Tag: horror

Horror poetry anyone?

Wanna submit to the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for their horror book of poetry? If you are published in HALLOWEEN PARTY, you can. Gravelight Press pays every author in HALLOWEEN PARTY $25 (and gives each author a free copy of the anthology) and that $25 check is enough to qualify for membership in the HWA.

The HWA is currently soliciting for a volume of poetry. Why not submit?

Here’s a little horror ditty (I’m not saying it’s very pretty…).

Little Bo Weep (by D.Pearce)

Now I lay me down to sleep
and thinking ’bout dismembering sheep.
No hooves to leap
no baaaaahs to bleep
just nightmares in the meadow’s deep.
Like a tea with too much steep
the blood into the wool will seep.
I chopping chopping as she weeps
that simpering whimpering
dopey BoPeep.
Then I round the herd will creep
for bones and fuzz and tails to sweep
And when the sheep are in a heap
what will be the reap I reap?
At lastly long and blissful sleep.

Horror poetry. See? It’s easy. 😉

And fun!

C’mon, write a horror poem and submit!


Being a corpse, zombie, wolfman, or succubus got you down? How about a free book?

Do you have Kindle Unlimited?

If you do, read SOLSTICE: A WINTER ANTHOLOGY free on Kindle Unlimited (KU).

If you don’t have KU, it costs a whopping 99 cents to download this amazing book to your phone/tablet/computer right now!

Like hardboiled?

Get the novel that won the national awards: LET’S SAY JACK KENNEDY KILLED THE GIRL on KU for free, or download to your phone/tablet/computer starting Monday, March 27th, until March 31, on our FREE BOOK promotion! And look at all those 5-star reviews on Amazon! Read it now and get ready for next in the series: IF ONLY TRUMAN WERE DEAD drops this summer!

But, you say, “I want something scary!”

Why not meet James Goodridge’s monsters in HALLOWEEN PARTY? Also free for KU subscribers, or only a little over a buck to buy!! All treat, and no trick! What’s a matter? Not scared are you? We promise to keep you up all night!

Looking for a thriller? The book you just cannot put down? Look no further!

Try GLASS ONION, an espionage ride that will have you clinging onto the top of a suspension bridge, praying not to drop….

Earth too boring for you?

Conquer new worlds without losing your balance with the sci-fi great: BALANCE OF FORTUNE. Also free for KU subscribers, and also running a free Kindle download promotion for non-subscribers: Monday, March 27th, until March 31!

AND IF NONE OF THOSE PROMOTIONS ARE INSTANT ENOUGH FOR YOUR READING HUNGER….

We GOT you with FIVE (5) totally free issues of art and prose and poetry and memoir on INSTANT NOODLES, and we MEAN INSTANT! Just CLICK, and you’re there!

THANK YOU for giving an indie author a bit of your time, for being a reader. It means a lot all of us authors to know someone is reading.

It means everything.

Much love~ from DPP and all our authors and artists

A deal for the recently dead or the frequently dead…

ATWOOD20… expires 2/28/23.

But right now you can get a deal!

Sign up for editing in the month of February (2023) and mention the ATWOOD20 code to get 20% off of our editing service.

You do not have to begin or end editing in February. As long as you sign-up BEFORE 2/28/23. and request a START DATE for a slot before May 2023, the discount is yours.

Sign-up here. Don’t worry if you may not know your “exact” word count yet; just send a small sample and let us know what we can do for you.

Recent projects:

  • Helped two authors finish dystopian books of over 600 pages each.
  • Worked with an LGBTQ novelist on fantasy world-building.
  • Helped a humor/horror writer amp up the laughs.
  • Found the perfect ending to a horror short story.
  • Added pathos to a memoir.
  • Sharpened six query letters.
  • Provided three editorial assessments.
  • Got a manuscript ready for serializing on Kindle Vella.

Not everyone needs the same thing. Tell us how we can help you~

The all-new, all-different Hawkshaw

As we move further into 2023, we realized it was time to redo the Hawkshaw Press site (home of our crime fiction novels and collections). The site has gotten a fresh makeover, and we’ll be updating Gravelight and Out of This World soon as well.

Meanwhile, please drop by Hawkshaw Press and meander a while, Flatfoot.

Guest designer | Halloween Party ’23

Piece of art by Juan Kantu _1Kan2_ a white skull on a black background with the words the end is my beginning
“The End is my beginning” by Juan Cantu

The moment I saw Juan Cantu’s art I knew I had to own some. Luckily his work is still affordable (but for how long people!), and I was able to grab this beauty you see above.

Because I was also lucky enough to meet him in person, this kind, gentle, and amazingly talented man, I was also able to get to know him a bit, and keep in touch, and I was so thrilled when he said he’d design the new Halloween Party anthology for us. If you visit Juan’s Instagram (_1kan2_) you will see how macabre, funny, dark, and philosophical his work is. If you like to collect art, I suggest you buy yourself an original while you still can. And, it may interest you to know, Juan is also a veteran. He served his country, and that informs his art, and he works to bring art opportunities to veterans like himself.

We did an interview with Juan, and we’ll be posting that in our newsletter in the coming months. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!

Halloween Party ’23 | Submissions glitch resolved


Apologies if you tried to submit to Duosuma and received a message indicating that the submissions quota was full.

Glitch is now fixed (has been tested) and is open ONLY until 11/30@ midnight, when it will close for good for this season.

Submit your work now, before it’s too late.

SUBMIT TO HP23

Good luck~

Why not you?

30 days remain

That means it’s not too late to get in on the next Gravelight anthology: HP ’23.

We work hard for our authors, and we’re selective, and we’d like to select you.

Every author you see listed here, in the Exhumed Anthology, was in a prior Devil’s Party Press anthology. We don’t forget our authors, and we put them first for all new opportunities. 

HP ’23 is curated by Jeffrey Keeten, and designed by Juan Cantu~ It’s going to be a gorgeous book!

Guest editor | Halloween Party ’23

by Jeffrey Keeten

Did you know that Jeffrey Keeten is one of the top reviewers on Goodreads? He became interested in DPP books a few years back, and has since partnered with us on many projects, including writing short stories for us, and introducing Halloween Party ’21.

For Halloween Party ’23 Jeffrey is acting as guest editor. He’s reviewing all the entries and picking those that will get published as well as curating the flow of the work within the book.

One thing that’s always captivated me about Jeffrey’s reviews is that they go well-beyond “I like it/I didn’t like it.” He often researches the author, and has read other works by the same writer, and will do a deep dive into the whole canon. Here’s a sample review from Keeten on The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.

Take one look at the in-depth review and you can see why we’re incredibly grateful to have this gifted reviewer and editor and author on the HP team. Thanks Jeffrey! We can’t wait to see what you do with HP ’23.

Get Jeffrey to review your work. Submit to HP ’23 today!

Want to join the Horror Writers Association?

Turns out, if you were accepted into HP2021, you can!

You weren’t? Well, there’s still time to submit to HP ’23!

One of the global changes we made to our company last year was to make a commitment to pay all authors we put on paper. With that check, you qualify for the HWA. A few of our most recently included authors have already been admitted, on the strength of that single payment.

We hope, as our fledgling publishing endeavor grows, we will be able to pay more writers, and pay those writers more. We are committed in using this company to help you achieve your writing goals.

So excited to know some wonderful and life-long horror writers with many many publications are finally being granted membership in a group they so deserve to belong to!