View this email in your browser

Hello out there, horror lovers!

This has been an unprecedentedly busy fall, and Halloween—a horror author’s favourite time of year—is steadily creeping up on us. Here are some quick writing-related updates with an extra exciting announcement at the end!

Prairie Witch Anthology

They thought our embers were dead and gone…

Would the contents of your bookshelf get you burned as a witch in the past? Throughout history, women accused of being witches and put to death by burning, stoning, hanging, or drowning were women who were smart, educated, healers, single, widowed, old, overly social, confident, too beautiful, too ugly, sexual, subversive, and deviant. Witches have been most often portrayed as evil, living solitary lives in the forest, eating children, and communing with the devil. But in recent years, women have been reclaiming the word “witch” to symbolize female empowerment. This excites us very much and makes us wonder what stories about witches and the Canadian Prairies could be told!

Check out this amazing anthology by local (Calgary, AB) publisher Prairie Soul Press, launching officially on October 27th! My short story “Never Walk the Tracks at Night” is included in this one, as well as a host of other terrifying tales by some of my all-time favourite local authors.

If you’re in the Calgary area, please come out and join us at the Owl’s Nest Bookstore for the official launch October 27th at 6:30 pm at CSPACE King Edward on the 4th floor of the AWCS. There will be spooky readings, tarot cards, and giveaways.

Sign up here: https://www.facebook.com/events/930463777912421

Prairie Witch will also be featured on Writers' Block, the monthly book show on CJSW (UofC student radio)! The show airs October 19th 8:00-8:50 pm Mountain time if you're in the Calgary area. You'll also be able to listen to it in the archives after that date. https://cjsw.com/program/writers-block/

And you can order the anthology right here: https://www.amazon.com/Prairie-Witch-Anthology-Stacey-Kondla/dp/1777947413/

The Rabbit Hole V Anthology

Welcome to the Rabbit Hole. On our fifth excursion into the warren of the odd, 37 authors lead us down their own little burrows of strangeness: an army of penguins, music that cures, aliens that communicate through old cartoons, images of the future that save, unwanted visions of the now, and, oh yes, it is raining lawyers. All have one thing in common, they are just…plain…weird. Weird can be funny, weird can be sad, weird can be thoughtful, weird can be mad, but the one thing in common is that weird shares experiences you have, thankfully, never had. Just be careful, all little bunnies are not nice, but they are memorable.

Stories by: Pete Barnstrom, Lori M. Myers, Richard Zaric, James Rumpel, Rhonda Eikamp, Joseph Carrabis, Leslie Muzingo, H. Donovan Lyón, GD Deckard, Lesley Bungay, S.E. Reed, Alexis Cunningham, Taija Morgan, Matt Nagin, Carl E. Reed, Stefan Markos, Anna Ross, Jon Zelazny, Marie Anderson and Tom Chmura, Richard Hough, Joseph Farley, D. A. Becher, David M. Donachie, Sally Basmajian, Bobby Rollins, Anthony Regolino, Robin Pond, Christina Hoag, John Haas, Joshua Williams, Jodi Rizzotto, Louis Evans, David Castlewitz, Tom Howard, Ira Nayman, and Tom Wolosz. Cover image adapted from an original design by Ian Bristow. A Writers Co-op Production.

My short story “The Blue Ghost” was accepted into this exciting anthology, which will soon be available for pre-order and purchase on all those awesome ebook platforms, all in time for All Hallow’s Eve! Here’s some more information: https://josephcarrabis.com/2022/10/25/taija-morgans-the-blue-ghost-now-in-rabbit-hole-v-anthology/

And if you’d like a copy, you can order it here: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BHHM5KJ9

Seventh Terrace’s Penitent’s Gold Anthology (November 7th 2022)

Curated by Sarah L. Pratt & Robert Bose

Greed is good. And being greedy even better. You are greedy aren’t you? Of course you are. Awash in the poetry of Avarice, your twisted soul lusts for material gain long after releasing your mortal coil.

Welcome to Terrace V in the famed Purgatorio, where you’ll atone for your incorrigible greed with your fellow Penitents, languishing in sight of gold forever out of reach.

In this collection of dark needful tales, bikini clad thieves make the score of a lifetime at ravenous cost, it’s all fun and games until the Hare kills the Hound, a family bound rock star longs for life he once led, memories are worth a terrible price, and a pair of grifters plunder a haunted gold mine – among others!

You can never be too rich, and Chris Marrs, Taija Morgan, Chris Patrick Carolan, Lindsay Thomas, Shane Kroetsch, Sarah L. Pratt and Robert Bose will tantalize you with promises of wealth beyond the nightmares of Avarice.

Look out for this Seventh Terrace anthology, which will be released November 7th, 2022. More details to come in the next newsletter, but you can follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheSeventhTerrace) to watch the horrors unfold!

Bad Spirits Anthology (Winter 2022)

My short story “The Blue Ghost” also found a second home in the Bad Spirits Anthology, which is scheduled for release this winter! Links to come in the next newsletter.

The Big Announcement

I’m also very excited to officially announce that I’m now represented by agent Oli Munson of A.M. Heath! It has been a busy fall, indeed. Oli and his agency both come with an abundance of experience in the industry, and I’m thrilled to take this new twist in my publishing journey.

So many launches, so little time! Stay tuned for the Winter Newsletter for links to all of these fun creepy anthologies as they become available.

Until next time,
Taija Morgan
That Horror/Thriller/Suspense Author Whose Newsletter You Signed Up For



P.S. As always, here are a bunch of links to social media pages I rarely post to because social media is a hellscape we must all endure, but which you may be interested in following if you’re into that sort of thing (no judgement!):

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TaijaMorganAuthor
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/134090738-taija-morgan (Okay, I actually use this one a lot, friend me on GoodReads!)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taija-morgan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taijamorgan/
Twitter: Just kidding!
Website: www.taijamorgan.com

Random Newsletter FAQs
Why Do You Have a Newsletter?
I ask myself this, too.
Will You Be Updating More Often?
I certainly hope not. My apologies in advance, if so. Maybe things will happen. You never know.
How Can I Get Off This Ship?
Unsubscribe at the bottom of this email!
You Seem To Hate Newsletters, Why Is That?
Not at all, dear friend! Newsletters are, themselves, fine. They are merely another avenue by which to scream into the void, and my throat does get hoarse at times. But I don’t mind. Such is the writing life. Where would I scream if not the void?
How Often Do You Send These Out?
As minimally as humanly possible, I swear it.
I Have Newsletter Ideas for You, Or Questions for Your FAQs, Or Cute Animal Pictures, Can I Send Them to You?
Of course!