Call For Submissions and Another Website Refresh

Summer is close at hand, and I had a burst of productivity this spring. While I'm behind on my 2026 horror movies (though I did recently watch Hokum and breakout hit, the Obsession), most of my time has been spent in “work” mode. Both in my corporate role and in my horror creation (which is objectively more fun).

This includes:

New Colors, Photos, and Functionality of the Horror Website

If you saw my site prior to February of this year, then you know the colors and style were completely different. Lime green and hot pink were the color palette, with pop art everywhere and intense micro-animations. While this was fun, I felt like this did not fully reflect me as an artist. If anything, it represented me as the goofball I am with my close circle. I can be a bit of an introvert, and equally so, my work is deeply introspective.

I wanted the website to both reflect this and be an easy place to navigate. You could get around the site before, but I think it lacked a clear direction.  I am still working on the navigation, but the overall design and functionality are finished.

I went with darker purple, pale blues, and greens. Essentially, I wanted the site to feel clean, sterile, but still have an air of personality. I think it's akin to the difference between a neon monster party and a day studying at the morgue. Both can be effective, but one leans more toward educational and realistic.

That said, one aspect of the site I do want to call out is my use of AI images. In full transparency, there is only one place I have used them, and that is for the writing generators. I actually did an open call for artist submissions, and not a single person submitted. I then reached out to a few artists, and they either weren't interested or the completion time would take a year or so for each set.

I also had to factor in cost. At 100 assets per generator, the total cost would have exceeded $120,000. As an artist myself, I understand and respect the cost, but that estimate simply isn't realistic for an independent creator.

Based on this, I made the decision to use AI. My goal is not to replace artists, but to create a free resource for horror writers that otherwise would not have been financially possible. The rest of the images on the site are originally sourced or taken by me or my partner.

Overall, I'm happy with the new direction of the site. The next step is to address some navigation issues for user experience, and then I am working on having all ebooks on the site so you have the option to purchase from a third-party realtor or directly from me.  

The New Horror Encyclopedia

One of the biggest aspects of the site that underwent a complete change was The Horror Encyclopedia.  Originally, this was a minor section on the site that lived with the other horror resources.  It has now been removed entirely and is now:

A Standalone Book

While building out the strategy for the Horror Encyclopedia, I found myself writing and writing…and writing. What was meant to be a few blog posts evolved into an entire book. It reminded me of the process of my Write Horror: Good Enough to Wake the Dead. A ton of research, where I included film, TV shows, literature, etc. In the case of The Horror Encyclopedia, I am also including a ton of educational resources, and it has been fun to go to the library or find useful publications online. While I don't have an estimated time of completion, I can say my initial draft is finished. Of course, this will come after my short story collection, Let These Scars Remain, but it is still coming nonetheless!

An Entire Website

The blogs on this site did very well, and I think the topics were useful for writers. One of the issues I found, though, is that it made my site a bit confusing. There were topics about death and crime right along with writing tips and film analysis. Plus, the topics themselves kept evolving. Thus, I have recently launched horrorencyclopedia.com. There are not a ton of topics on the site right now, but eventually I am hoping it becomes a huge, comprehensive resource. I am also accepting writing submissions there if you are interested!

Submissions For New Anthologies  

Speaking of writing submissions, I have two open calls for book anthologies. Please go check them out! I also wanted to say that I am still working through the submissions for my anthology, Release the Monsters. So if you have submitted to that, you may still be shortlisted!

I apologize for the delay, but my priority has been the website and thus, I waited on reviewing submissions with my team, because I want each book to have the full attention it deserves. There were a lot of really good stories that have been submitted, so know that when it is released, it will be worth the wait. I’m also in the process of getting a new cover designer as the last cover designer I contracted had been using AI (ironic, I know).

As a result of the delay on this anthology, I will most likely push back the deadline for the other two anthologies, so please be on the lookout for that as well.

A Look to the Future of My Horror Brand

On a final note, I wanted to speak on my brand as a whole. One thing I noticed during this whole build-out process is that I felt boxed in, especially when it comes to my identity as a horror author. While I do write horror, and as mentioned, there are new book projects on the way, I felt like this never truly covered who I am as a creative. I write, of course, but I also teach, draw, explore, and there are even a few short films I plan to dust off and rework.

Thus, I will also be exploring my creativity through this site. You will see more works beyond my books in the coming month. I’m pretty excited to share those with you. Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful start to summer. 

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