HIRAETH PUBLISHING’S
OCTOBER 2026 NEWSLETTER
IN THIS NEWLETTER
VENT TUPPENCE
DRABBLE HARVEST – NEW GUIDELINES AND SUBMISSION ADDRESS
SHELTER OF DAYLIGHT – NEW PUBLISHING SCHEDULE
HUNGUR CHRONICLES REMINDER
DIGITAL STORE REMINDER
SCIFAIKUEST ONLINE: READING IS FREEEEEEE!!!
NEW RELEASES:
COSMIC CRIME STORIES
SPACEPORTS & SPIDERSILK
FLASH DIGEST
FALLEN ANGEL
THE WORLD OF THE MOHO
NYX: BIOWAR
NOVEMBER PUBLICATIONS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
VENT TUPPENCE
One of the drawbacks to democracy is that the voter becomes responsible for the actions of the elected leaders. Voting is tantamount to enabling. If the voting lever is pulled willy-nilly based on political party, or the ballot is marked without thinking ahead, it’s like the wheel of chance in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Chance decides. Gulag? Amputation? Life in the hog-slop? Auntie’s Choice? There is no legal requirement for the voter to know anything about the candidates—which explains a lot about the quality of those we do get. Don’t like it? This is the way it is. But it doesn’t need to be.
Here’s an example. Surveys show that a vast majority (I’ve seen 80%) of voters do not approve of biological men in women’s sports. How is it that voters cannot this from occurring? Is it because they are more concerned with party first, details later?
And this is just one example. There are plenty of other conflicting decisions to consider. The reason tuition is so high is that universities regard student loans as free government money. The reason medical care—Medicare, Medicaid—cost so much is that it’s free government money. Frex: a man spat up a bit of blood, and went to the ER. He had Medicare, Defense Department Retiree Insurance, and his wife’s GE insurance. The doctors needed a roll of Bounty, the Quicker Picker-upper, to wipe up the excessive drooling and salivation at the possibility of glomming onto all this free money. In addition to taking his vitals, the doctors gave him an MRI (negative), and barium (radiation) through the alimentary canal to check for internal bleeding (negative), and conducted various blood tests, all negative. What these folks neglected to do was examine the mouth. Et voila! He had a bleeding tooth. (True story: happened to me about twenty years ago. Went to the dentist. Had the teeth cleaned. $90, but I got a free toothbrush and the dental blessing: may the floss be with you). Oh, btw, “free government money” means free taxpayer money. That would be your money. That money is spent by Congress and other elected officials. Maybe it’s time to pay closer attention to the candidates, and understand that their promises are meant to get them elected, not to be fulfilled.
Remember: who you vote for, you enable.
Thus my two cents. Or tuppence, as they say across the Pond.
DRABBLE HARVEST – NEW GUIDELINES AND SUBMISSION ADDRESS
New guidelines can be found at www.hiraethsffh.com/drabble-contest
The new editor for Drabble Harvest is Richard E. Schell. The new contest them is First Contact. The new submissions address is in the guidelines. The contest is now open, so check out those guidelines.
SHELTER OF DAYLIGHT – NEW PUBLISHING SCHEDULE
Shelter of Daylight is now a quarterly publication: February, May, August, November. Subscriptions can be bought here: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/shelter-of-daylight-subscription
If you use code BOOKS2026 when you check out, you receive a 20% discount on this and on any other purchases.
HUNGUR CHRONICLES REMINDER
A new editor and submissions address have been posted. The editor is Alan Ira Gordon. It is vital and necessary (pardon my redundundancy) that you read the guidelines, for there are other changes as well.
Second, and just as important: If you have submitted work to The Hungur Chronicles and have no received a reply—well, if you’ve been following the newsletters, you should know why: the previous editor has been taken seriously ill. If this applies to you, here’s what to do: submit that work to the new submissions address. We’ll read as fast as we can.
UNTOLD TALES OF THE ROUND TABLE
Now taking submissions for a new Arthurian anthology of original stories about adventures never heard before. Send us your stories and art about Arthur and his knights, but tell us something never touched on before. Check the guidelines for more information. Untold Tales Guidelines | Hiraeth Publishing
DIGITAL STORE REMINDER
We have two digital stores, one for PDFs, the other for ePubs. This is the link to our digital store: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/digital-store Come check out our titles! We add more each month! And we are not nearly as expensive as that place run by Bezos.
SCIFAIKUEST AUGUST 2026 ONLINE EDITION
Edited by t.santitoro
This edition is not the same as the print edition. Come read and enjoy! Here’s the link: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/scifaikuest-online
STORE SALES:
Next up, and at the risk of being somewhat repetitive, because we want our storytellers and poets to be read, and our artists to be seen:
THE NEVER-ENDING SALE!!!
BUY ALL THE BOOKS YOU WANT AND USE THIS 20% DISCOUNT CODE:
BOOKS2026
THIS DISCOUNT CAN BE USED AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WISH, SO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!
GO TO OUR SHOP AT WWW.HIRAETHSFFH.COM
LASTLY, BOOKS MAKE GOOD PRESENTS…
NEW RELEASES: WHAT’S NEW?
COSMIC CRIME STORIES SEPTEMBER 2026
Crimes of some form will be with us as long as there are laws to break. Technology helps solve those crimes. But those solutions will always be found by the ones who get down and dirty—the detectives. Come see what the future holds for the dark side of law & order.
Short Stories
The Long Way Around by Gustavo Bondoni
Agent of Mayhem by Lisa Timpf
The Last Museum by Kellee Kranendonk
Flash Fiction
The Crescent Moon by Richard E. Schell
Poetry
How the Solar System Lost Its Fifth Planet by Tyree Campbell
Tankas by Tyree Campbell
Illustrations
The Eye by April Lefleur
The Crescent Moon by Richard E. Schell
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/cosmic-crime-stories-september-2026
PDF: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/cosmic-crime-stories-september-2026-1
EPUB: www.hiraethsffh.com/shop-3
SPACEPORTS & SPIDERSILK OCTOBER 2026
Spaceports & Spidersilk features science fiction and fantasy for ages 9 to 99. It presents adventures on other planets and in imaginary worlds. Inside these pages you’ll find visitors from other worlds, dragons, magic, and strange friends.
Stories
Bhoots by Jim Wasserman
Mermaid’s End by James Fitzsimmons
Spaghettification by Duncan Rochfort
Farfetched by Pamela Love
The Mothership Probius by Hala Dika
The Leprechaun’s Gold by Sharon Bailly
Poetry
felines by Lisa Timpf
Let the Alien Play by John Grey
The Ancient Graveyard Oak Tree by Gary Davis
The Crows Alone Have Seen by K. A. Opperman
Trick but No Treat by Guy Belleranti
Tether Snapped – Now Adrift by Lauren McBride
Illustrations
Mermaid’s End by Vonnie Winslow Crist
Graveyard Crow by Vonnie Winslow Crist
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/spaceports-spidersilk-october-2026
PDF: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/spaceports-spidersilk-october-2026-1
EPUB: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/spaceports-spidersilk-october-2026-2
FLASH DIGEST OCTOBER 2026
Science fiction, fantasy, ghost, romance, and spooky stories, all served up in small and easily-read portions. Thrill, chill, and don’t spill your wine or beer as you go through this potpourri of adventures. All artwork is in color in this issue.
Stories
Slong Ooni olive— by Tyree Campbell
Relocator by Maureen Bowden
The Fairy Train by Eric Del Carlo
The Origin of Moon Magic in the Drikian Oral Tradition by Elmyra P. Toth, Doctor of Magical Anthropology by Julia Rajagopalan
The Hunted by H. David Blalock
The Last Day by Robyn Neilsen
A Petition from the Great Fish by Denise Noe
Illustrations
Clops by Denny Marshall
Cover Art by Richard E. Schell
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/flash-digest-october-2026
PDF: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/flash-digest-october-2026-1
EPUB: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/flash-digest-october-2026-2
FALLEN ANGEL
Josh Baker is an ex-Army soldier now down on his luck. He has a little money, but no will to spend it, content merely to go placidly through life. He lives in an abandoned shack in western Nebraska.
One night a small meteorite strikes nearby. He thinks little of it, and falls asleep on the grass till morning. When he returns to his shack, he finds a woman sleeping in his bed. She claims to be an angel.
Incredulous at first, and unwilling to surrender his solitude, Baker deems her insane and wishes she would leave. But she shows him some minor signs and wonders to prove her claim. She tells him that she fell with Lucifer, but she repented and was forgiven. Her penance is to help him regain his life.
A penance of thousand Rosaries would have been easier…
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/fallen-angel-by-tyree-campbell
PDF: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/fallen-angel-by-tyree-campbell-1
EPUB: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/fallen-angel-by-tyree-campbell-2
THE WORLD OF THE MOHO
A Hidden World Beneath the Earth’s Crust
Aldon (Allie) McIntyre, a white American geologist with a thirst for adventure, and Thadie Mayane, a Black South African mining supervisor with a commanding presence, are exploring the depths of an abandoned mine when the floor collapses, hurling them into an extraordinary realm known as Below. Nestles between the Earth’s crust and mantle, this vast world is home to breathtaking landscapes, intelligent species—some friendly, others predatory—and dangers unlike anything they’ve ever imagined.
Forced to rely on each other for survival, Allie and Thadie must navigate treacherous terrain, fend off alien predators, and face the looming threat of capture by those who see them as little more than slaves. As they search for the legendary passage back to Above, their uneasy alliance will be tested by the perilous environment—and the prejudices and mistrust they each carry.
Will they overcome the trials of Below and find their way back Above? Or will this stunning and dangerous world consume them entirely—if they don’t destroy each other first.
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/the-world-of-the-mojo-by-tyree-campbell
NYX: BIOWAR
Nyx is assigned by Blacklight, an agency of official assassins, to run interference while her duty-assigned “husband” Nguyen Bian Thuy investigates the nature of suspicious experimentation at a secret laboratory on the remote world of Xinzhongguo. When Nguyen deserts her, Nyx follows her. Nyx reaches the laboratory, only to be captured by guards. She learns that whatever the laboratory produced is long gone. But gone where? And why?
Thus begins a desperate search by Nyx of Blacklight and Nguyen of Red Chamber to find the canisters of toxic gas and prevent their deployment. But other forces are at work, Nguyen’s loyalty to the cause is questioned, and two adversaries from Nyx’s past are also searching for the canisters. And a sinister corporation is trying to acquire, at any cost, the canisters for its own use.
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/nyx-biowar-by-tyree-campbell
PDF: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/nyx-biowar-by-tyree-campbell-1
EPUB: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/nyx-biowar-by-tyree-campbell-2
NOVEMBER PUBLICATIONS
The following publications are planned for November 2026:
CANTOS FOR BRUCE EDITED BY ALAN IRA GORDON
To say that Bruce Boston (1943-2024) was a giant of our times is an understatement. His speculative writing spanned the entire second half of the twentieth century and first quarter of the twenty-first across the fields of poetry, fiction and essays. A bibliography of Bruce’s accomplishments is beyond impressive and is best described as simply awe-inspiring to his fellow writers and readers alike. Herein are poems by Bruce’s friends, acquaintances, and followers, inspired by the works of Bruce Boston.
NOTE: We expect to have copies by mid-October.
THE FROZEN WINDOW BY SILVIU DOBIRCEANU
When civilization collapses, more than a hundred survivors awaken in a primitive world, stripped of the comforts and structures they once knew. A doctor’s grim words echo over them: “For many of you… no rescue.” From the beginning, the fragile bonds between them are tested by hunger, fear, and despair. Amid this struggle, Elias forms a fragile connection with a young woman, their brief moments of humanity standing in sharp contrast to the brutal fight for survival.
WE BELONG BY PREETI SINGH
Meditative minimalist poetry that invites you to consider all of the little factors of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that, for one reason or another, often elude us. Every page is filled with truths that we might wear.
GODSPAWN BY T.SANTITORO
The third book in the Crojan Chronicles series. A telempathic priest is accidentally thrust over 500 years into the past where he meets two time slippers—students harboring a device which allows them to travel through time. Together they embark on a journey in the quest for the planet's religious messiah, a man whose birth and death were never even documented. Did he really exist, or was he only a myth? When they finally find him, he's not at all what any of them had expected, and they are all embroiled in a socio-religious upheaval which will change the entire planet forever. And it will irreversibly change them forever too.
TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED:
FREEZE FRAMES BY G. O. CLARK
RUNNING WITH THE SHADOWS BY TYREE CAMPBELL
ICYMI:
PARABNORMAL MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2026
parABnormal Magazine features stories that focus on the paranormal, including ghosts, spectres, witchcraft, the afterlife, and the occasional bit of dark magic. This issue also include three articles related to paranormal activities. Read this magazine with all the lights on…
Stories
The Gift-Giver by Tim Babbitt
Chattering Teeth by George Larson
It’s Better Not to Know by Melissa KacLeod
Exterminator in a Floral Dress by Jerome Newsome
The Thing About Tom by Scott Wilder
Chalcaster Hall by Lina P O’Bresly
The Asylum Investigation by DJ Tyrer
We Have a Problem in 201 by Sylvia Son
Poems
A Quiet Retreat by Renee Cronely
Breathe by AP Ritchey
La Llorona by Susan Cannavo
The Boy Next Door by Gabriele Micozzi
Articles
Diving deep into Flaxman Low, the 19 th century Occult Psychologist, The Story of the Spaniards, Hammersmith by Sonali Roy
Press Release for Paranormal Raw
Spook Hill: Where Gravity, History, and Legend Meet
Illustrations
Bathed in Your Protective Light by Paula Hammond
Shadowy Presences Between the Psyche and Macabre Presences by Concetta Franciamore
Fantasmas by Aurora Braga
Cover Art: Shatter and Fall by Shawn Howe
Ordering links: PRINT; PDF; EPUB
IN THE SHADOW OF THY WINGS
Most but not all of the stories and poems in this volume are influenced in some way by Psalm 63: 7. They deal in matters in which protection is afforded by God in life events and interventions. The subject matter
includes works about finding yourself protected or aided by God against danger or temptation; or taking you through a near-death experience.
The impetus for this volume came from a hymn titled “On Eagle’s Wings” and specifically the line that reads “And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings.” In reading Psalm 63 you will find “in the shadow of thy wings I sing for joy.” Adding those two lines together gave root to this present volume.
We hope you find something of meaning in these works, perhaps some subject on which to meditate. You may even find yourself able to relate to an event in the stories and poems. And if nothing else we hope you enjoy reading this anthology.
Stories
Whimpering Angels by Toby Campbell
Cosmic Sidespin by David Lee Summers
Not Today by Toby Campbell
The Gifted by Toby Campbell
Grace & Gus by Robert J. Krog
Flash Fiction
Dear Friend by H David Blalock
Poems
The Inconceivable Guest by Darrell Lindsey
Broken Pieces by M. R. Williamson
Deny Thy Brother by Peter MacQuarrie
Vision in the Chapel by M. R. Williamson
Illustrations
Stella & Ted by Sandy DeLuca
Against the Wind by Christina Sng
Sorrow by Sandy DeLuca
Ordering links: PRINT; PDF; EPUB
VEILED KALIS: A TASTE FOR BLOOD
Vowing revenge for her mother’s murder at the hands of slave traffickers, Amaria Hoban undergoes three years of intensive training by her father, a highly skilled assassin now retired. Her father works for Temmen, a criminal organization with a conscience, and arranges for Amaria to do courier work. She begins to wear a veil, and she arms herself with a short sword; for an identity she adopts the name Veiled
Kalis. All too soon, she is introduced to the seamier side of a malignant slave-trafficking organization. She believes this will lead her to learn the identity of her mother’s murderer, and she goes underground in the slave pipeline to reach the man responsible. The path is fraught with perils, attacks, and betrayal, and at times she even doubts herself. Then a young slave girl, whom Veiled Kalis freed and then adopted, proves good skill as an artist. Among her sketches drawn from memory of her slave time is the face of the murderer.
Ordering links: PRINT; PDF; EPUB
A DISTANT DUTY BY D. L. R. FRASE
When the Highland Kingdom is threatened by a horde of invaders from the east, King Werner comes seeking aid from the Flatlanders. King Konr assembles an army and rides to assist. Lorens’ skill as an archer is relied upon heavily during the battle, and he discovers that he can hunt men as well as deer when needed. The battle is finally won, but at the cost of both kings.
Torgeir, newly-crowned Highland King, must return Konr’s body to Konr’s widow, his sister Henna, and tell her that their father has perished. He also presents an ancient scroll, a supposed prophesy that foretells of her son Aryk. She must decide whether to believe it or not, and, if so, how to tell her son. With Konr gone, Aryk is now Flatland King, and she is regent until he comes of age. She enlists the aid of Lorens and Ivor to train Aryk to become a man and king.
As Ivor continues training Aryk, he develops a close relationship with Henna, and she confides in him the contents of the prophecy. They are faced not only with the task of training Aryk to be a king, but with deciding how and when to tell him about the prophecy as well.
Ordering Links: PRINT: PDF: EPUB
RAVEN UNBOUND BY TYREE CAMPBELL
On an archeological dig in the Yucatan, Raven finds a small statue of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of blood and death. The spirit of the god enters Raven, and forces her to set up a shrine in her apartment and gather blood for him. At first this comes from blood banks, but the god demands blood from live victims. Able to morph into a black panther, Raven begins hunting, placing the blood she gathers in the chacmool in the shrine for the god to ingest. Still, she tries to fight the hold the god has on her—with painful results. Freedom seems impossible; she must continue to kill.
Her crimes draw the attention of the police. Detective Tonya Smith is assigned the case. Her initial interview with Raven is odd, but not suspicious. Nevertheless, events gather to point a finger in her general direction. But how to detain a woman who can morph at will into a black panther or a raven? And what will happen when the attempt is made?
Ordering Links: PRINT: PDF: EPUB
THE DARK SIDE OF GREEN by t.santitoro
Being green on the planet Croy puts you in the minority. But that minority is capable of great telepathic feats. Tarragon Blackwater, born a green Crojan, was raised on Hades, with no idea of the powers he possesses, or how to control them. When he goes home to his planet of origin seeking his birth parents, hell comes to Croy. It’s the second novel of its kind. It won’t be the last.
PRINT: DARK SIDE OF GREEN by t. santitoro | Hiraeth Publishing
PDF: DARK SIDE OF GREEN by t. santitoro | Hiraeth Publishing
EPUB: DARK SIDE OF GREEN by t. santitoro | Hiraeth Publishing
VERMILLION HIGHWAYS
Two of the finest minds in the genres have combined their resources and imaginations to come up with some of the gothiest (and, sometimes,) goofiest vampire short fiction this side of Transylvania. David Lee Summers, of Tales of the Talisman and Scarlet Order fame, and Lee Clark Zumpe, mild-mannered reporter for a daily metro-Floridian newspaper and author of the Lovecraftian anthology Whispers from the Intoxicating Abyss, take you on a journey through tales that fit everywhere between Type O positive and Type AB negative. Vermillion Highways is a must-read even if you don't care for the suckers.
Ordering links
PRINT: VERMILLION HIGHWAYS by Zumpe & Summers | Hiraeth Publishing
PDF: VERMILLION HIGHWAYS by Zumpe & Summers | Hiraeth Publishing
EPUB: VERMILLION HIGHWAYS by Zumpe & Summers | Hiraeth Publishing
FLIGHTS & SHADOWS BY SCOTT VIRTES AND TERRIE LEIGH RELF
Dark and fantastic short fiction, poetry, and art that will take you beyond the magic and the Gothic and into worlds where you have to negotiate your way through the darkness. A bit off-beat, a bit pithy, and always entertaining, Scott Virtes and Terrie Leigh Relf have collaborated in a collection of fiction that will take you everywhere in the Universe, and shine a little light on the questions we have and the answers we seek.
Order copies here:
PRINT: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/flights-shadows-by-scott-virtes-and-terrie-leigh-relf
PDF: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/flights-shadows-by-scott-virtes-and-terrie-leigh-relf-1
EPUB: www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/flights-shadows-by-scott-virtes-and-terrie-leigh-relf-2
Without further ado, then: browse, read, buy, enjoy. If you have any questions or comments, send them to us at hiraethsubs at yahoo dot com. See you in November!
Tyree Campbell
Storyteller and Managing Editor
October 2026