{"id":2254,"date":"2018-09-18T14:29:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T18:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/?p=2254"},"modified":"2018-09-18T14:29:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-18T18:29:05","slug":"what-october-brings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/what-october-brings\/","title":{"rendered":"What October Brings: A Lovecraftian Celebration of Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celeano Press just released\u00a0What October Brings: A Lovecraftian Celebration of Halloween<\/a>. The anthology features fiction by me,\u00a0Storm Constantine, Arinn Dembo, Cody Goodfellow, Nancy Holder, Brian M. Sammons, Ann K. Schwader, John Shirley, Chet Williamson, and more.<\/p>\n

Here’s the first part of my story, “Cosmic Cola”:<\/p>\n

Millie leaned her forehead against the back window of her stepfather\u2019s new Toyota van, morosely watching the weather-beaten, navy-on-white \u201cWelcome to Marsh Landing!\u201d sign approach and recede. Welcome to what? There was little but some bone-white dunes and shuttered, peeling bait shacks so far. Nothing she\u2019d learned about the isolated coastal town in her school\u2019s library made her feel any better about moving here. Population: 20,000. Primary exports: fish and Cosmic Cola. Total Dullsville.<\/p>\n

It was probably one of those stuffy communities that forbade trick-or-treat at Halloween. Marsh Middle School was barely half the size of her old school and didn\u2019t have any Girl Scouts troops she could join. It didn\u2019t even have an orchestra. She\u2019d only just started playing violin and already she was going to have to quit, probably.<\/p>\n

Quitters never got anywhere in life. That\u2019s what her grandfather Ernest always used to tell her anyhow, before he had a stroke and quit living. In the months before he died, he\u2019d argue about physics when he was alone in his room, as if the empty walls were his audience.<\/p>\n

She could play her violin in her room and pretend she had an audience, she supposed, but her bedroom walls wouldn\u2019t tell her if she dropped a note, or if her bowing was scratchy, or if her phrasing was awkward. So even if she kept going on her own, she wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d get anywhere anyway.<\/p>\n

If she was honest with herself, giving up violin didn\u2019t bother her nearly as much as the notion of giving up Halloween. It was her favorite holiday, even better than Christmas, though she could never say that out loud. Her mom would say it wasn\u2019t ladylike<\/em> to prefer Halloween over Jesus\u2019 birthday. And her love for it wasn\u2019t just because of trick-or-treating.<\/p>\n

It was the one night when all the things she dreamed of seemed like they could actually become real. The one night when she didn\u2019t have to always be nice and demure and could be something besides a girl from a little town in a flyover state. She could be a ghost. A witch. A werewolf. Something mythical, something to be feared and respected. Running down the street in her costume, she could close her eyes in the frosty fall air and just for a moment imagine that plastic teeth and waxy paints were enamel and skin, and she could go anywhere at all that she wanted on her own. What was Christmas compared to the chilly frisson of becoming<\/em>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celeano Press just released\u00a0What October Brings: A Lovecraftian Celebration of Halloween. The anthology features fiction by me,\u00a0Storm Constantine, Arinn Dembo, Cody Goodfellow, Nancy Holder, Brian […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[35,20],"tags":[148,9,99,140,94,95],"class_list":["post-2254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-horror","category-publishing","tag-halloween","tag-horror","tag-lovecraft","tag-publishing","tag-short-fiction","tag-short-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/WhatOctober2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-Am","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5071,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/halloween-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":2254,"position":0},"title":"Halloween Season","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Halloween Season is my 4th book with Raw Dog Screaming Press, and my 10th short story collection overall. I created it for readers who told me that although they enjoy my horror stories, they really hoped I would return to writing humor, too. This collection has both! It gets progressively\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Books"","block_context":{"text":"My Books","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"trick or treat banner","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/trick-or-treat-banner1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/trick-or-treat-banner1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/trick-or-treat-banner1-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/trick-or-treat-banner1-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/trick-or-treat-banner1-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2090,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/garden-of-eldritch-delights\/","url_meta":{"origin":2254,"position":1},"title":"Garden of Eldritch Delights","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My new collection Garden of Eldritch Delights was released by Raw Dog Screaming Press on October 18th. You can order it direct from the distributor or via Amazon or Barnes & Noble. This is my third collection with RDSP. The first two, While the Black Stars Burn and Soft Apocalypses,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Books"","block_context":{"text":"My Books","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/EldritchDelights-e1533052283615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/EldritchDelights-e1533052283615.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/EldritchDelights-e1533052283615.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/EldritchDelights-e1533052283615.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2016,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/blossoms-blackened-like-dead-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":2254,"position":2},"title":"New online serial","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Broken Eye Books is publishing my new serialized novel Blossoms Blackened Like Dead Stars. The serial continues where I left off in my contribution to their Lovecraftian space opera anthology Ride the Star Wind. Publishers Weekly praised my short story as \"superbly creepy.\" This serial chronicles the adventures of Beatrice\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "novel"","block_context":{"text":"novel","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/novel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RideStarWind.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RideStarWind.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RideStarWind.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RideStarWind.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RideStarWind.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RideStarWind.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3111,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/new-book-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":2254,"position":3},"title":"New Book Deal: Halloween Season","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"November 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm very pleased to announce that RDSP will be publishing Halloween Season, my new fiction collection, in the fall of 2020. Some of the stories are fundamentally about Halloween; others are horror or fantasy tales that take place in autumn near the holiday. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Books"","block_context":{"text":"My Books","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RDSP2020","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/RDSP2019-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8160,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/halloween-beyond\/","url_meta":{"origin":2254,"position":4},"title":"Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"October 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lisa Morton, Kate Maruyama and I collaborated on a trio of novellas that were just published as Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil from Crystal Lake Publishing as part of their Dark Tide series. When Halloween Beyond stores appear across America, they intertwine the lives of three visitors in a web\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Books"","block_context":{"text":"My Books","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/my-books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Halloween Beyond cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Hbeyond.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15472,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/halloween-horror-fest\/","url_meta":{"origin":2254,"position":5},"title":"Halloween Horror Fest at The Book Loft","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"October 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Please join me and authors S. Alessandro Martinez, Maxwell I. Gold, Jason A. Wyckoff, and Matt Betts at The Book Loft of German Village on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 6:00pm. The Book Loft is an amazing independent bookstore located at 631 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43206. The event\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing Advice"","block_context":{"text":"Writing Advice","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/writing-advice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/halloweenhorrorfest.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/halloweenhorrorfest.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/halloweenhorrorfest.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/halloweenhorrorfest.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/halloweenhorrorfest.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2254"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2262,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions\/2262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}