April 2025
No fools here! Jam packed update: Birds with Words episode 3 is live, another short story read by voice actors, more authors, and updates on upcoming novels.
Birds with Words, Episode 3: Portraits, Narrated by Michael Parkes
Episode 3 of Birds with Words is up! Today we have a guest author, Michael Parkes, join us as he reads his short horror story, Portraits. Michael wrote Portraits first as a guest author on my blog in July 2021. Today, Michael narrates his story, and we discuss his inspiration which leads us down a paranormal rabbit hole. Give us a listen and check out this talented Canadian author!
Alone Together: Update
“The collective screams of every condemned soul left in the city below formed a crescendo of terror.” - Alone Together
April is a big month for Alone Together. Later this month I will receive feedback from my Advanced Readers. Hopefully there are no major changes. I also received the edits on Book 2 from my editor and I am working through those pages. All big things, and I’m elbows deep in putting words to pages for Book 3.
The cover art is nearly finished for Alone Together (see the teaser below). I think you will find it fits the genre and is eye catching. I hope locals to the Tallahassee area are impressed with the landmarks within the art. Those who have been with me for a while will see another side to the Last Stand series found on my blog.
I can’t wait for you all to dive into the story. I hope you see the social commentary is very ‘on the nose’ while crafting this fictious and horrific world.
As I craft this world, I am filling my time in-between by being a Beta Reader and ARC Reader for other authors. I find this very useful because it is helping me catch my own mistakes. Overall, it makes us a stronger community of writers and I am honored to be trusted with the work of others in the early phases of progress.
Personal Update
Well, my daughter now has nine teeth. I can’t believe how time has flown. One day she was in the NICU, and now she’s running around the house pulling mom’s shoes out of the closet and chasing Trigger for his toys. Being a dad is great, and even when I’m worn out at the end of the day, my heart smiles seeing her face light up in excitement.
Now I’m going to be really vulnerable with you and share a journey my wife and I are continuing with our lovely daughter. This journey has been difficult, and I wanted to share this with other fathers. The Dad Dialogue presented me an opportunity to share our journey, and I give hope to other parents out there.
We’re praying for a calm storm season this year. You may recall, last May we were struck by tornadoes. Our little neighborhood still bears the scars, and we really don’t want to test our luck any time soon.
ALIEN Isolation - Toy Robot
Our friends at the Lunatics Project once again have chosen one of my short stories to be read by their talented voice actors. Being a huge fan of the ALIEN series, I couldn’t let this story sit. ALIEN: Isolation - Toy Robot is tied to the video game, Alien: Isolation. The prompt was to write a story about a toy robot that appears in segments of the game.
Listen to my story and many others in Lunatics Project’s space horror series below!
The Dark Veil Society
Did I mention I’m a member of the Dark Veil Society? No? Oh, shame on me. What is the Dark Veil Society—bunch of cultists sacrificing people on the weekend? No, not yet anyways. The Dark Veil Society is a group of horror authors. We Beta and ARC read for each and share ideas among minds that have similar interests in horror, things of that nature.
Right now, that’s not important.
What is important, is that one of our authors recently published a horror anthology! Ryan Krone has released his second horror anthology. I had the pleasure to read one of his short stories prior to release as a Beta reader and it was a great twisted take on what we consider to be “the grim reaper.” Check out his work now!
Looking for More Authors?
Indiosyncrasy is all about introducing you, the reader, to more authors. Indiosyncrasy runs a website and podcast to introduce you to your next author and your next reading journey. I am also one of the featured authors on Indiosyncrasy!
Sinner’s Pass
If interested in becoming an Alpha or Beta reader, please send all inquiries to: S.S.Fitzgerald.Writing@gmail.com
