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Amanda M. Blake

~ Of fairy tales and tentacles

Amanda M. Blake

Tag Archives: eco horror

Persist: Friday Update

15 Friday Aug 2025

Posted by amandamblake in A Few Thoughts, Novels, Series, Short Stories

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crystal lake shallow waters flash fiction, eco horror, editing, growing things, meridian, novel, Series

News:

On August 10, “Growing Things” was posted for this month’s Crystal Lake Shallow Waters contest theme Eco-Horror. It’s available to read for $5/month tiers and up. This is a solid month for entries and a generally popular theme. I’ve really enjoyed reading them so far.

Works in Progress:

I finished the proofreading edit of Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) and sent it back to my editor. As you can see above, it’s available for preorder at Totally Bound and Amazon, for general release October 28—just in time for Halloween. All about a young veteran hunter who learns the facts of life from a vampire and a werewolf. Getting back to my Sanctuary trilogy and Nocturnal Creatures trilogy roots, I guess.

I’m taking a short break to work on two flash pieces and hopefully finish up reading Langan’s The Fisherman. Then I’ll dive into Never & Forever (M8), the last Meridian novel. Hard to believe I’ll have two trilogies, a serial, and two series under my belt with my other name once that’s finished.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

Pop music playlist (I’m pretty much just biding my time until I feel comfortable turning on my Halloween/horror playlist, which will be immediately followed by my Christmas playlist after Thanksgiving or whenever I finish my next horror work)
Wonderland soundtrack

Things I’m Watching:

CSI series
Private Practice series
9-1-1: Lone Star series
Home Town: Takeover series (finished)
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
The Rookie series

Poem of the Week: (throwback)

lurking deep
in steaming trench
slumbering
in the womb
of earthen heat
waiting out the cold
tentacles drift
with venting exhalation
the quaking rumble
of its snores
may it continue
its sweet dreams
and never wish
to wake

Not too hot for cake: Friday Update

08 Friday Aug 2025

Posted by amandamblake in A Few Thoughts, Novels, Series, Short Stories

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Tags

crystal lake shallow waters flash fiction, eco horror, growing things, meridian

Photo by Abhinav Goswami on Pexels.com

Due to some problems in transit (now I know better how to transport this particular cake, which has unique issues in comparison to others), I had to buy a new cake for my customer, deliver it again (successfully this time), then take the one with significant icing damage home. So I had unpaid time to replace it and paid for the replacement out of pocket, but at least I got cake out of everything. Better than the last few shopping catastrophes.

It’s a tres leches cake, and it’s quite good. But man, I’m exhausted.

News:

My flash fiction “Growing Things” will be one of this month’s Eco-Horror finalists at the Crystal Lake Patreon for the Shallow Waters contest. It should post around August 11.

Works in Progress:

Got some reading done, but not as much as anticipated. My proofreading edit for Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) came in a few days ago, so I’m deep into that right now. I should finish next week, when I’ll write a few short things before tackling Never & Forever, the final book in the Meridian series.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Raising Loki: A Memoir by Elliot Manarin
Texas Bigfoot by Lyle Blackburn

Things I’m Listening To:

TTW playlist
Drift playlist
Vicious by Halestorm
When It’s All Over by RAIGN

Things I’m Watching:

CSI series
Found series (finished)
9-1-1 series (finished)
9-1-1: Lone Star series
Say Yes to the Dress: Tan France series
America’s Got Talent series
The Rookie series

Poem of the Week: (throwback)

there’s nothing in the bathtub
nothing but bubbles to brim
steaming water and feet gray
needs more sun refraction
angle doesn’t hurt nor
the ankle despite the scab
or white of bone broken through
toenails yellow cracked and thick
nothing in the bathtub sink
beneath brim bubbles submerge

Lasso the moon: Friday Update

28 Friday Feb 2025

Posted by amandamblake in A Few Thoughts, Novels, Series, Short Stories

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Tags

eco horror, editing, horrific scribblings, horrific scribes, meridian, nature red in tooth and claw, short story, weed killer

News:

My horror story “Weed Killer,” about a large weed growing outside a downtown donut shop, is free to read at Horrific Scribes for their Horrific Scribblings program, which is more like a series of curated exhibits rather than anthologies or individual pieces. “Weed Killer” is one of their first pieces; they’re just getting started. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.

Signed a few more contracts, received a few honorariums, edited another short story for publication.

Works in Progress:

Tattered & Torn (Meridian 6) edits are still slow going, but I think I’m gaining a little momentum. It’s hard when I’m afraid that these books and others are going to become verboten soon (in my state and country), but I’ve got to proceed as though we still have freedom of speech and expression. As though reason will prevail. God, it’s such a precarious place to be.

Books I’m Reading:

The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause

Things I’m Listening To:

The Blacklist playlist

Things I’m Watching:

Cuckoo
Nightbitch
White Collar series (finished)
Celebrity Jeopardy series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series
The Irrational series
Will Trent series
Ghosts series
Home Town series
Watson series
The Hunting Party series
NCIS series
Queer Eye series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series

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