Literary Horror

What do I actually write?

I get this question a lot in my personal life, at conventions, and even when I ship out books at the post office. I have always struggled to answer it because I carried a certain amount of shame around it. That shame came from multiple places. Some of it came from people in my life degrading the things I write about, dismissing them in favor of other genres that better matched their own interests, like nonfiction.

Another source of that negativity is the stigma attached to writing horror. Occasionally, people assume you are dark, weird, disturbed, or antisocial because you write horror. Again, another subverted stereotype for people to be comfortable with their own insecurities. I am relatively simplistic as a man. I like football, working out, hunting, fishing, and gaming. I have a wife, kids, a dog, a minivan, and a favorite brand of paper towel. If you sat down to have a beer with me, you would have no clue about what I write, unless I mentioned it specifically.

I have found it difficult to start conversations saying that I write about faceless monsters reanimating corpses to metaphorically portray a generational abandonment wound.

With my monsters, I have attempted to abandon them countless times in my writing career. I have wanted to be someone else because of the reasons I listed above, and also because many people I respect and admire have nudged me toward giving them up. They have never directly said those words to me, but their actions and opinions often pointed in that direction. I understand they were trying to share what worked for them or how they defined success, but I cannot do it.

I write literary horror.

I did not know that was a genre until I researched it, and I was surprised to find such a clear distinction. However, it is exactly what I write. It is not pulpy, slasher, or even traditionally scary. It is horror, but my voice relies more on literary technique than specific plot mechanics or motifs. Much of my work lives in magical realism, slipstream, and poetic spaces. Monsters are the foundation of my stories.

I use them in multiple ways. They are mirrors for human behavior. Metaphors for sociological issues. Conduits for processing my own personal traumas. Some of the reasons I write this way are clear to me, and others I am still discovering. That is part of the beauty of taking this adventure as a writer. I am learning new things about myself and my style as I continue. I feel very lucky and privileged to be doing it. Literary horror is a specific genre, but using monsters not for shock or spectacle, but to communicate human emotions and lived experiences, is the only way I know how to write.

So the purpose of this random blog post about what I write is simple. I have never really said this out loud or clearly named it before. Maybe that means I am a little more confident in who I am and what I am doing. I have finally accepted this role for myself. Whatever the case, I just wanted to talk about it, so that is what I did on my blog.

#writingProgress Feb 2026

Installed a new plugin in Obsidian, to keep track of my #fiction #writing

I'm quite happy with the regularity with which I am able to work on my WIP despite a day job & other hobbies. My sports regiment is currently suffering the most in favour of this, and that needs to be solved. Also, since I am now editing the first draft, I am expecting the per day word counts to go down quite drastically. I am essentially rewriting every word of the first draft, but taking more care in crafting the scenes, and adding more worldbuilding and atmospheric fluff - most of which is very scarce in the first draft. I am enjoying this.
I've also gotten back to more early morning writing - which requires me to get to bed in time.

In reading:
- The Chained Knight by @lilithsaintcrow - this was recommended as a standalone read, which I don't think it is. Probably better to read the Moonknight first, otherwise its just strange, since most characters obviously know each other - but as a reader one remains just as confused as the protagonist throughout, even more so in some cases. The thing that really annoyed me about the book though, was that the protagonist had essentially no agency in this book. Just existing did the trick. Not sure if that was intentional. This alongside the overall confusing story made it a rather chewy book.

- The graveyard shift by M.L.Rio - this was a very enjoyable read. A post graduation dark academia mystery. Short, great characters, many feels for the bleak side of academic careers and shattered dreams. Good stuff.

- Picked up the diaries by Anne Lister again "I know my own heart" - which vibes nicely with the current WIP, which has a prominent lesbian couple. Though my world does not have this awkwardness and discrimination around queer relationships, because nobody needs more of that.

#WritingCommunity

Monthly Update 2/18/26

• Back with another monthly update. These are much easier to consistently write than weekly ones, because even though I write about faceless monsters and reanimated flesh, marketing and creating consistent content is a challenge for me. I took one marketing class in college, and I’m wishing I would have taken more. Word of advice, if you’re going to do the whole self-publish writing thing, take some business classes. I took a few, but not enough. I mean knowledge attainment isn’t what it used to be in this age of the internet. You don’t need to go to college to learn things. However, if you need to fill up your schedule, and you’re looking to write and release your material, some business courses couldn’t hurt.
• Again, for all you loyal readers, but maybe not you newcomers, I publish my apocalyptic horror novel the Greenland Diaries: Days 1 – 100 on here every Monday, and my dark fantasy novel Beware the Ills every Friday. I will fully publish these books in weekly segments. When Beware the Ills is done, I’ll add the Greenland Diaries on Friday as well. I’ve enjoyed releasing these books. You catch-up and read the Greenland Diaries right here. And, Beware the Ills right here. They’re both great stories. Beware the Ills is my favorite (but not my most popular, sob).
• I released a poem on here called “The Warehouse Window” for you to enjoy. With this poem, I talked about my life working in a warehouse and what that is like for me, especially when I think about my sons and how their days might be going. It would be great not to work a 9 – 5 job, and live off my writing, but that isn’t a viable option right now, but maybe in the future. Anyways, you can read that poem right here.
• Not much in terms of traditional publication news. Had a good January for this, but I sort of held-off on submissions until after I got back from Florida. I tend to share the successes a bit more, since they’re few and far between. If I shared the rejections on my blog, well, I would never have to worry about creating posts. So much red…
• Really, truly, I swear on the altar of a dark entity, I’m going to start posting more on Instagram and other social media. I just don’t have a ton of interest in any of it, but I know my readers would like to know what is going on in my life a bit more. I fit the standard self-deprecating mode of an emotionally alienated child. I feel only comfortable sharing my life when making fun of it. I know I’m not alone with this tendency. I’m a remnant of the children should be seen and not heard generation. That created a level of invalidation that has made some therapists a lot of money. Anyways, when it comes to social media, I’ve noticed this anxiety of mine crops up. Oh well. It is what it is.
• I recently published the flash fiction piece “The Leaning Gun” from the world of the Greenland Diaries. This was a fun piece to write. It has an unlikely protagonist, and an interesting interaction between them and the Unnamed. These flash fiction pieces are a great way to test sample this series. Read it here.
• Also, I keep my politics aside when it comes to my writing, though if you read and understand my themes, there shouldn’t be any secret about what some of my beliefs are. That being said, ICE needs to get the hell out of Minneapolis and Minnesota. They’re torturing people and punishing those who are protesting well within their rights. I’m from Minneapolis. Currently, I live in Saint Paul. It is far worse than you can imagine. This fascist behavior is punishing the population. Friends of mine, who are citizens but happen to have different backgrounds, are afraid to leave their homes because of ICE’s predatory and outrageously overt racism. I don’t care what side you are on, human beings deserve to live a life of dignity, and not be tortured. Looking different is not a crime.
• Another piece of flash fiction I released on here was called “A Streetlight Requiem.” This story follows the Puppeteer, which is the catalysts for the illusions and various other nightmares from the Greenland Diaries. You’re given a unique perspective of a rare monster from this series. Read it here.
• Well, perhaps the biggest update I can give this last month is I got married. Happier than ever to be settling into a new life with Cait. She’s incredible, and I’m beyond blessed to be with her. I love her so very much. I don’t know how I got this lucky, but I’ll take it. Thank you all for your continued support reading my work, clicking my posts, reviewing and buying my books, and so forth. Be safe. Be healthy.

Slow progress, but we officially crossed the 10k word mark in the story I’m writing. I know it’s slow, but we actually are getting there!

We now have a character that will be trouble that might come back. Don’t know. Did my Akira tribute with a riot scene.

We learned a lot about putting Tathagatha into a scene that was more dangerous for reporter than it was for him, and I gotta figure out that aftermath.

Progress! #writingprogress #characterdevelopment #10k_words

January Update 1/14/2026

• First update of 2026! Wow, hard to believe we’re already in this year. I can’t believe it. The last year went by so quickly with everything. Happy to be approaching some big events coming up. More details forthcoming.
• Had a good last week with two literary magazines accepting some of my work. Both acceptances in a 24 hour period. Really made me feel good. It feels weird to talk about these successes. I wasn’t really raised in an environment where you celebrated these things without some sort of guilt or takedown being on the backside of it. Hard to market success when you have this emotional baggage. I’m working on it.
• For every acceptance it seems like there are about 10 or 15 rejections. If you could see my submission tracker the amount of red is like an 80’s slasher flick. I constantly get rejections in my email. I suffer about them all the time, so celebrating the positivity feels like sort of a must.
• For years I have mainly used WordPress for my sharing of information and content, despite other places being more keen and prevalent. This is partially my innate shyness, but also what I write. Literary horror isn’t something you just talk about in a post or picture, but something you pull people into. Curiosity is your marketing, and the flash and giggle of social media doesn’t necessarily match up with it always. I sort of lure you in with less, so marketing has been a struggle for me. As I shift into traditional publishing more, I know I’ll have to continue to enhance my content and message. I’ll be sharing things more across all platforms.
• Beware the Ills and the Greenland Diaries continue to get shared on here in pieces every Monday and Friday. They have posts built for the next eight months so plenty of time to invest in the story and read it leisurely.
• I’m not sure what I’ll be doing for events this year. 13 Gears doesn’t sound like it is going to happen, and some of these other events are simply too expensive to justify. Twin Cities Con is a yes. The rest is sort of up in the air. Don’t know the details quite yet. Might be just smaller events like breweries, and potentially a new con.
• I’m thoroughly addicted to Cliar Obscur: Expedition 33. We’ve been playing it like crazy. What an incredible game. Reminds me so much of Legend of Dragoon. I’ve loved everything about it. I highly recommend it.
• Almost done with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Our anime list is out of control. The backlog is huge. I’m not sure when we’ll get through it, but Mob Psycho is next.
• Self-published projects coming up include a Greenland Diaries Omnibus of short fiction, with new material. For sure that one will be produced at some point this year, probably in Fall 2026 for Halloween.
• Alrighty, well, that is my sort of January Update. I have a lot going on this month. I’ll share those links to my new publications when they’re out and live. Thank you everyone for the continued support. Stay healthy! Stay safe!

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Christmas Eve Writing Update 12/24/25

• Hey everyone, just wanted to get on here and share a little update about what I’ve been doing with my writing. I hope everyone has had a good holiday season. Thank you all for your continued support. These are all the things I’m working on in some capacity or another. Ugh. This is an exhausting journey.
• My next self-publish project will be something new and different for me. It will be a collection of nonfiction poetry called: The Owl Wraith. It will include 25 poems detailing my battles with depression, historical trauma, and how that translates to my relationship with my sons. The Owl Wraith will walk that line between nonfiction and literary horror. I’m excited to see what people’s reactions will be to it. This book will include many difficult pieces of subject manner, but we’ll take the journey together. I’ll be releasing the book March 20th, 2026.
• I did an interview on a podcast called Total Conundrum. It was really fun and they have an awesome program. You can find it right here.
• I wrote a nonfiction poem called “You Are the King, and I am Your Star” on here. It is a poem about an inscription I found in the basement of the house my father grew up in. He had to sell it when I went through a bad batch of depression with an ex. I carried some guilt with me about it. You can read the poem here. I will eventually take it down since it will be part of the Owl Wraith. This poem is an example of what you can expect in the poetry collection.
• In terms of literary horror releases, I will be pivoting to release more flash fiction from the world of the Greenland Diaries on here at least a few times a month. I’ve written a whole collection of stories that takes place after the Drum is destroyed. Eventually, I’ll publish this as a collection as well. I will always be writing this series and building it up. Much more is planned outside the original narrative. You’re investment in my series will pay off for years.
• Gears are still fully turning on submitting to literary magazines and looking for traditional publishes for other projects. Stay tuned. I might share some breadcrumbs from each of those endeavors. Really cool stories are lurking in the background.
• I wrote another nonfiction poem called “I Can’t Change the Sunlight” that you can read. It will be part of my Owl Wraith collection. It is about me accepting my traumatic past, and my depression, and acknowledging the existence of triggers. You can read it here.
• I will say writing about these nonfiction subjects takes a lot out of me. I try to pretend that it isn’t difficult, but I can only do so much of it. This collection I’m release is a bit of a last hurrah with it. We’ll see what happens.
• Some of the media I’ve been digesting recently is pretty varied. Been watching a ton of anime. Dr. Stone, Tokyo Ghoul, Dandadan, the Summer Hikaru Died to name a few. All were really good. Tokyo Ghoul gave me some problems with pacing because its characters outpaced the narrative, but it was still decent. Dr. Stone is probably my favorite of all of them. The Summer Hikaru Died resonates most with my style as a storyteller. Truly creepy and wonderful.
• Okay everyone, I just want to say stay safe this holiday season. I hope for the best for you and your loved ones. I appreciate you all. Take care of yourselves!

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Go me?

Writing 2 days in a row accomplished. Added 1k to the manuscript, which isn't a lot, but it means the draft is a thousand words closer to being finished. Plus, I am adding insights gleaned from last week's writing conference.

#WordByWord
#WritingProgress
#EverySkyAStranger

Writing Update 10/29/25

• Happy Halloween season! Great time of year where the boundary between the ordinary and supernatural feels a bit skewed. Also pumpkin spice season, changing leaves, and Over the Garden Wall just puts it over the top. October never makes me feel out of place as a horror writer. It is a great month.
• Free book weekends are back and moving. Every Saturday and Sunday I’ll have a Kindle book up for free both of these days. I know most of you already have them and whatnot, and that is completely fine. I have the giveaways as part of being an author who utilizes KDP Select, so I use them. Why let them go to waste?
• I have lowered ALL my prices on my books on both Amazon (for paperback and Kindle) and in my bookstore. Everything is cheaper. Thanks to my new formatting choices, the books themselves are smaller to print. I’m not that much of an evil capitalist. There are combos. Books be cheap. Free shipping from my store as well. All work has been revised, edited, then revised again. Yup. It is endless. Visit my bookstore now.
• Recently published a poem I wrote about being a horror writer called “The Dark” on here. I published it last year, but it still very much applies. I like to share it every Halloween season. Truthfully being a monster writer isn’t the product of happy things that have happened to me. I make the most of it, but yes, it is a double-edge sword. Read it here.
• I’m thoroughly addicted to Jujutsu Kaisen. My god, what a great anime. Can’t wait for the new season to be fully released and dubbed. I’m going to watch the movie. I have a Gojo air freshener in my car. I’ve bought in hard.
• Had to buy Returnal again. I love that freaking game. So good. I like to turn off the lights and blast the sound bar. If Metroid were on repeat. I’m excited for the developers new game in March. I also just preordered Metroid Prime 4.
• Another poem I published recently on here called “Kindness” is available to read. This one is a bit obvious, but it is about trusting kind people after so much pain. Granted, I’ve also produced pain in other people’s lives as well. For that, I’m sorry. The poem covers that as well. Read it here.
• The Greenland Diaries and Beware the Ills continue to be shared on here one segment at a time. You can just keep reading it there at your own pace, or you can wait till a book drops on a free book weekend. Both those titles are in the rotation. Spoiler alert.
• Next event I’ll be at is Twin Cities Con. That’ll have its own post of course, but it is coming up soon. You can find out more about this awesome event right here.
• Okay, well, that is it for me. I’m sure there is more to say, but I’ve never been too comfortable talking about myself. Thank you everyone for the continued support. If you want to support me please review my work on Goodreads and Amazon, or visit my bookstore. Take care and be safe!

#author #authorUpdate #behindTheScenes #blogging #books #creativeProcess #fantasy #fiction #horror #monsters #patrickWMarsh #reading #workInProgress #writerSLife #writing #writingGoals #writingJourney #writingLife #writingProgress #writingUpdate