday, and I swear, the sirens sounded just like the ones in the Silent Hill movie. It was kind of freaky!

Ooh!

I was totally blown away by it when I saw it. Pun intended 😂

That's a good point!

For sure!

Wait, does The Thing count as action horror?

#HorrorWritersChat

I'm Amber from central Maine. I write all kinds of horror, most with cults or ghosts. I don't think I have a favorite piece of action horror media? Well, I probably do have a favorite piece that would fall under that umbrella, but I've never thought about it as a category before.

#HorrorWritersChat

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Using denizen:

A portrait in a gilded frame lorded over the altar behind Mr. Miller. Nathaniel Evans, known as Prophet Nathaniel by Evanston’s denizens, glared down from his perch on high.

#WIPSnips

Happy Wednesday! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Wordle 1,726 4/6

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Cw trauma

She wetted her lips with her tongue. Her words came out flat and monotone like she was reciting chapter seven of the Book of Numbers instead of recounting the worst day of her life. Although she used the word “I,” she felt strangely detached, as though she spoke of another girl

#WIPSnips

Thank you!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you have a terrific day!

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