WordCrafter News: Midnight Oil Release & NaNoWriMo

Newsprint background. WordCrafter quill logo Text: WordCrafter News

Midnight Oil Release & Tour

Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares releases tomorrow, October 28, and the tour starts today and runs through Friday.

Michelle Ayon Navajas starts us off hosting the opening day in a triple stop over on Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores & Masticadores Phillipines with guest posts from me about my story, “Sangoma, Zombie Elephants, and Tokoloshe, Oh, My!”, and Christa Planko about her story, “Such a Time as This”.

Tomorrow, will find us here, on Writing to be Read, with a reading by Joseph Carrabis from his story, “Jeremiah”, and Wednesday we’ll be over at Book Places, where Kay Castenada will bring us a short post and promos from Roberta Eaton Cheadle about her story, “Just Deserts”. Thursday will find us on Carla Loves to Read where Carla Johnson-Hicks shares a guest post by Paul Kane on his story, “The Whistling” and then, we will wrap things up right back here on Writing to be Read with a reading of “The Initiation”, by DL Mullan and I’ll be interviewing Denise Aparo, author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest, “The Vanishing”.

It’s a great anthology and it’s going to be a great tour, with five chances to win a digital copy of Midnight Oil, if you follow along and visit each stop. It’s available for pre-order all day today, and then, of course it will be available for purchase after the release tomorrow at the purchase link below.

About Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares

Book Cover: Midnight Oil A candle lit lantern sitting in a garden at night with an owl perched on a branch. Text: Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, A WordCrafter Midnight Anthology, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare.

Contributing authors include Mario Acevedo, Joseph Carrabis, Jon Shannon, Rebecca M. Senesse, DL Mullan, Zack Ellafy, Christa Planko, C.R. Johansson, Kaye Lynne Booth, Robert White, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Chris Barili, Paul Kane, and author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil

November is National Novel Writing Month

Every year at this time, I like to use the NaNoWriMo challenge to get at least 50,000 words down toward my next book. This year, I had planned to put that 50,000 words toward my trunk series Playground for the Gods, because I still hold ideas about getting that series off the ground. However, being without a computer for several months last spring set my production schedule behind, and so, this November will find me working on the long overdue book 3 of my Women in the West Adventure Series, Marta. I have the completed outline in hand and I’m ready to begin writing my way to that first 50,000 words during the month of November.

Western town background. Books in foreground: (L to R) Sarah, Delilah, Marta
Text: Women in the West Adventure Series

This third book is the story of Marta Olmstead, a Mormon woman who we meet in the first book, Delilah, who is captured in an Indian raid and taken to live among the Utes, but she ends up in Leadville, Colorado. This is her story.

Marta is a strong heroine in a different way from our first two heroines. She is not driven, like Delilah, or sassy, like Sarah. Marta has a strong sense of right and wrong and is determined to walk the straight and narrow. Her journey takes her out of Colorado, all the way to El Paso, Texas, which in 1889, was a rough and rowdy border town and she meets some very colorful characters along the way.

WordCrafter Halloween Hauntings Sale

Don’t forget that all through October we’re running the WordCrafter Halloween Hauntings Sale, so you can get all paranormal and dark fiction anthologies from the WordCrafter Press backlist at hugely discounted prices. But hurry. At Midnight on October 31st, these prices will all turn into pumpkins. 🎃

Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series

Narrating the Paranormal Series

Stand Alone Anthologies

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This post sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.

Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.

Stop by and see what we have to offer today: https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/


“Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares” is Available For Pre-Order

Volume 3 of the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series is now available for pre-order.

To be released October 28th, 2025.

Book Cover: Midnight Oil A candle lit lantern sitting in a garden at night with an owl perched on a branch. Text: Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, A WordCrafter Midnight Anthology, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare.

Contributing authors include Mario Acevedo, Joseph Carrabis, Jon Shannon, Rebecca M. Senesse, DL Mullan, Zack Ellafy, Christa Planko, C.R. Johansson, Kaye Lynne Booth, Robert White, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Chris Barili, Paul Kane, and author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil

Reserve Your Copy Today.


“Curses” & Joseph Carrabis Again on “Joseph Carrabis”

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.


“Curses” & Joseph Carrabis, on Joseph Carrabis

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.


“Curses” & Danaeka Scrimshaw on “Joseph Carrabis”

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.


“Curses” & Robert White on “Joseph Carrabis”

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.


WINNERS: The WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour

Curses book in center of dark dungeon background. Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Presents Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, A WordCrafter Anthology, Contributing Authors: Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel,and Denise Aparo

We had a great tour for the release of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness last week, with readings from Joseph Carrabis of both his stories “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”, a video from Molly Ertel about the inspiration of her story, “Clover’s Mirror Box”, and guest posts from Paul Kane on “The Weeping Man”, Robert White on “The Longspeth Curse”, Denise Aparo on “Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond”, and me on both of my stories, “The Death Clock” & “Caverna Del Oro (Cave of Gold)”. And, of course, there was a giveaway for all of those visitors who commented and supported the tour, the anthology, and all of the contributing authors for one of five digital copies of Curses. So, without further ado,

(Drumroll please…)

And the winners are:

  • Teagan Genevieve
  • Meelosmom
  • Author Jan Sikes
  • Liz Gaufreau
  • D. Wallace Peach

Tour Schedule

In case you missed out on all the fun, you can visit each stop through the links in the schedule below. I hope you’ll take the time to stop in and check it out.

Day 1

  • Stop 1Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Kaye Lynne Booth and Denise Aparo
  • Stop 2 Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo

Day 2

  • Stop 1Robbie’s Inspiration – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”
  • Stop 2Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis

Day 3

  • Stop 1 Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”
  • Stop 2Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane

Day 4

  • Stop 1Roberta Writes – Meet C.R Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”
  • Stop 2Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White

Day 5

  • Stop 1 Writing to be Read – Meet Danaeka Scrimshaw, and Molly Ertel & Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”
  • Stop 2 Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw

Joseph Carrabis Promotional Posts

In addition, each of our contributing authors are being featured on the Joseph Carrabis blog through the 8th of October. You can access all of those posts through the links below, but please note that the links will not work until the post has gone live.

29 Sept 2025 Abe Margel’s “Uneasy Spirit” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/09/29/abe-margels-uneasy-spirit-in-wordcrafter-press-curses-anthology/

30 Sept 2025 Denise Aparo’s “Mohawk Monster: The Curse of the Herkimer Diamond” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/09/30/denise-aparos-mohawk-monster-the-curse-of-the-herkimer-diamond-in-wordcrafter-press-curses-anthology/

1 Oct 2025 Molly Ertel’s “Clover’s Mirror Box” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/01/molly-ertels-clover-in-wordcrafter-press-curses-anthology/

2 Oct 2025 Paul Kane’s “The Weeping Man” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/02/paul-kanes-the-weeping-man-in-curses/

3 Oct 2025 Kaye Lynne Booth’s “The Death Clock” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/03/kaye-lynne-booths-the-death-clock-in-curses/

4 Oct 2025 Kaye Lynne Booth’s “Cavern Del Oro (Cave of Gold)” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/04/kaye-lynne-booths-cavern-del-oro-cave-of-gold-in-curses/

5 Oct 2025 Robert White’s “The Longspeth Curse” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/05/robert-whites-the-longspeth-curse-in-curses/

6 Oct 2025 Danaeka Scrimshaw’s “The Lamp” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/06/danaeka-scrimshaws-the-lamp-in-curses/

7 Oct 2025 Joseph Carrabis’ “It’s a Man’s World” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/07/my-its-a-mans-world-in-curses/

8 Oct 2025 Joseph Carrabis’ “Grafton’s Ghost-Child” – https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/08/my-graftons-ghost-child-in-curses/


“Curses” & Kaye Lynne Booth on Joseph Carrabis Again

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.


“Curses” & Kaye Lynne Booth on Joseph Carrabis

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.


Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour

Curses Tour Banner - Dark dungeon walls with Curses in the center. 
Text: WordCrafter Book Blog Tours Presents Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, A Dark Fiction Anthology, Contributing authors: Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, Denise Aparo

Today we’re wrapping up the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour. I want to thank each of you who have joined us by following the tour and commenting to enter the giveaway, to help us send-off this themed dark fiction anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. We’ve had a great time meeting the contributing authors and learning about their stories. I hope you’ve learned enough about the stories in this collection to entice you to buy the anthology, and maybe found a new favorite author or two along the way. If you missed a stop, you can go back and check them all out through the links in the schedule at the bottom of this post.

Today we bring you a brief guest post by Danaeka Scrimshaw and a video post about their story inspirations her on Writing to be Read. Then over at Undawnted, DL Mullan will bring use her interview with Danaeka, as well. Don’t forget to leave your comments and questions for both stops on the first blog stop. We still have one more digital copy of Curses to giveaway.

Giveaway

We’re giving away 5 digital copies of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.

All you have to do to enter is

follow the tour and leave a comment.

About Curses: Chronicles of Darkness

Book Cover: Curses Three women with horned headdresses , and flames above their heads. Text: Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can’t be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

Pre-Order and Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

Meet Author Molly Ertel

Author Molly Ertel

Molly Ertel’s short stories have appeared in Akashic BooksJerry Jazz Magazine, the Midnight Garden anthology and the Dark City Crime and Mystery Magazine among other publications. Additionally, she worked as a reader/editor for the Silver Blade Anthology. Her character-driven stories came out of her days as a photojournalist at the Airway Heights Corrections Center where she interviewed and wrote about the lives of inmates and the work of correctional officers.

Current projects include editing her second historical fiction novel for middle grade (8-12 year olds) that takes place during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and possibly delving into the world of creative non-fiction for children. Animal Olympics anyone?

Molly’s story, ” Clover’s Mirror Box”, is about a woman cursed with bad luck and her quest to break her curse. How do you break a curse? Well…, Clover uses a mirror box to break her curse. If you want to know how, you’ll have to read the story.

Inspiration Video for “Clover’s Mirror Box”

Meet Author Danaeka Scrimshaw

Danaeka Scrimshaw is a speculative fiction author writing novel length and short form for the past seven years. Between short stories, they’re working on the first book of a new trilogy called Ghedia of Duisternis.

Danaeka’s story, “The Lamp”, is about a cursed object; a lamp handed down through generations with a curse locked within.

Inspiration for “The Lamp”

My story, The Lamp, came to me subtly last October when my writing group wanted to do Halloween stories. It started with the memory of my great grandma’s old wicker lamp when I was seven. This one was ordinary, and we got to light it sometimes and watch the orange flames flicker as we blew across the open top, casting shadows on the walls. 

While I was still going through my divorce, I had lost the muse and didn’t finish in time, stopping when Sebastien discovered the lamp was open. About a month after I started living alone, I felt invisible, just as this anthology opportunity came up. I had felt invisible throughout my childhood as well. This idea of being the forgotten child made its way into the story. 

You can learn more about Danaeka and her story, by visiting the second stop on today’s tour, over at Undawnted, where you can catch Danaeka’s interview with DL Mullan.

Don’t forget to leave your comments and questions for both tour stops here for a chance to win the final copy of Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.

Tour Schedule

Day 1

  • Stop 1Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Kaye Lynne Booth and Denise Aparo
  • Stop 2 Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo

Day 2

  • Stop 1Robbie’s Inspiration – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”
  • Stop 2Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis

Day 3

  • Stop 1 Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”
  • Stop 2Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane

Day 4

  • Stop 1Roberta Writes – Meet C.R Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”
  • Stop 2Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White

Day 5

  • Stop 1 Writing to be Read – Meet Danaeka Scrimshaw, and Molly Ertel & Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”
  • Stop 2 Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw