J. D. Hellen
@jdhellenwrites.bsky.social
🖋️✨🐌 Speculative fiction writer near Philadelphia, PA, USA. Here to follow writers, lit mags, and podcasts. No AI slop, please. https://linktr.ee/Jdhellen
Holy crap.
PseudoPod 🎙️@pseudopod.org · 5d ago“Mr. Hoskins, across the dinner table, had seemed confused when I tried to introduce the topic of the democracy of the dead.” Graves Basin by Daniel Roop Narrator: MN Wiggins Host: Alasdair Stuart Audio: Chelsea Davis pseudopod.org/2026/08/09/p... This story is a PseudoPod original
Okay, I finished THE VEGETARIAN and have no aversion to meat. Truthfully, I was expecting a different kind of story, but I'm grateful it was a different kind of story because I made it through. It's painful more than anything. 🌳
J. D. Hellen@jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 2w agoSince starting THE VEGETARIAN yesterday, I've had a huge craving for Galbi. Got Korean BBQ for lunch . . . before getting too deep in the story changes my mind.
Fun update. So that particular night, I had no idea I was standing pretty close to a festering rodent corpse that was the nesting ground for a bunch of black flies that invaded my house. (There were flies down there.) (Don't worry. It's all under control now.)
J. D. Hellen@jdhellenwrites.bsky.social · 2w agoCommitment to the craft: This past night, I stood in my (unfinished) basement in the dark until I got spooked. 😱
I finished this and absolutely loved it—I think partly because it's my very first legitimate comp title.❗ I enjoyed the characters, their rules, and the ride and now have a lot to think about. Look out for a blog post in the future because I'm not done sharing thoughts about imaginary friends.
Commitment to the craft: This past night, I stood in my (unfinished) basement in the dark until I got spooked. 😱
JIMOTHY 🦝 I don't write poetry, but I know a bunch of you do!
Trash Cat Lit@trashcatlit.bsky.social · 3w agoWe're so excited by the love for Jimothy the special raccoon and want to celebrate him and what he represents - tenacity and difference - with a special sub call. Give us your PROSE POEMS up to 300 words. Guidelines here: trashcatlit.com/call-for-pro... Call opens 1st September 🦝 #submissioncalls
aaaaand we're off! The Trashcan Generator is ready for your Trashie selections and deliver prompts back to you 🦝 We have a handful of new prompts in among those bins. Get prompted before 8pm on 6th August. Look out for Swapsies Day on the 4th. trashcatlit.com/call-for-pro... #submissioncalls
I had a great time chatting with @paultremblay.bsky.social about horror writing, unusual narrative approaches, and his new anti-AI novel DEAD BUT DREAMING OF ELECTRIC SHEEP countercraft.substack.com/p/processing...
Processing: How Paul Tremblay Wrote Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep
The author on writing horror and comedy, unusual narrative approaches, and pouring AI anxieties into fiction.
countercraft.substack.com
Since starting THE VEGETARIAN yesterday, I've had a huge craving for Galbi. Got Korean BBQ for lunch . . . before getting too deep in the story changes my mind.
Anything hinting at cannibalism makes me uncomfortable, but the language in this piece is *chef's kiss*. fracturedlit.com/she-carried-...
She Carried His Leg | Fractured
fracturedlit.com
Thrifting score! My first book with Bachman on the spine!
I had a WILD dream this past night. A giant frog-hippo monster that grew from a Betta fish came out of its tank and terrorized my neighborhood. Someone shoved a live chicken into my getaway car. ... I think we'll see this frog-hippo again on the page.
"I am aces at welcoming in small acts of destruction – but no one has ever left me – ragged – bare bones – white knuckle contempt – gutted like a mackerel – a stupid little blonde – quite like you" poolpartymag.com/no-one-break...
no one breaks my heart quite like our nation’s health insurance policies.
it’s not to say that I do not fraternize often with the act of putting myself in situations that want to make me cry - often - on the reg - yesterday I looked up all my exes on Instagram
poolpartymag.com
read this story by Ben Carter Olcott @bencarterolcott.bsky.social ! it's about a couple who've been living in an airbnb for a week, b/c an "emergency event" has made them flee their home great style in this one ! w/ long sentences that are equally funny & brooding xraylitmag.com/how-happy-th...
How Happy The Home by Ben Carter Olcott
And so I was walking, as if away from something, although there was nowhere to go, nowhere to leave to, only the road outside the Airbnb to walk down once again. It was dusty, a thin strip of asphalt ...
xraylitmag.com
Lots of folks on our reviewer list are no longer active reviewers. With that in mind, I'm hoping to find some folks currently interested in reviewing weird, queer, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist horror fiction. If that's you, sign up here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Cursed Morsels Press ARC sign-up
docs.google.com
Free micro fiction anthology. Download Ellipsis Zine Ten from our website here: ellipsis-zine.com/publications... 34 pieces of micro fiction 100 words or fewer.
The breeze is now a smoke screen. #7syllablesentence #breeze
Ouch.
Does It Have Pockets@doesithavepockets.bsky.social · last mo."608-315-5408 Haha, no, not a scam. I just wanted to know how you were doing. You seem nice. (Sent: 11:55 PM; Read: 11:56 PM)" A poignant study in loneliness & technology in this tremendous new #fiction from Zach Shea | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/zach...
Listen, friends. I mean this literally! This superlative new epistle/list hybrid #CNF from @christielauryn.bsky.social has its own playlist. Pour yourself a cup & really spend some time with this one if you can. <3 www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/christie...
I slowly let my focus fall just above my lap. I know my silence is #revealing, but there's nothing I can—nothing I SHOULD—say now. I've already said too much. I feel their disappointment in the air. It's heavy; I notice my shoulders sink. It didn't have to be this way. It's my fault. #vss365
SO EXCITED about THE SNAIL ORACLE from Broccoli! You can bet I added my email address to get notified. I own SNAIL WORLD and SNAIL WORLD 2 and love Aleia Murawski's work. 🐌🔮 broccolimag.com/collections/...
The Snail Oracle: 33 Card Deck & Guidebook
The Snail Oracle is slowly heading to our shop. Click "notify me" and enter your email to join the waitlist. Snails can reveal a lot about the little things in life. Each card in The Snail Oracle is a...
broccolimag.com
"Now, a veiled lady was feasting on Mama’s decomposing fingers. Arriving early with the flies, it was sucking the ammonia off her nails, the same way that someone might lick salt off chips." As a fan of fungi and good writing, this piece delighted me. 🍄
Trash Cat Lit@trashcatlit.bsky.social · last mo.Our first spotlight from the summer issue is Emily Hall @emhall47.bsky.social🦝 We loved this dark, fungal tale. Reader @leighloveday.bsky.social said it has an "arresting opening paragraphs and some wonderfully uncomfortable lines throughout" Read and listen here: trashcatlit.com/waxcap/
Why, of course I'd choose the puzzle of a photo of writing utensils while I'm on vacation. ✏️
