Halloween Hauntings Sale at WordCrafter Press

I Love Halloween!

I may have mentioned that a few times before, but I really do love this time of year. October is such a fun month with scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns, creepy/crawlies, witches and warlocks, ghosts and demons, and all things of the scary variety. When my son, Michael, was little, maybe four or five, and approaching his first Halloween trick-or-treating with his older brothers and sisters, we talked through what he could expect. Our mantra became, “It will be scary, but it will be fun.” And it was. And for the rest of his short life, Halloween was always his favorite holiday, because he could dress up and pretend to be anyone or anything he wanted, at least for a short time.

2025 Dark Fiction Anthologies

So, when this time of year comes around, I always try to do special things to honor his memory. But, I’m a little old to dress in costume, so nowadays most of the fun stuff I do are things like putting out dark fiction anthologies, as I’ve done this year with Curses and Midnight Oil. But those are just two, the most recent in a whole slew of deliciously dark anthologies which have been published by WordCrafter Press. This year’s anthologies both turned out wonderfully. Curses: Chronicles of Darkness will be released Tuesday, September 29, and we’ll be running the WordCrafter Curses Book Blog Tour all this week, starting here, tomorrow, through October 3. Midnight Oil will be released October 28, just in time for Halloween, with a tour running all that week. I hope you’ll come celebrate both of these original anthologies with us this year

Other Halloween Hauntings from WordCrafter Press

During the month of October, all Halloween Hauntings (or dark fiction anthologies from WordCrafter Press), are on sale for our Halloween Hauntings Sale, October 1 – 31, 2025.

Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series

Midnight Roost and Midnight Garden, volumes 1 & 2 in the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology series are both half price at $3.50 each through the links below.

Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: https://books2read.com/MidnightRoost

Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: https://books2read.com/MidnightGardenAnthology

Narrating The Paranormal Series

All three volumes in the Narrating the Paranormal Series are only .99 cents each through the links below.

Whispers of the Past: https://books2read.com/WhispersPast

Spirits of the West: https://books2read.com/SpiritsoftheWest

Where Spirits Linger: https://books2read.com/WhereSpiritsLinger1

Or you can get all three books in our trilogy volume, Lingering Spirit Whispers for only $2.99.

Lingering Spirit Whispers: https://books2read.com/LingeringSpiritWhispers

Themed Anthologies

You can get Tales From the Hanging Tree for only $2.99 through the link below.

Tales From the Hanging Tree: Imprint of Tragedy: https://books2read.com/Hanging-Tree

Once Upon an Ever After is only $2.99 through the link below.

Once Upon an Ever After: Modern Fairy Tales & Folklore: https://books2read.com/OnceUponanEverAfter

You can get Refracted Reflections for only $2.99.

Refracted Reflections: Twisted Tales of Duality & Deception: https://books2read.com/RefractedReflections


Merry Christmas from WordCrafter Press & Writing to be Read

We’ve had a great year here at WordCrafter Press & Writing to be Read, and it’s all because of you, our fabulous readers!

2024 Publications from WordCrafter Press

The D.I.Y. Author: Writer’s Resource

Being an author today is more than just writing the book. Authors in this digital age have more opportunities than ever before. Whether you pursue independent or traditional publishing models, or a combination of the two but being an author involves not only writing, but often, the publishing and marketing of the book.

In this writer’s reference guide, multi-genre author and independent publisher, Kaye Lynne Booth shares her knowledge and experiences and the tools, books, references and sites to help you learn the business of being an author.



Topics Include:

Becoming Prolific

Writing Tools

Outlining

Making Quality a Priority

Publishing Models & Trends

Marketing Your Book

Book Covers & Blurbs

Book Events—In Person & Virtual

And more…

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/The-DIY-Author

Sarah: Book 2 of the Women in the West Adventure Series

Sarah is a young girl trying to make a place for herself in the world.

Sarah is not the young girl stolen away from Delilah anymore. Now she is Hair of Fire, mate of Three Hawks, even as she blossoms into a young woman and tries to make a place for herself among the Ute tribe.

When she is stolen away from the life she’s made, she struggles to survive in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. A streak of stubbornness and determination take this tough, feisty heroine up against wild beasts of the forest and the rugged mountain landscape to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where she receives a less than welcoming reception by some.

Will this young woman find her way back to the Ute tribe, which she’s come to think of as family, or will she discover a place among the colorful inhabitants of the Colorado hot springs and mining town?

Follow along on her journey to learn who she truly is and where she belongs in this rough, and often hostile frontier.

If you like strong and capable female protagonists, you’ll love Sarah.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Sarah-Women-in-the-West

The My Backyard Friends Kid’s Book Series

Feild of colorful flowers and butterflies in background. Digital copies of "Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans, and Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home in foreground. Text: My Backyard Friends Kid's Book Series

The My Backyard Friends kid’s book series is inspired by the birds and animals that visit the author Kaye Lynne Booth’s mountain home. Beautiful illustrations by children’s author, poet, and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, bring the unique voices of the animal characters to life.

Purchase Links:

Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/MBF-HeatherHummingbird

Timothy Turtle Discovers Jellybeans (Ages 3-5): https://books2read.com/MBF-TimothyTurtle

Charlie Chickadee Gets a New Home (Ages 6-8): https://books2read.com/MBF-CharlieChickadee

Tales From the Hanging Tree: Imprints of Tragedy Anthology

There exists a tree that is timeless, spanning across all dimensions, which absorbs every life as those who are hanged as they die… and it remembers every one. The stories within are a select few of the Tales From the Hanging Tree

Stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Paul Kane, DL Mullan, C.R. Johannson, Joseph Carrabis, Sylva Fae, and Matt Usher.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Hanging-Tree

Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow Anthology – Book 2 in the Midnight Anthology Series

17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare.

Contributing authors include Paul Kane, Ell Rodman, DL Mullan, Joseph Carrabis, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Denise Aparo, Jon Shannon, Zack Ellafy, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Robb T. White, Abe Margel, Julie Jones, Molly Ertel, Peter McKay, Kaye Lynne Booth, Paul Martz, and M.J. Mallon.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/MidnightGardenAnthology

Reminder: ALL WordCrafter Press Books 50% off through January 1 on Smashwords

That’s right. You can get those WordCrafter Press books that have been sitting on your wishlist at 50% of during the Smashwords 2024 End of Year Sale. But you must act before January 1st, when the sale ends and these great discounts go away. And don’t forget that WordCrafter Press books make great holiday gifts, too. Get your copies today.

Shop the Smashwords 2024 End of Year Sale here: https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/

2024 Highlights on Writing to be Read

On Writing to be Read, we’ve had several new monthly blog series debut. I introduced a new Monday blog series, “Everyone is a Critic”, where you can find out what I think about movies or television series I’ve watched. I brought back “Chatting with the Pros” on the second Saturday of each month, along with the debut of its sister series on the fourth Saturday, “Chatting with New Blood”, where I interview professional authors who are making it work, and rising authors about their books and lessons learned, respectively, and post my reviews of their books.

And Robbie Cheadle said goodbye to “Growing Bookworms” and introduced her new monthly series, “Read and Cook”, where each month, she reviews a book and provides a complimentary recipe with delectable photos. I believe this series will be quite popular, or at least, it has been so far. Robbie’s series appear on Wednesdays, and “Read and Cook” appears the second Wednesday of the month. The third and forth Wednesdays see her “Treasuring Poetry” series, featuring interviews with poets and reviews of their books, and “In Touch with Nature” featuring facts about African wildlife and Robbie’s brillant wildlife photography, videos and artwork.

2024 also saw a new addition to the Writing to be Read blog team, DL Mullan, with her new series “Undawntech”, where she explores the pros and cons of AI and other technology in our rapidly changing world.

And in honor of the season that is upon us, I’d like to call special attention to DL’s and Robbie’s holiday posts: “Undawntech: An A.I. Yuletide Carol” and “Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Letters From Father Christmas, by J.R.R. Tolkien and a recipe for Christmas Cake“. Both are delightful, and just the thing to put you in a holiday mood.

In addition, Arthur Rosch’s monthly contribution, “Mind Fields”, brings poetry and essays with Art’s unique outlook on life, appears randomly, where there is space for it, often a fifth Wednesday or Friday, if there is one, or sometimes on the first Wednesday, as that’s an open spot, as well.

If you want to be sure to not to miss any of this great content, you can subscribe to Writing to be Read and receive notification of all new content right in your inbox. We’ve got a great new year ahead of us, so don’t miss a post.

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Note From the Author

That’s a recap of this past year for WordCrafter Press and Writing to be Read. I’m thankful for all that’s been accomplished and excited about the year to come. To find out what is in store, watch for this month’s “WordCrafter News” on the 30th.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from WordCrafter Press and the Writing to be Read blog team

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About author Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and her Time-Travel Adventure novel, The Rock Star & The Outlaw,as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource. Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This post is sponsored by The Rock Star & The Outlaw and WordCrafter Press.

A time-traveler oversteps his boundaries in 1887. Things get out of hand quickly, and he is hanged, setting in motion a series of events from which there’s no turning back.

In 1887, LeRoy McAllister is a reluctant outlaw running from a posse with nowhere to go except to the future.

In 2025, Amaryllis Sanchez is a thrill-seeking rock star on the fast track, who killed her drug dealing boyfriend to save herself. Now, she’s running from the law and his drug stealing flunkies, and nowhere is safe.

LeRoy falls hard for the rock star, thinking he can save her by taking her back with him. But when they arrive in 1887, things turn crazy fast, and soon they’re running from both the outlaws and the posse, in peril once more.

They can’t go back to the future, so it looks like they’re stuck in the past. But either when, they must face forces that would either lock them up or see them dead.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/RockStarOutlaw


WordCrafter News: Farewell to “Growing Bookworms”, an October Release & Giveaway Winners

Newsprint background. WordCrafter quill logo Text: WordCrafter News

Saying Farewell to “Growing Bookworms”

Robbie Cheadle started the “Growing Bookworms” blog series back in 2019. It was the first series that she brought to Writing to be Read, and is the longest running blog series to date on Writing to be Read. It has been a wonderful series, which originated with her Sir Chocolate series characters, and all the creative ways in which she encouraged her own sons to read and enjoy the world of literature. It has now grown into a discussion of children’s books and literature as the series progresses. Now, after six years, Robbie’s bookworms are grown and she is ready to move on with a new series, which I’ll tell you a little about below. But first, let’s celebrate the series by spotlighting all the fabulous banners Robbie has created for the “Growing Bookworms” series over the years with her darling fondant art as we bid “Growing Bookworms” farewell.

  • A drawing of a squirrell in a semi-circle Text: Growing Bookworms "Come on kids, let's get reading."
  • Three fondant dog figures Text: Writing to be Read Presents Growing Bookworms, Read a book and experience life through different eyes
  • A fondant figure of a girl covering her eyes Text: Open your eyes to the joy of reading with Growing Bookworms Presented by Writing to be Read and Robbie Cheadle
  • A fondant baby figure with blanket and pacifier on a snowflake background. Text: Growing Bookworms and Writing to be Read wish you a Merry Christmas
  • Two male fondant images sitting with stacks pf fondant books between them and and open book with a fondant worm crawling across it. Text: Growing Bookworms with Sir Chocolate and Silly Willy
  • A male fondant figure sitting in front of a female fondant figure on a chocolate candied stage. Text: Growing Bookworms, Setting the Stage for success with Robbie Cheadle

(The fondant village is the latest banner. Click to the right for a trip back through time to the first banner with Sir Chocolate and Silly Willy back in 2019.)

Welcome “Robbie Reads and Cooks”

In her new blog series, “Read and Cook”, Robbie plans to share posts containing a book review paired with a recipe. I hope you will join us in welcoming this new and creative blog series for Robbie. I think it will be interesting to see what Robbie’s literary tastes cook up.

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October Release: Midnight Garden

17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare.

Contributing authors include Paul Kane, Ell Rodman, DL Mullan, Joseph Carrabis, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Denise Aparo, Jon Shannon, Zack Elafy, Paul Martz, Robb T. White, Abe Margel, Julie Jones, Molly Ertel, Peter McKay, Kaye Lynne Booth, Danaeka Scrimshaw, and M.J. Mallon, author of the winning story in the 2024 WordCrafter Dark Fiction Contest.

Scheduled for release on October 8th. Don’t miss the WordCrafter Midnight Garden Book Blog Tour October 7 – 14, with guest posts and audio/video readings by contributing authors, and a great giveaway. So be sure to join us in sending this dark fiction anthology off right.

Tales From the Hanging Tree News

There exists a tree that is timeless, spanning across all dimensions, which absorbs every life as those who are hanged as they die… and it remembers every one. The stories within are a select few of the Tales From the Hanging Tree

September saw the release of Tales From the Hanging Tree: Imprints of Tragedy. We launched it with a great blog tour featuring guest posts or excerpt readings from contributing authors. If you missed it, you can access each stop through the links in the tour schedule below. You can get your copy at your favorite retailer through Books2Read: https://books2read.com/Hanging-Tree

Tour Schedule

Monday Sept. 9 Writing to be Read – Reading Excerpt by Joseph Carrabis & Guest Sylva Fae

Tuesday Sept. 10Roberta Writes – Guest Kaye Lynne Booth

Wednesday Sept. 11 Carla Reads – Guest C.R. Johansson

Thursday Sept. 12Undawnted – Guest Paul Kane

Friday Sept. 13Writing to be Read – Reading Excerpt by DL Mullan & Guest Matt Usher

We also had a cool giveaway during the tour. The winners received a free digital copy of Tales From the Hanging Tree: Imprints of Tragedy.

And the winners are…

  • T.W. Dittmer
  • Merril D. Smith
  • C.E. Robinson

We also had promotional posts appear on the Joseph Carrabis blog site, so if you’d like to learn more about the anthology, click on the links below to see those posts.

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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/


Tales From the Hanging Tree Stories Now Featured on Joseph Carrabis: “The Devil’s Mark”


Tales From the Hanging Tree Stories Now Featured on Joseph Carrabis: “12 Angry Dead”


Tales From the Hanging Tree Stories Now Featured on Joseph Carrabis: “The One That Got Away”


Tales From the Hanging Tree Stories Now Featured on Joseph Carrabis: “The Legend of Cottonwood Hollow”


Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Tales From the Hanging Tree” Book Blog Tour

Today we’re all ‘hanging around’ over at Undawnted for Day 4 of the WordCrafter Tales of the Hanging Tree Book Blog Tour with a guest post by contributing author Paul Kane about his story, “The Hanging Men”. Join us. (Please leave any comments here on Writing to be Read, as Undawnted is not comment enabled.)

http://www.undawnted.com/2024/09/paul-kanes-hanging-men-from.html


Tales From the Hanging Tree Stories Now Featured on Joseph Carrabis: “Death for Sale”


Tales From the Hanging Tree Stories Now Featured on Joseph Carrabis: “Therion’s Heart”