Amanda M. Blake
@amandamblake.bsky.social
Horror and fantasy author of QUESTION NOT MY SALT and the Thorns series; mid-age goth, horror movie aficionado. Coming soon: IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT (2026), MASQUE (2027). 🦇🪚💀
www.amandamblake.com
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/amandamblake
www.amandamblake.com
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/amandamblake
Pinned
IN THE DOLLHOUSE WE ALL WAIT (splatterpunk/extreme) has a release date of April 10, 2026, and an absolutely stunning cover, artwork by David Kozlovsky.
How many gifted kids became mediocre adults? Raise your hands with me.
February 20, 2026 at 6:21 AM
How many gifted kids became mediocre adults? Raise your hands with me.
A customer gave me a cheeseburger (with sweet potato fries) she couldn't eat. So that was my evening. I ain't mad at it. (I live with parents and told them the address, but I doubt anyone would poison me with proof in the chat.)
February 20, 2026 at 3:03 AM
A customer gave me a cheeseburger (with sweet potato fries) she couldn't eat. So that was my evening. I ain't mad at it. (I live with parents and told them the address, but I doubt anyone would poison me with proof in the chat.)
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
Eric Dane has sadly passed away at the age of 53.
February 20, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Eric Dane has sadly passed away at the age of 53.
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
Hemingway was once bet that he couldn’t write the world’s happiest short story in just 5 words. He replied,
February 19, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Hemingway was once bet that he couldn’t write the world’s happiest short story in just 5 words. He replied,
N&F(M8): 135/203 pages, 141K to 124K words, 17K words cut
February 18, 2026 at 11:56 PM
N&F(M8): 135/203 pages, 141K to 124K words, 17K words cut
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
Thanks #HorrorWritersChat, it was fun! Think this week’s topic is the perfect segue to highlight my interactive horror series Navigating Nightmares! Book 1 is available for preorder now! www.cateyepress.com/navigating-n...
February 18, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Thanks #HorrorWritersChat, it was fun! Think this week’s topic is the perfect segue to highlight my interactive horror series Navigating Nightmares! Book 1 is available for preorder now! www.cateyepress.com/navigating-n...
My first novel, NOCTURNE (YA supernatural horror), is about a girl who dreams the world's nightmares. She's led to the subterranean darklands, where they live and love her, while she becomes less and less suited to live in the real world.
www.amazon.com/Nocturne-Ama...
#HorrorWritersChat
www.amazon.com/Nocturne-Ama...
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 8:19 PM
My first novel, NOCTURNE (YA supernatural horror), is about a girl who dreams the world's nightmares. She's led to the subterranean darklands, where they live and love her, while she becomes less and less suited to live in the real world.
www.amazon.com/Nocturne-Ama...
#HorrorWritersChat
www.amazon.com/Nocturne-Ama...
#HorrorWritersChat
It's not the nightmares so much as the disorientation
between asleep and awake when you aren't quite sure
which one is more real until it's the dream that fades.
For a moment, your bed, your room, yourself, is less solid
than the slippery, sticky world you must leave behind.
#HorrorWritersChat
between asleep and awake when you aren't quite sure
which one is more real until it's the dream that fades.
For a moment, your bed, your room, yourself, is less solid
than the slippery, sticky world you must leave behind.
#HorrorWritersChat
You finally pry your eyes open. You can’t breathe. Burning vines sink deep into your throat and joints. Gilded thorns shear your body open.
You weep. The dreams. They beckon you again.
“I can’t resist any longer. My bloodshot eyes close.”
Continue it.
#HorrorWritersChat
You weep. The dreams. They beckon you again.
“I can’t resist any longer. My bloodshot eyes close.”
Continue it.
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 8:06 PM
It's not the nightmares so much as the disorientation
between asleep and awake when you aren't quite sure
which one is more real until it's the dream that fades.
For a moment, your bed, your room, yourself, is less solid
than the slippery, sticky world you must leave behind.
#HorrorWritersChat
between asleep and awake when you aren't quite sure
which one is more real until it's the dream that fades.
For a moment, your bed, your room, yourself, is less solid
than the slippery, sticky world you must leave behind.
#HorrorWritersChat
I wrote a short story called "A Bladder Full" that was based on nightmares where I can't find a place to pee and real life fears that I can't find a place to pee, then it makes it worse.
This story is basically my waking and sleeping life in horror form.
#HorrorWritersChat
This story is basically my waking and sleeping life in horror form.
#HorrorWritersChat
The ground gives in. You tumble down, slamming into dark waters.
You float, motionless. A titanic shadow surrounds you. Its gleaming red eye carves words in your mind.
Horror dreamscapes can be reflections of a character’s turmoil. What’s your favourite dreamscape reflection?
#HorrorWritersChat
You float, motionless. A titanic shadow surrounds you. Its gleaming red eye carves words in your mind.
Horror dreamscapes can be reflections of a character’s turmoil. What’s your favourite dreamscape reflection?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:51 PM
I wrote a short story called "A Bladder Full" that was based on nightmares where I can't find a place to pee and real life fears that I can't find a place to pee, then it makes it worse.
This story is basically my waking and sleeping life in horror form.
#HorrorWritersChat
This story is basically my waking and sleeping life in horror form.
#HorrorWritersChat
More likely in short stories than long; you don't have to *explain* shit in short stories. Every space can be a liminal horror space if you try.
But in NOCTURNE, my MC dreams the world's nightmares and is literally taken into the darklands caves where her nightmares live, so....
#HorrorWritersChat
But in NOCTURNE, my MC dreams the world's nightmares and is literally taken into the darklands caves where her nightmares live, so....
#HorrorWritersChat
The hall sprouts into a forest, its trees darker than shadows.
Its hum rakes your ears. The skulking shapes leaden your legs.
They draw near. A query bursts inside you.
Are horror dreamscapes a factor in your stories? If not, how would you write a horror dreamscape?
#HorrorWritersChat
Its hum rakes your ears. The skulking shapes leaden your legs.
They draw near. A query bursts inside you.
Are horror dreamscapes a factor in your stories? If not, how would you write a horror dreamscape?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:26 PM
More likely in short stories than long; you don't have to *explain* shit in short stories. Every space can be a liminal horror space if you try.
But in NOCTURNE, my MC dreams the world's nightmares and is literally taken into the darklands caves where her nightmares live, so....
#HorrorWritersChat
But in NOCTURNE, my MC dreams the world's nightmares and is literally taken into the darklands caves where her nightmares live, so....
#HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
Tom Coombe, writer of short horror fiction. Nothing has topped this dream from when I was 5.
In my bedroom. 4 versions of the witch from the Little Golden Books Hansel & Gretel come cackling down the hall. I run to my parents room for help, and a fifth witch is in their bed.
#HorrorWritersChat
In my bedroom. 4 versions of the witch from the Little Golden Books Hansel & Gretel come cackling down the hall. I run to my parents room for help, and a fifth witch is in their bed.
#HorrorWritersChat
You awake in a ruined hall stretching into the void. Sunken oil paintings surround you, each a mimicry of your past agonies.
A clinch crushes your lungs. A question lances your mind.
Tell us who you are, what do you write, and what was the
scariest dream you’ve ever had?
#HorrorWritersChat
A clinch crushes your lungs. A question lances your mind.
Tell us who you are, what do you write, and what was the
scariest dream you’ve ever had?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Tom Coombe, writer of short horror fiction. Nothing has topped this dream from when I was 5.
In my bedroom. 4 versions of the witch from the Little Golden Books Hansel & Gretel come cackling down the hall. I run to my parents room for help, and a fifth witch is in their bed.
#HorrorWritersChat
In my bedroom. 4 versions of the witch from the Little Golden Books Hansel & Gretel come cackling down the hall. I run to my parents room for help, and a fifth witch is in their bed.
#HorrorWritersChat
Amanda M. Blake, purveyor of dark fiction, from quiet to extreme.
The scariest dream: I climbed onto my mother's lap for her to read to me in the rocking chair. A storm rained sandy acid that dissolved everything around us, all the way to a bottomless hole where I fell forever.
#HorrorWritersChat
The scariest dream: I climbed onto my mother's lap for her to read to me in the rocking chair. A storm rained sandy acid that dissolved everything around us, all the way to a bottomless hole where I fell forever.
#HorrorWritersChat
You awake in a ruined hall stretching into the void. Sunken oil paintings surround you, each a mimicry of your past agonies.
A clinch crushes your lungs. A question lances your mind.
Tell us who you are, what do you write, and what was the
scariest dream you’ve ever had?
#HorrorWritersChat
A clinch crushes your lungs. A question lances your mind.
Tell us who you are, what do you write, and what was the
scariest dream you’ve ever had?
#HorrorWritersChat
February 18, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Amanda M. Blake, purveyor of dark fiction, from quiet to extreme.
The scariest dream: I climbed onto my mother's lap for her to read to me in the rocking chair. A storm rained sandy acid that dissolved everything around us, all the way to a bottomless hole where I fell forever.
#HorrorWritersChat
The scariest dream: I climbed onto my mother's lap for her to read to me in the rocking chair. A storm rained sandy acid that dissolved everything around us, all the way to a bottomless hole where I fell forever.
#HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
“Is there a technology the left is excited about?”
High-speed rail! MRNA vaccines! New cancer treatments! Solar and wind energy collection! Better and longer-range EVs! That wood that's harder than steel! New apples! Fibermaxxing! Buldak Swicy ramen! Muppets! Muppets are too a technology, shut up!
High-speed rail! MRNA vaccines! New cancer treatments! Solar and wind energy collection! Better and longer-range EVs! That wood that's harder than steel! New apples! Fibermaxxing! Buldak Swicy ramen! Muppets! Muppets are too a technology, shut up!
February 18, 2026 at 1:40 PM
“Is there a technology the left is excited about?”
High-speed rail! MRNA vaccines! New cancer treatments! Solar and wind energy collection! Better and longer-range EVs! That wood that's harder than steel! New apples! Fibermaxxing! Buldak Swicy ramen! Muppets! Muppets are too a technology, shut up!
High-speed rail! MRNA vaccines! New cancer treatments! Solar and wind energy collection! Better and longer-range EVs! That wood that's harder than steel! New apples! Fibermaxxing! Buldak Swicy ramen! Muppets! Muppets are too a technology, shut up!
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
"iS tHeRe a tEcHnoLoGY tHe leFt Is eXcItEd aBoUt" yeah, renewable energy, mRNA vaccines. Lots of cool stuff like that! Probably not the one whose main promise was cutting payrolls
February 18, 2026 at 2:42 PM
"iS tHeRe a tEcHnoLoGY tHe leFt Is eXcItEd aBoUt" yeah, renewable energy, mRNA vaccines. Lots of cool stuff like that! Probably not the one whose main promise was cutting payrolls
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
TODAY ONLY: our wild, weird eco-horror anthology The Writhing, Verdant End ebook is only 99 cents!
As Lady Jane Scott says on Goodreads, "Tiffany Morris never disappoints, and she’s accompanied by two excellent authors in this collection. Loved it!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
www.cursedmorselspress.com/product/the-...
As Lady Jane Scott says on Goodreads, "Tiffany Morris never disappoints, and she’s accompanied by two excellent authors in this collection. Loved it!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
www.cursedmorselspress.com/product/the-...
February 18, 2026 at 3:46 PM
TODAY ONLY: our wild, weird eco-horror anthology The Writhing, Verdant End ebook is only 99 cents!
As Lady Jane Scott says on Goodreads, "Tiffany Morris never disappoints, and she’s accompanied by two excellent authors in this collection. Loved it!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
www.cursedmorselspress.com/product/the-...
As Lady Jane Scott says on Goodreads, "Tiffany Morris never disappoints, and she’s accompanied by two excellent authors in this collection. Loved it!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
www.cursedmorselspress.com/product/the-...
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
i included this in my syllabi this year
January 21, 2026 at 10:10 PM
i included this in my syllabi this year
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
I’ve got a brand new sapphic eldritch forest lady folktale for you!
Super excited to be featured as an editor’s pick over at @gavagai.com this week.
Super excited to be featured as an editor’s pick over at @gavagai.com this week.
Good morning! In today's Editor Pick: Armed with silver and salt, she enters the marsh to spill a witch’s blood. And stays to surrender her self. It's Christine Hanolsy's The Tarnished Knife. Read it for free at gavagai.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:52 PM
I’ve got a brand new sapphic eldritch forest lady folktale for you!
Super excited to be featured as an editor’s pick over at @gavagai.com this week.
Super excited to be featured as an editor’s pick over at @gavagai.com this week.
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
The more of these fascist atrocities I see, the more I become an immigration maximalist. Let everyone in, give everyone work permits/green cards. Make it possible to get citizenship within a few months. Make it as easy as getting a driver's license.
February 17, 2026 at 8:37 PM
The more of these fascist atrocities I see, the more I become an immigration maximalist. Let everyone in, give everyone work permits/green cards. Make it possible to get citizenship within a few months. Make it as easy as getting a driver's license.
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
SUBMISSIONS OPEN
for Eye to the Telescope Issue 60 on the theme: Paying Tribute
edited by Angela Acosta
details here! ⬇️
eyetothetelescope.com/submit.html
for Eye to the Telescope Issue 60 on the theme: Paying Tribute
edited by Angela Acosta
details here! ⬇️
eyetothetelescope.com/submit.html
Eye to the Telescope
Eye to the Telescope, the quarterly online journal of SFPA, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, an international organization of speculative poets.
eyetothetelescope.com
February 15, 2026 at 2:23 PM
SUBMISSIONS OPEN
for Eye to the Telescope Issue 60 on the theme: Paying Tribute
edited by Angela Acosta
details here! ⬇️
eyetothetelescope.com/submit.html
for Eye to the Telescope Issue 60 on the theme: Paying Tribute
edited by Angela Acosta
details here! ⬇️
eyetothetelescope.com/submit.html
Today, at least, was a pretty good day. Solid doable work, fewer issues, fewer heavy orders, solid tips, I worked morning/afternoon instead of afternoon/evening so I could get home in time for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, during which we watched WILL TRENT.
And tomorrow I'm fucking sleeping in.
And tomorrow I'm fucking sleeping in.
February 18, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Today, at least, was a pretty good day. Solid doable work, fewer issues, fewer heavy orders, solid tips, I worked morning/afternoon instead of afternoon/evening so I could get home in time for the Fat Tuesday pancake dinner, during which we watched WILL TRENT.
And tomorrow I'm fucking sleeping in.
And tomorrow I'm fucking sleeping in.
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
My piece on MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND was also in print today in NYT (so lucky to have two pieces in print in the same day). It was a joy to write. You can read it at this gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/m...
February 18, 2026 at 2:30 AM
My piece on MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND was also in print today in NYT (so lucky to have two pieces in print in the same day). It was a joy to write. You can read it at this gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/m...
Bad news on the work front, hoping I don't get worse news within the week. I am not holding up well.
February 16, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Bad news on the work front, hoping I don't get worse news within the week. I am not holding up well.
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
New call for submissions from @barrelhouse.bsky.social: The Aftermath. We're looking for fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art about what happens AFTER the big story is over and life goes back to "normal" (or whatever counts as "normal"). More details here:
Barrelhouse - Online Issue: The Aftermath
The Aftermath
Stories often focus on the climactic events in one’s life, but after these points of intensity, the world goes on. What happens when the adventure is over? How do you live your daily lif...
barrelhouse.submittable.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:39 PM
New call for submissions from @barrelhouse.bsky.social: The Aftermath. We're looking for fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art about what happens AFTER the big story is over and life goes back to "normal" (or whatever counts as "normal"). More details here:
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
We're open for submissions for several horror themed anthologies.
Check out the link if you want a flavour for the audio side of things.
#submissioncalls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LW-5JGr2NY
Check out the link if you want a flavour for the audio side of things.
#submissioncalls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LW-5JGr2NY
February 15, 2026 at 6:55 PM
We're open for submissions for several horror themed anthologies.
Check out the link if you want a flavour for the audio side of things.
#submissioncalls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LW-5JGr2NY
Check out the link if you want a flavour for the audio side of things.
#submissioncalls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LW-5JGr2NY
Reposted by Amanda M. Blake
SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL 2/28
What are we looking for?
*Splatterpunk, antifascist, and anti-capitalist #horror
*Works from members of marginalized groups
*Novels, novellas, poetry chapbooks, and nonfiction
*NEW: WE ARE NOW LOOKING FOR SMUT/EROTICA!
madnessheart.press/submissions/...
What are we looking for?
*Splatterpunk, antifascist, and anti-capitalist #horror
*Works from members of marginalized groups
*Novels, novellas, poetry chapbooks, and nonfiction
*NEW: WE ARE NOW LOOKING FOR SMUT/EROTICA!
madnessheart.press/submissions/...
Submissions
Submit to Madness Heart Press, Madness Heart Games, Aggadah Try It, Maddeningly Erotic Booksand Gutter Mystic Books We are overjoyed to see that you are interested in joining the Madness Heart Pres…
madnessheart.press
February 8, 2026 at 6:31 PM
SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL 2/28
What are we looking for?
*Splatterpunk, antifascist, and anti-capitalist #horror
*Works from members of marginalized groups
*Novels, novellas, poetry chapbooks, and nonfiction
*NEW: WE ARE NOW LOOKING FOR SMUT/EROTICA!
madnessheart.press/submissions/...
What are we looking for?
*Splatterpunk, antifascist, and anti-capitalist #horror
*Works from members of marginalized groups
*Novels, novellas, poetry chapbooks, and nonfiction
*NEW: WE ARE NOW LOOKING FOR SMUT/EROTICA!
madnessheart.press/submissions/...
