Final Day of the WordCrafter “Midnight Madness” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 23, 2026 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Horror, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: "Apocalypse Family", "The Shape of Denial", Abe MArgel, Books, Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series, Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press, Zack Ellafy 2 Comments
This is the final day of the WordCrafter Midnight Madness Book Blog Tour, and we’ll be wrapping things up today, with a brief guest post from contributing author Abe Margel about his story, “EV Driven”, brief excerpts from “The Shape of Denial”, by Paul Martz and “Apocalypse Family”, by Zack Ellafy. We also share a link to the new Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series site, designed by DL Mullan of Undawnted, and we’ll tell you how to join in for our Once Upon A Midnight Dreary Facebook Book Event and purchase Midnight Merch.
About Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares
Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares contains fifteen stories which explore the fears that keep us awake at night. Featuring the winning story in the 2026 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest, as well as stories by veteran story tellers, Kaye Lynne Booth, Joseph Carrabis, Chris Barili, Rebecca M. Senese, C.R. Johansson, and more. The darkness in these stories touch on that which we fear most.
From a last big college prank gone awry, to an invisible beast none-the-less deadly, to a potion which makes you move faster than the eye can see, these stories showcase humanity’s deepest, darkest fears, how they shape our behaviors and their consequences they carry.
Everyone fears something. No one is immune. A sphere that drives men insane, apocalyptic zombies filled with sparkling dust, and even what happens when an electric car short circuits in the worst way are what make this story collection one you won’t want to miss.
Book Trailer
“EV Driven”, by Abe Margel
The story ‘EV Driven’ grew out of a recent experience of mine buying a new car.
Julian Duran likes gadgets, all kinds of gadgets and is willing to part with a large slice of his pay cheque to get them. New gizmos are particularly fascinating to him. Luck comes knocking on his door. A relative of his wife dies and leaves her a tidy some of cash which she shares with Julian. He quickly goes out and replaces his old, tired car with a new, technologically advanced vehicle, something he never dreamed he’d be able to afford. His wife is very annoyed with him but he rationalizes the extravagant purchase. The new car is wonderful at first, even better than he had hoped but then it steers him in an unexpected direction.
About Abe Margel
Abe Margel worked in rehabilitation and mental health for thirty years. He is the father of two adult children and lives in Thornhill, Ontario with his wife. His fiction has appeared in Chewers, The Hemlock Journal, Yellow Mama, Brief Wilderness, Freedom Fiction, Ariel Chart, Mystery Tribune, etc.
“The Shape of Denial”, by Paul Martz
“Apocalypse Family”, by Zack Ellafy
Wrapping Up
That wraps up the WordCrafter Midnight Madness Book Blog Tour, as well as this stop. There’s still time to visit each stop through the links in the Tour Schedule below to leave comments and gain entries in the giveaway. I will get out my hat and do the random drawing on Sunday.
Also, we hope you will visit our new Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series site and join us in our Halloween celebration with our Once Upon a Midnight Dreary Facebook Book event.
Until next time.
Happy Hauntings!
Giveaway
Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment at each stop you visit, for a chance to win.
Three lucky readers will receive a free digital copy of Midnight Madness: A Carnival of Nightmares, volume 4 in the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series.
Winners are chosen in a random drawing after the tour ends and will be announced in the “WordCrafter News” post on Monday, October 26, here on “Writing to be Read”.
**NOTE: “Writing to be Read” seems to be having technical difficulties with comments. If you are unable to comment here, you can still enter the drawing by sending your comment to KLBWordCrafter@gmail.com with MM Giveaway in the subject line. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Tour Schedule
Mon. 10/19 – Interview with Mark Milstead & Guest post from Christian De Matteo & promo for “Shadowmancer” – Writing to be Read: https://writingtoberead.com/?p=74385
Tues. 10/20 – guest post from Robb T. White & Reading from Kaye Lynne Booth –
Poetry by Mich: https://michnavs.wordpress.com/?p=16503
Hotel by Masticadores: https://hotelmasticadoreshouse.wordpress.com/2026/10/20/midnight-madness-book-tour-day-2/
Masticadores Phillipines: https://masticadoresphilippines.wordpress.com/2026/10/20/midnight-madness-book-tour-day-2/
Wed. 10/21 – Reading from “Headmaster Burns” & guest post from Lindsey Martin-Bowen & Promo for “L’Bonhomme Sept Heures” – Writing to be Read: https://writingtoberead.com/?p=74390
Thurs. 10/22 – Reading from Joseph Carrabis & guest post from C.R. Johannson – Roberta Writes: https://roberta-writes.com/2026/10/22/roberta-writes-book-blog-tour-about-midnight-madness-a-carnival-of-nightmares/
Fri. 10/23 – Guest Post by Abe Margel & promo for “The Shape of Denial” & Promo for “Apocalypse Family” – Writing to be Read: https://writingtoberead.com/?p=74393
Learn More About the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series
Visit the new Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology site: http://www.midnightanthologyseries.top
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary Facebook Event
The celebrations have only started. Join us for the Once Upon a Midnight Dreary Facebook Book Event on October 29th: https://www.facebook.com/events/3090905771300783. There will be plenty Halloween fun to go around: more Midnight Madness and the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series, plus other WordCrafter Press dark fiction releases and other works from contributing authors, music and storytelling all around.
Get Your Midnight Tee-Shirts
Midnight Roost: https://www.zazzle.com/midnight_roost_t_shirt-256463603840988378
Midnight Garden: https://www.zazzle.com/midnight_garden_t_shirt-256018093354343924
Midnight Oil: https://www.zazzle.com/midnight_oil_t_shirt-256701322171498236
Midnight Madness: https://www.zazzle.com/midnight_madness_t_shirt-256053338820100431
Midnight Shift: https://www.zazzle.com/midnight_shift_t_shirt-256886505305587799
Midnight Marauder: https://www.zazzle.com/midnight_marauder_t_shirt-256566127281249020
______________________________________
Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
Share this:
Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 3, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Author Interview, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Horror, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press | Tags: Abe MArgel, C.R. Johansson, Curses, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Dark fiction, Denise Aparo, horror, Joseph Carrabis, Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, Paul Kane, Robert White, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press 8 Comments
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
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
Molly Ertel’s short stories have appeared in Akashic Books, Jerry 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 1 – Writing 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 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – 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 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane
Day 4
- Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”
- Stop 2 – Undawnted – 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
Share this:
Day 3 of the WordCrafter “Curses” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 1, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: "The Weeping Man", "Uneasy Spirit", Abe MArgel, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness, Masticadores Phillipines, Michelle Navajas, Paul Kane, WordCrafter Press Leave a commentFor first stop on Day 3 of the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour, we’re over at Masticadores Phillipines, with Michelle Ayon Navajas introducing contributing authors Abe Margel and Paul Kane, and a guest post by Paul Kane on the inspiration for his story, “The Weeping Man”. Please join us in sending off this deliciously dark fiction anthology, Curses: Chronicles of Darkness. Don’t forget to comment for a chance at a free digital copy of the anthology and visit Stop 2 over at Undawnted.
Share this:
“Curses” & author Abe Margel on Joseph Carrabis
Posted: September 29, 2025 Filed under: Anthology, Book Promotion | Tags: "Uneasy Spirit", Abe MArgel, Anthology, Curses, Dark fiction, Joseph Carrabis Leave a comment
Meet the contributing authors and learn about their stories in Curses: Chronicles of Darkness.
Share this:
Day 5 of the WordCrafter “Midnight Garden” Book Blog Tour
Posted: October 11, 2024 Filed under: Anthology, Audio Excerpt, Blog Tour, Book Release, Books, Dark fiction, Giveaways, Guest Post, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours | Tags: "My Balance", Abe MArgel, Antepenultimate, Midnight Anthology Series, Midnight Garden, Molly Ertel, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press Leave a comment
Today we’re over at Kyrosmagica for Day 5 of the WordCrafter Midnight Garden Book Blog Tour with contributing authors Abe Margel and Molly Ertel share the inspirations for their stories “My Balance” and “Antepenultimate”. Join us and get a chance to win a free digital copy of Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow.
Share this:
Midnight Garden stories now on Joseph Carrabis: “My Balance”
Posted: October 4, 2024 Filed under: Anthology, Book Release, Dark fiction | Tags: "My Balance", Abe MArgel, Midnight Garden Leave a comment
