I try to use different names for every story, and it just doesn't click until I've found the right ones... I hear a lot of monikers in my customer service role, which is helpful! I haven't used Imogen or Cassidy yet, but I'm sure I will!

An A-Z of Women in Horror In honour of Women in Horror Month, here's an exhaustive (though still woefully incomplete) list of female creatives in the darkest of fields, along with works of theirs I recommend. I stretch the definition of horror a bit here and there, and whilst this is primarily about authors, I've also included some musicians, actors, directors, producers, critics, icons, and artists — and do keep in mind that there are so many more unsung women working behind the scenes in roles I haven't touched upon: agents, editors, make-up artists, camerawomen, production assistants, cover designers, FX creators, proofreaders, publishers, and a hundred more.

An A-Z of Women in Horror

In honour of Women in Horror Month, here's an exhaustive (though still woefully incomplete) list of female creatives in the darkest of fields, along with works of theirs I recommend. I stretch the definition of horror a bit here and there, and whilst this is primarily…

Picture of a group of people at a party all smiling around a cake with their hands holding the knife to cut it Text has people labeled as "Artists" "Singers" "Movie stars" "Shitposters" and "AI Slop" and the cake labeled "Making the world a beautiful place" The man labeled "AI Slop" is pretending to have his hand on the knife

Possibly the most accurate meme about "AI" that I've seen

#FuckAI #NoToAI

Instagram Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

My partner's not on BS, so here's her beautiful dark art photography, book covers, and more!
www.instagram.com/red.wallflow...

Book cover: All we need by Magdalena McGuire

Book cover: Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe by Matthew R. Davis

Book cover: Stormy Normy Goes Reining by Leisa Fail

Book cover: The Sky’s Edge by Clare Anne McGrory

Book spotlights this ep:
1. All we need by Magdalena McGuire – contemporary
2. Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe @mxrxdx.bsky.social – horror
3. Stormy Normy Goes Reining by Leisa Fail - middle grade
4. The Sky’s Edge by Clare Anne McGrory – thriller
#ReadMoreAussieBooks #booksky #podcasts #Readers

MY BOOKS IN 2026 and OTHER GUFF Happy Friday the 13th and Valentine's Day! (Yes, this was supposed to come out on one and then the other, but here we are now. Sheesh.) Okay, first of all let's catch up on the news. Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe has been shortlisted for Best Collection in the 2025 Aurealis Awards! As Meg would say: YEE HEE! Check out the full listings of finalists…

MY BOOKS IN 2026 and OTHER GUFF

Happy Friday the 13th and Valentine's Day! (Yes, this was supposed to come out on one and then the other, but here we are now. Sheesh.) Okay, first of all let's catch up on the news. Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe has been shortlisted for Best Collection in the 2025…

Thank you!

Get lost, 2025… and new book news! Before we get started on summing up the better bits of 2025... In December, I signed two new book contracts in one week. So now, including the long-awaited Ribspreader novelisation—the cover is coming along and it's looking great!—I will have three books dropping in 2026! One Last Laugh in the Dark is a novella. A Banquet of Broken Hearts is a novel.

Get lost, 2025… and new book news!

Before we get started on summing up the better bits of 2025... In December, I signed two new book contracts in one week. So now, including the long-awaited Ribspreader novelisation—the cover is coming along and it's looking great!—I will have three books dropping…

A reminder that my new horror collection SONGS OF SHADOW, WORDS OF WOE - featuring Shirley Jackson Award-nominated and Australasian Shadows Award-winning stories - is out and desperate for your attention now!

Woe to you, oh earth and sea Yeah, I've been sitting on this one for a few weeks. It's so hard to stay motivated sometimes beneath the crushing weight of one's own failures and shortcomings—but you want to read about the fun stuff, right? Here goes! The Writing on the Wall: A Horror Tribute to Iron Maiden is out now from Wicked Oujia, featuring my tale "Flash of the Blade", and you can buy that…

Woe to you, oh earth and sea

Yeah, I've been sitting on this one for a few weeks. It's so hard to stay motivated sometimes beneath the crushing weight of one's own failures and shortcomings—but you want to read about the fun stuff, right? Here goes! The Writing on the Wall: A Horror Tribute to…

Well, you're not wrong! Thanks for the tip!

Knives, Nightmares & Neon: An 80s Slasher Anthology Cover Reveal and Special Announcement YouTube video by Specul8 Publishing

Happy Halloween kids! It's your good ol' Uncle Henley Hackenslash, and we're just DYING to share our new cover for Knives, Nightmares & Neon: An 80s Slasher Anthology.
Oh, but the fun and gruesome games don't stop there, we're also cooking something else up for y'all!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kVw...

At the casino! High rollers? Low ballers? You decide! 😄

Thanks for having me! It's a bit rambly and raw, wasn't sure if it worked... well, here it is...

A Spooky Interview with Matthew R. Davis Samhain Screams will be released on the 17th of October—but the Kindle version is available for pre-order today at just $1.99 instead of $3...

A Spooky Interview with Matthew R Davis @mxrxdx.bsky.social
blackbeaconbooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-sp...

Here's the cover for MIDNIGHT ECHO 20, from the Australasian Horror Writers Association, due out next week. Features my story "Coffee, Toast, Garden" and an image by my darling Red Wallflower, plus much dark Aussie goodness!

Thank you!

SONGS OF SHADOW, WORDS OF WOE Well, I told you it was very imminent... Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe goes live today, September 19, and here we are on my 100th blog post, revealing the cover! Feast your eyes on this: Cover art by Don Noble You can get it direct from JournalStone here, and if you order the paperback, you'll get the ebook immediately to tide you over.

SONGS OF SHADOW, WORDS OF WOE

Well, I told you it was very imminent... Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe goes live today, September 19, and here we are on my 100th blog post, revealing the cover! Feast your eyes on this: Cover art by Don Noble You can get it direct from JournalStone here, and if you…

“Another Working Title.” After an extended gestation period, Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe is looking at a very imminent drop. I've been going over roughs by Don Noble based on an idea of mine and I've just approved the final cover and interior layout. It's taken a long path to publication, but I assure you it will be worth the wait! Another thirteen dark and wonderful short stories, blurbed by some of the best in the biz...

“Another Working Title.”

After an extended gestation period, Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe is looking at a very imminent drop. I've been going over roughs by Don Noble based on an idea of mine and I've just approved the final cover and interior layout. It's taken a long path to publication, but I…

The Cure: From Three Imaginary Boys To Gothic Rock Legends YouTube video by Booked On Rock

A deep dive into #TheCure's discography with author Matthew Davis as he sheds light on their iconic music and enduring impact. #RobertSmith
VIDEO: youtu.be/IpTdixVV84U?...
AUDIO: www.spreaker.com/episode/the-...

Black Beacon Books is horrified to announce our table of contents for Samhain Screams, the anthology that will make Halloween 2025 the spookiest ever! Edited by Greg Chapman and Cameron Trost, and featuring cover art by the former, you'll be screaming all night long this samhain!

The June Frost Wow, you're thinking. Back so fast, MRD? It's only been a month or so since your last post! Well, cool your jets, peeps. No need to be snarky about it. Or maybe I'm just way too sensitive lately... yeah, that's absolutely it. Sorry about that. Anyway, this post has been sitting in drafts during an unusually busy week, so let's get into the facts:

The June Frost

Wow, you're thinking. Back so fast, MRD? It's only been a month or so since your last post! Well, cool your jets, peeps. No need to be snarky about it. Or maybe I'm just way too sensitive lately... yeah, that's absolutely it. Sorry about that. Anyway, this post has been sitting in…

My book on The Cure is out now + exclusive content here!

That's right! My first non-fiction book is finally out and you can grab your own copy this very minute! (It's available through Booktopia, Sanity, QBD, Abbey's, Rocking Horse Records, The Nile, WH Smith, Amazon, and many more places, though…

Here it is! A labour of love. ❤

The Cure On Track has now officially been published in the UK!

Buy from @burningshed or wherever you get your books

#cureband #newwave #postpunk #gothrrock #robertsmith #songsofalostworld #80srock #threeimaginaryboys

Australasian Shadows Awards The 2024 Australasian Shadows Awards shortlists have been announced! Congratulations to everyone who made the shortlists. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at Conflux 19, to be h…

I'm thrilled to report that my novelette "Effigy in Flagrante" (from THE BLACK BEACON BOOK OF GHOSTS, published by Black Beacon Books, cover by my dearest Red Wallflower) has been shortlisted for the Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction in the 2024 Australasian Shadows Awards! Good luck, everybody!

Me. Horror. Diverse, literary, thoughtful, empathetic, eerie.

Black square with green, yellow, and white text that reads "CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS -- Suffering the Other -- A weird fiction anthology to benefit Transgender Law Center and RAICES -- Edited by Justin Steele and Sam Cowan -- Seeking original and reprint dark speculative fiction about out-groups and the effects of prejudice and persecution -- Submission window: March 30 - May 30, 2025 -- See DimShores.com for full submission guidelines." The Dim Shores logo in white appears after the txt at the bottom of the graphic.

Please share: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS. Really excited to be doing another book with @mrsteeleyogirl.bsky.social, especially one that feels so very necessary right now. Send us your on-topic speculative fiction stories and let's raise some money for transgenderlawcenter.org and raicestexas.org!