I intended to send out a 2025 wrap-up almost three months ago. THREE MONTHS. I have no concept of time anymore. Every day I wake up a month older. I now understand why my parents would frequently lament the swift passage of time when I was a little kid who felt like every school day took five years. You were right, Mom and Dad.

As of December and January, I’ve got four new stories out. Two free to listen/read:

“Lamai” was produced by the fantastic Tales to Terrify podcast, episode 727. My story about a lovelorn woman who moves into her grandmother’s house and what she finds in the walls there was originally published in Why Didn’t You Just Leave from Cursed Morsels Press. If you missed this stellar anthology edited by Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios, you can now listen to my story for free. But really, just get the anthology and read it cover to cover because you don’t want to miss this one. The TOC is full of writers I admire. Corey Farrenkopf has a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure haunted house story in there. C’mon!

“Demon in Repose” was published in the January issue (21) of Haven Speculative, and it’s now free to read. Join me in exploring the endless hallways and elevators of the hotel your sleeping mind traverses every night. You call her a demon, but she’s the projectionist, the succor, the god. Sometimes sleep paralysis can birth something interesting, once you have a bit of distance. I’ve read some excellent work in Haven Spec, so I hope you check out other stories archived there too. And check out the gorgeous January 2026 Issue 21 cover:

“Severed Blessings” in THE JOINING, edited by Jacob Steven Mohr (Crystal Lake Publishing, December 2025). I was delighted to be invited to this wedding with my story about a woman and the “monster” she made when she broke a sacred union. Based on a northern Thai wedding tradition. As per my usual interests, women are HUNGRY.

“The Body is a Cage Opened Only By Fire” in Vol 5 Issue 4 of khoreo magazine. A tortured and misunderstood spirit haunts three generations of women who go to extremes to rid themselves of her. Lots of body horror and grief, so please check the content warnings. This one will be free to read on March 15, produced in audio soon after.

I’m trying to get better at promoting my work, so I must remind you of the fact that my sex, drugs, and rock & roll queer succubi band on the run body horror novella is being rereleased on March 17, 2026 (next week!) by Shortwave Publishing. Contains the bonus short story “With Animals”, included because I wanted to show another take on love through a horror lens. Yes, Sleep Alone is a love story too: motherly love, romantic love, sibling/friendship love, self-love.

I just got my author copies and it’s gorgeous! I’m in love with this Green Room inspired cover:

There’s still time to preorder here and anywhere books are sold. With distribution through Simon & Schuster, you’ll be able to grab a copy at your favorite bookstore! I hope you’ll join my merch girl Ronnie on tour. Tell your friends. Bring your own toilet paper.

SHIVA by Emily Ruth Verona was recently released by Dark Matter INK. I love Emily’s work and this one continues to showcase her skill in crafting realistic and complicated people in terrible situations. My blurb:

“Verona is unflinching in her portrayal of a sibling bond battered and stretched to its limits by guilt, frustration, resentment, and all the ugliness that comes with love. Shiva is grief horror as vicious and heartbreaking as family itself.”

This novella surprised me. Unflinching. Heartbreaking. Vicious. Don’t miss this one!

Another book I recently had the pleasure of blurbing is THE SHAPES OF OUR SCREAMS by TT Madden. If you like a healthy dose of rock & roll rebellion with your horror, grab this one from Slashic Horror Press right now. My blurb:

“In The Shapes of Our Screams, music is a living, breathing cosmic power, a force for self-discovery and connection. It’s also a force for unfathomable destruction. Madden’s skill shines in this exploration of identity and belonging set against a backdrop of terrifying fascist carnage. I loved this timely story.”

I highly recommend this one. Make it a double feature with SLEEP ALONE!

I’ve read some excellent short fiction lately:

“Autogas Ferryman” by Champ Wongsatayanont in the September 2025 issue of Nightmare Magazine. A Bangkok taxi driver ferries ghosts around a city full of sorrow and surprises, all while grappling with his own guilt and pain. Not only was this story beautifully written, but I also found it particularly meaningful as a person of Thai descent. My mother was born and raised in Bangkok and her family still lives there. I got to visit once many years ago. It special to read a story like this and recognize things my own family has talked about—this is a great reminder of how much representation means. And it’s a Bram Stoker Award finalist!

“Jennifer’s Daughter” by Sara S. Messenger in the January 2026 issue of Nightmare Magazine. A young teen raised on Diablo Cody movies lives a sheltered life with a mother who does…something at night for their survival. Lonely and restless, everything changes when she meets a neighbor boy with secrets of his own. I love the pace and atmosphere of this one, the little details that sink you deep into a familiar time and place that could’ve been your own, are definitely not your own. The writing is so vivid you can smell and taste it.

“Mosty Likely To…(Class of 1997)” by A.C. Wise in the December 2025 issue of The Dark Magazine. I’ve never met an A.C. Wise story I didn’t love, and this one is no different. And if you know me and my work, you know I love a “now & then” (split timeline) story about teenage girls. The demolition of her old high school stirs up disturbing memories for a woman who witnessed something disturbing and unexplainable in those halls. This is a beautifully written, chilling story of the mysterious girls we all knew, the girls we might’ve been, and what might’ve happened to them.

Issues with Authority by Nadia Bulkin (Ghoulish Books, September 2025). I highly recommend Nadia’s newest collection, three novelettes/novellas that deal with women working with and against authority. I was lucky enough to get a standalone copy of “Red Skies in the Morning” before it sold out, so definitely pick up this collection if you missed that brilliant story of cursed media paracontagions. The opening story, “Cop Car”, chilled me to the bone (the origins of a government fixer psychopath, told from a very unusual POV). I’m a big fan of Nadia’s work—don’t miss this one!

Current Read: Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine - Finally got to this one and wow, what a perfect read for this time of year! It’s gloomy and miserable outside, the world is on fire, and Realene and her best friend fighting space worm-infected prairie dogs in their small North Dakota town is keeping me afloat. It’s fun and nostalgic with emotional weight. And next week, on March 17, the sequel Cold Snap drops from Dark Matter INK!

Recent Watches: A Thousand Blows, Twinless, Mother of Flies - Loved all of these. Please go watch A Thousand Blows (Hulu in the US). Erin Doherty as Mary Carr, the complicated, flawed, fascinating leader of the Forty Elephants is everything. Bonus show: Just finished Ponies (Peacock). US spy craft in 1970s Moscow, with two widows as the unexpected operatives. Haley Lu Richardson is a gem as Twila.

Okay, that’s it for now (until SLEEP ALONE releases next week!). As aways, thanks for joining me and supporting my work!

See you on Bluesky and Instagram? Find me there @JAWMcCarthy