The amount of characters this story world needs. Seems to be never ending. I knew I will need to create this character in some point. But I didn't think I needed to create it now. It was somewhere down the line kinda thing. But I got this new plot twist idea yesterday.
#writingupdate

https://mysteriesbyrose.wordpress.com/2026/03/21/need-to-create-another-rock-star/

It just keeps happening. Couple days ago I wrote new poem. And after finished it. I felt like it would be good fit for song lyrics in my rock star book universe. But this time there is two different musician characters it could be fitting song lyrics. So I need to decide how use it.
#writingupdate

https://mysteriesbyrose.wordpress.com/2026/03/05/losing-another-poem-to-my-characters/

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.

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. Read why in the blog post below.

#WritingUpdate #AmWriting #CurrentlyWriting #WritersLife #WritingCommunity #AuthorLife

https://patrickwmarshauthor.wordpress.com/2026/03/04/literary-horror/

February Writing Round-Up

This month isn’t about goals or deadlines. I’m off work at the moment with a number of issues related to chronic burnout and stress, so the only habits I need to focus on are personal hygeine, sleep patterns, and mood/symptom tracking.

I’ve also committed to a 21-day course this month on improving my emotional literacy and awareness, and doing daily emotion-checks to practice these things, using index cards. It’s a very analogue method created for people with ADHD, by the Mini ADHD Coach. I got the course at a discount through her newsletter, and I thought it was worth the money. I’m getting a lot out of it; it takes me 5-10mins a day, and then gives me some prompts for journalling later.

Writing has taken something of a backseat, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing anything! My updates are below. I have quite a few.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Publishing & Discount Updates

This month, Draft2Digital are expanding distribution to Bookshop.org, and so I ticked yes for this.

You should now be able to purchase 5 of my self-published titles from Bookshop.org USA directly; you can already purchase my trad pubbed titles (The Crows and Thirteenth) through them in paperback format.

Note that you can get cheaper paperbacks from other stores. Go to My Fiction page for all the purchase options.

Additionally, Yelen & Yelena has been unblocked from library distribution (I said that it was not erotica, this ticket has been resolved). It is now available on BorrowBox, and is being published to Hoopla, Cloud Library, and OverDrive.

This month, my books have been included in 2 Itch.io bundles and a sales promo on BookFunnel.

25 Jan-28 Feb: LGBTQIA+ Mystery, Thrillers, Suspense Novels – a collection of these books for purchase individually. The promotion gathers the books together for people to find them. I entered my latest release, Best Friends Bury Bodies, into this promo to get more eyes on it. It certainly got eyes; I’ve had around 100 views, and a couple of sales. I have a feeling that it’s a harder sell as a lot of readers (from the stats I’ve seen) specifically want M/M, and I write bisexual polyam stuff with ace and aro-spec identities in the mix as well.

01 Feb-15 Feb: Friendship-Centred SFF Book Bundle on Itch.io – the audiobook of The Crows was included in this. This was a bundle hosted by Elise Carlson with content from 37 creators.

15 Feb-22 Feb: Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week Bundle on Itch.io – the audiobook of The Crows was included in this. This was a bundle hosted by Duck Prints Press with content from 22 creators.

01 Mar-07 Mar: Read an eBook Week Smashwords Sale – all my Smashwords titles will be 50% off or free for this week only. Check out the link: smashwords.com/sale. If you wouldn’t mind taking part in promoting this celebration of Ebooks and reading, please feel free to share this promo with your friends and family. Link to my Smashwords page.

01 Mar-15 Mar, I’ve got Best Friends Bury Bodies and The Day We Ate Grandad in an Itch bundle for A Very Queer March, hosted by Niranjan.

08 Mar: I’ve got Yelen & Yelena back on Itch and in an International Women’s Day Itch.io bundle, hosted by Niranjan. I don’t have a live link for this one yet, unsure if it’s going ahead, but I’ll send updates when I know for sure!

03 Apr-02 May – BookFunnel Giveaway with the occult and supernatural. I’m offering The Sound of Darkness free as a newsletter magnet during this promo.

Top Sellers

I won’t know how my two trad-pubbed titles are doing until my royalty statement, but I’m going to bet The Crows is still my top-seller! It hasn’t been knocked off its perch since the first edition launch of Thirteenth in 2021, the only year its sibling outsold it.

The Crows audiobook is the top title this month because of the 2 bundles it was in on itch.io.

My most purchased self-published eBook title across all Draft2Digital’s distribution channels is The Snow Child.

My most purchased title via my own shops is Best Friends Bury Bodies.

Itch.io is #1 because of the 2 bundles through February.

For individual eBooks, my top 3 sales channels were:
Amazon
Kobo
cmrosens.com

Thank you to all my supporters and readers.

Longform WIP progress (Novels & Novellas)

Last month I wrote about 25K of one hyperfocus project, this month I shelved that and started another – and got about as far. I’ll be back in work in March so I doubt I’ll be doing the same rate of words in four weeks, but we’ll see how the muse (ADHD) takes me.

That’s not all I’ve been doing. Here is my progress on my long-form WIPs so far! I’ve got them in dropdown lists this time, to let you pick and choose the ones you’re interested in. Just click the detail heading to expand!

Cosmic horror urban fantasy novel. This will be done when it’s done, and my aim is to self-publish. I would very much like Tom Brown to return for 5 original illustrations if he’s available, and it can wait until he is. I’m not sure on cover design; I would like to get Sarah Whittaker back, so I’ll have to start saving up… On the other hand, I’d like this to be an entry point to the series with the existing 3 as prequels, so it could also have a distinct look that ties it to the others but also is clearly something that sits apart from them and can be read alone as well.

Starting wordcount: 63K edited down to 62.1K (I deleted ~900 words)

Ending wordcount: 63.6K (got myself unstuck from a previous place, then got stuck in the next place!)

Status: Active – drafting

Queer Dark Fantasy novella WIP – aiming to get this done for the June/Oct Neon Hemlock submission window.

This ecofantasy-horror novella was inspired by Arthur Machen’s The Shining Pyramid, mostly. It’s part of my Gothick Fantasia universe, but in one of the previous incarnations of the world (in the age where the gods keep fucking it up and remaking it).

It has an asexual FMC, an arranged marriage, mysterious signs, and a deep fissure in a valley. It only came to mind this month, and I saw the submission window for Neon Hemlock will reopen in June and then again in October, so I thought I would give this a go.

Started the month: 0 words of experimental writing/draft

Ended the month: 25K words of a first draft, 1.4K of experimental writing.

Status: Active – drafting

Some of these are shelved just for this month, others have been languishing for years. What will their status be by the end of the year? Will I even remember they exist? All to play for.

Real Meat – Pagham-on-Sea werewolf thriller.

Three For A Girl – AU Carrie & Ricky contemporary suspense novel. I wrote 25K of this last month. Now run out of steam again.

As Below, So Above – Gothick Fantasia universe Dark Alchemical Fantasy (Rapunzel)

Cold as Snow, White as Bone – Gothick Fantasia universe Dark Gothic Fantasy (Snow White)

Embers & Ashes – Gothick Fantasia universe Dark Gothic Fantasy (Cinderella)

Untitled Paranormal Victorian London WIP (The Three Imposters x John Silence inspired) – standalone paranormal mystery from the POV of the successful villains, just an idea I was playing with.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Fortress – standalone episodic fantasy comedy, full of shenanigans and misadventures, from the POV of an ex-henchman. I started this a long time ago, stalled 3 chapters in.

Short Stories & Novelettes

Here is my short story progress: rejection counts, new stories written, and submissions.

I’ve started adapting THE RELUCTANT HUSBAND (novelette) into an audiodrama.

The original ~18K word prose text is currently a 3K word script with 7 characters, but can be played by 2 actors (a male voice for 4 characters, and a female voice for 3 characters). I’m enjoying the process.

There’s Something Wrong with Sylvia’s Mother – approx. 3.6K words, edited and revised this month again. It’s now on submission to (s)crawl mag; their submission window is open until March 2026, and I will hear in Apr-May 2026 if it has been accepted/rejected.

A Dark Place of One’s Own – approx. 2K words, on submission to Seize the Press since Dec 2025.

Early Retirement – approx. 7.8K words, on submission to WriteHive’s Defying Death anthology since Jan 2026

• The Sound of Darkness, originally published in ‘F is For Fear’ anthology, Book 6 in the A-Z of Horror series by Red Cape Publishing (2020). Now available to buy on its own.
• Overexposure (2021), released independently as a standalone, available to buy.
• The Reluctant Husband, originally published in ‘The Uncanny and the Dead’ by Spooky by Association (2023). It’s a featured standout tale in Jim Doran’s review, here. Now available to buy on its own.
• The Snow Child (2024), originally released in Books of Horror’s June book box. Now published as a standalone.
• Bone Puppets (2025), released independently as a standalone, available to buy.
• Along the Xylophone Road (2025), published in ‘Occupying Bodies‘ anthology by Black Hare Press.
• The Lonely Girl Dreams of the Dead (2025), drabble, published in ‘Alone‘ anthology by Black Hare Press.

More fiction is posted monthly on Ko-Fi, and there are standalone stories available to view. Find all the Ko-Fi fiction listed in this fiction masterlist.

Ko-Fi Posts

There are now only 3 available spots in my Eldritch Family tier (£5.00 per month). I do keep costs low and reward value high, as I like sharing things with people who love what I do.

READ : Monthly Fiction February 2026: Ko-Fi Letter. Carrie update on family arguments, the History Society/Undead Support Society, and some pub lore for The Mermaid.

WON : Signed paperback giveaway draw: Best Friends Bury Bodies. Giveaway for Eldritch Family tier only. Winner announced 13-Feb. The winner has been notified and the book sent off!

Join now at Eldritch Family level to be entered into the draw for a signed paperback copy of THE SUSSEX FRETSAW MASSACRE & OTHER STORIES, the novella along with short stories from Ricky’s childhood and adolescence.

All posts, rewards, and links: cmrosens-ko-fi.carrd.co

Divination Hollow Review Contributions

DHR was on hiatus over February to catch up on the inbox and schedule posts. I’ve got a review of Once Upon A Song by Nadine Bells forthcoming in March.

• LISTICLE: Holiday Horror: Dec 2025
• LISTICLE: 10 International Gothic Films Part 1: Jan 2026
• LISTICLE: 10 International Gothic Films Part 2: Jan 2026
• REVIEW: What the Fog Conceals by R.A. Marno: Dec 2025
• REVIEW: Linghun by Ai Jiang: Jan 2026
• REVIEW: The Lodgers (2017): Jan 2026

Posts/Articles

Finally, a round-up of all the words and posts published on this website this month. This includes the Author Spotlight interviews, so they aren’t all my words, but they count towards the stats!

MARCH is going to be a BIG month on the website, as not only do we have the usual Spotlights on Wednesdays, but I ALSO have special interviews with Women In Horror, for Women In Horror month. I’ll be launching a new page dedicated to this, and I’ve created a new tag, “Women In Horror”, which I’ve applied to all my previous Spotlights and Podcast Interviews where relevant.

Here are the blog stats for February, and a list of the posts in case you missed them.

ANNUAL INSIGHTS

Posts for 2026 so far: 22
Word count for 2026 so far: 35K

February 2026 Views: 3.7K
February 2026 Visitors: 3.1K

Top Viewed Articles:

• Rapunzel Films: Rapunzel-in-cinema-1897-2024
• Red Riding Hood Films: Red-riding-hood-in-films-1901-2024
• Blue Beard Books: the-dangers-of-blue-beards-in-books
  

Top Read Author Spotlights in February:

• #1 Arden Powell, spotlighting their m/m Canadian Western-Horror, Flesh & Bone: author-spotlight-arden-powell
• #2 PD Alleva, spotlighting his Gothic Horror series: author-spotlight-pd-alleva
• #3 Thomas Wrightson, spotlighting his Sci-Fi series & horror audiodrama: author-spotlight-thomas-wrightson
• #3 A.J. Barlowe, spotlighting their queer contemporary romance novel, A Series of Rooms: author-spotlight-a-j-barlowe

Top Read Podcast Transcripts in February:

• #1 Caitlin Starling on Gothic Horror, Medicine, and Magic: caitlin-starling
• #2 Jackson P. Brown on Urban Fantasy, London Magic, and the Black Girl Writers Mentoring Programme: jackson-p-brown
• #2 Arden Powell on Wintry Gothic Fantasy vs Steamy Southern Gothic in Faerie Hounds of York and The Bayou: arden-powell
• #3 Jelena Dunato on Croatian History, Folklore, and Writing Fantasy: jelena-dunato

FEBRUARY BLOG POST LIST

• January 2026 Media Round-Up
• Friendship-Centred SFF Book Bundle – available until 15 Feb
• Author Spotlight: Gothic Fantasy author, Nadine Bells
• Classic 1980s British Folk Horror – West Country Tales Series
• Author Spotlight: Horror author PD Alleva
• Author Spotlight: Sci-Fi author Anna Verner (should have posted 28th Jan)
• Crime Doesn’t Pay: ‘When the Hideout/Mark Goes Bad’ Horror
• Aromantic Awareness Week Bundle – 15-22 Feb 2026
• Happy Lunar New Year! (a bit of a personal reflection post)
• Author Spotlight: Sci-Fi author Tasha He
• Author Spotlight: Sci-Fi author Alexis Ames

Previous Round-ups

***
CHECK OUT THE “Update > Monthly Writing Progress” SUBCATEGORY FOR ALL THE MONTHLY PROGRESS POSTS!
***

February Writing Round-Up

Read on for the stats, the updates, and the forthcoming news! I’ve got a few books in Itch bundles coming up, there’s the Smashwords eBook sale 01-07Mar to look out for, and I’ve set out a round-up of all my writing this month.

January 2026: Writing Round-Up

Read on for a round-up of my writing this month, the WIPs I’ve been working on, and my published works!

I thought it was something did happen just once. January this year I wrote a poem. After I finished writing it and read it through. I had to read it again. Because I could not help to feel like it sounding something that I could imagine one of my character to write.
#writingupdate

https://mysteriesbyrose.wordpress.com/2026/02/19/new-issue-to-deal-with-writing/

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.

Big ole' update about life and writing projects. Hit the link below to read all about it.

#WritingUpdate #AmWriting #CurrentlyWriting #WritersLife #WritingCommunity #AuthorLife #WritingJourney #WIP #WIPUpdate #writing #reading #horrorwriters

https://patrickwmarshauthor.wordpress.com/2026/02/18/monthly-update-2-18-26/

First time actually writing several child characters in a story. This is something new and will be fun to have few side characters that are kids. Especially since this part is set so much before the first book series that these kids are all grown up by then.
#writingupdate

https://mysteriesbyrose.wordpress.com/2026/02/12/new-writing-challenge-for-me/