Josh Boldt
@joshaboldt.bsky.social
Nature, books, dogs. Writer of mystery & southern gothic | Book cover & graphic designer. Editor @brownhoundpress.bsky.social. Lexington, KY. joshboldt.com
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Josh Boldt
@joshaboldt.bsky.social
· Mar 22
Houston, we have a manuscript. My fourth novel is officially on paper and in the hands of a beta reader: @gwenda.bsky.social. I feel pretty good about this one. It’s my most complex and literary novel to date. Hope to share it with everyone soon! #writing
“Read those authors who write the way you hope to write, those who think the way you would like to think. But also read those who do not think as you think or write as you want to write, and so be stimulated in directions you might not take for many years.” - Bradbury in Zen in the Art of Writing
January 25, 2026 at 1:44 PM
“Read those authors who write the way you hope to write, those who think the way you would like to think. But also read those who do not think as you think or write as you want to write, and so be stimulated in directions you might not take for many years.” - Bradbury in Zen in the Art of Writing
Reposted by Josh Boldt
Subscribe, y’all! This is going to be 🤩
We have a launch date! Our first story goes live on February 5th. One story a week after that. Subscribe and we’ll send them directly to your email. For free.
brownhoundpress.com
brownhoundpress.com
Brown Hound Press
A small press based in Lexington, Kentucky that publishes offbeat mystery and literary fiction.
brownhoundpress.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Subscribe, y’all! This is going to be 🤩
Reposted by Josh Boldt
We have a launch date! Our first story goes live on February 5th. One story a week after that. Subscribe and we’ll send them directly to your email. For free.
brownhoundpress.com
brownhoundpress.com
Brown Hound Press
A small press based in Lexington, Kentucky that publishes offbeat mystery and literary fiction.
brownhoundpress.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:09 PM
We have a launch date! Our first story goes live on February 5th. One story a week after that. Subscribe and we’ll send them directly to your email. For free.
brownhoundpress.com
brownhoundpress.com
Reposted by Josh Boldt
We’ve been working on the website that will be Brown Hound’s new home at launch. It’s so good. We plan to drop the first story on February 5th!
January 21, 2026 at 8:38 PM
We’ve been working on the website that will be Brown Hound’s new home at launch. It’s so good. We plan to drop the first story on February 5th!
Reposted by Josh Boldt
Y’all. One of our favorite writers submitted a story yesterday. That was acceptance number 3. Can’t wait to share it with you in February.
January 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Y’all. One of our favorite writers submitted a story yesterday. That was acceptance number 3. Can’t wait to share it with you in February.
Reposted by Josh Boldt
January 17, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Josh Boldt
On our first day of submissions a great story landed in our inbox from @libbycudmore.bsky.social. We bought it. Obviously.
Who’s next? brownhoundpress.com
Who’s next? brownhoundpress.com
Brown Hound Press
A small press based in Lexington, Kentucky that publishes offbeat mystery and literary fiction.
brownhoundpress.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:01 PM
On our first day of submissions a great story landed in our inbox from @libbycudmore.bsky.social. We bought it. Obviously.
Who’s next? brownhoundpress.com
Who’s next? brownhoundpress.com
Reposted by Josh Boldt
Psst...have a cool short story you don't have a home for that fits this description? Submit it!
Guess what? We are open for business! Short story submissions now welcome at brownhoundpress.com.
Brown Hound Press
A small press based in Lexington, Kentucky that publishes offbeat mystery and literary fiction.
brownhoundpress.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Psst...have a cool short story you don't have a home for that fits this description? Submit it!
Reposted by Josh Boldt
Wow, we certainly did not expect to pick up 200 followers and receive dozens of submissions on day one. Love it! Feeling excited about this new venture.
#smallpress #submissionsopen #mysteryfiction #southerngothic
#smallpress #submissionsopen #mysteryfiction #southerngothic
January 16, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Wow, we certainly did not expect to pick up 200 followers and receive dozens of submissions on day one. Love it! Feeling excited about this new venture.
#smallpress #submissionsopen #mysteryfiction #southerngothic
#smallpress #submissionsopen #mysteryfiction #southerngothic
Reposted by Josh Boldt
Guess what? We are open for business! Short story submissions now welcome at brownhoundpress.com.
Brown Hound Press
A small press based in Lexington, Kentucky that publishes offbeat mystery and literary fiction.
brownhoundpress.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Guess what? We are open for business! Short story submissions now welcome at brownhoundpress.com.
This Ray Bradbury challenge (poem, essay, story a day) has me reading some great stuff I wouldn’t have found otherwise. Standouts so far:
Essays
- Any Kind of Leaving by Jillian Barnett
- Bidders of the Din by Eric Borsuk
Short Stories
- The Arrow by Gina Chung
- That Girl by Addie Citchens
Essays
- Any Kind of Leaving by Jillian Barnett
- Bidders of the Din by Eric Borsuk
Short Stories
- The Arrow by Gina Chung
- That Girl by Addie Citchens
January 4, 2026 at 3:13 PM
This Ray Bradbury challenge (poem, essay, story a day) has me reading some great stuff I wouldn’t have found otherwise. Standouts so far:
Essays
- Any Kind of Leaving by Jillian Barnett
- Bidders of the Din by Eric Borsuk
Short Stories
- The Arrow by Gina Chung
- That Girl by Addie Citchens
Essays
- Any Kind of Leaving by Jillian Barnett
- Bidders of the Din by Eric Borsuk
Short Stories
- The Arrow by Gina Chung
- That Girl by Addie Citchens
Reposted by Josh Boldt
I am OBSESSED with this book. The narrator is absolute perfection. Lucky agents, look alive!
The first queries for CUPID IN BLOOM just went out. I have a good feeling about this one.
January 3, 2026 at 11:42 PM
I am OBSESSED with this book. The narrator is absolute perfection. Lucky agents, look alive!
Hound wandering in the woods.
January 3, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Hound wandering in the woods.
The first queries for CUPID IN BLOOM just went out. I have a good feeling about this one.
January 3, 2026 at 9:25 PM
The first queries for CUPID IN BLOOM just went out. I have a good feeling about this one.
Reposted by Josh Boldt
Saturday = new year's newsletter! Read/subscribe on...
Substack: gwendabond.substack.com/p/typing-int...
OR
Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/typing...
Substack: gwendabond.substack.com/p/typing-int...
OR
Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/typing...
Typing Into A New Year
Of ends, beginnings, and clean closets
gwendabond.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Saturday = new year's newsletter! Read/subscribe on...
Substack: gwendabond.substack.com/p/typing-int...
OR
Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/typing...
Substack: gwendabond.substack.com/p/typing-int...
OR
Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/typing...
Do you know about this Ray Bradbury 3/1/52 writing challenge? I saw it in Writer’s Digest this month. Anyway, I started it today. Read a poem, a short story, and an essay. And I wrote 900 words of story one.
January 2, 2026 at 1:22 AM
Do you know about this Ray Bradbury 3/1/52 writing challenge? I saw it in Writer’s Digest this month. Anyway, I started it today. Read a poem, a short story, and an essay. And I wrote 900 words of story one.
This is one of my favorite posts each year. In 2025, I read 70 books.
My favorite book of 2025 was The Continental Divide by Bob Johnson.
My favorite book of 2025 was The Continental Divide by Bob Johnson.
December 31, 2025 at 11:38 PM
This is one of my favorite posts each year. In 2025, I read 70 books.
My favorite book of 2025 was The Continental Divide by Bob Johnson.
My favorite book of 2025 was The Continental Divide by Bob Johnson.
The face of a dog who got a pig ear on Christmas morning and then, while everyone was opening presents, found the pig ear bag and helped herself to a second one. Merry Christmas!
December 25, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The face of a dog who got a pig ear on Christmas morning and then, while everyone was opening presents, found the pig ear bag and helped herself to a second one. Merry Christmas!
Regarding the earlier post about my agent search, the one bright spot is the next novel, CUPID IN BLOOM, is almost ready to go. I'll start querying for it in January.
December 18, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Regarding the earlier post about my agent search, the one bright spot is the next novel, CUPID IN BLOOM, is almost ready to go. I'll start querying for it in January.
Oh, did I mention I started the next novel? This is my sixth. So far it seems to be set in the desert of southern Nevada. #amwriting
December 18, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Oh, did I mention I started the next novel? This is my sixth. So far it seems to be set in the desert of southern Nevada. #amwriting
I have to remind myself that early in a novel I may only get 200 words in a day. It’s slow until I start to see the big picture and know the characters. #amwriting
December 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
I have to remind myself that early in a novel I may only get 200 words in a day. It’s slow until I start to see the big picture and know the characters. #amwriting
I bet some of you will be interested in this information. After six months of trying to find an agent for my southern gothic mystery THIS VIOLET NIGHT I have some stats to share.
- 122 queries sent
- 6 full requests (2 full requests still pending)
- 61 passes
- 55 no response
#writing #queryhell
- 122 queries sent
- 6 full requests (2 full requests still pending)
- 61 passes
- 55 no response
#writing #queryhell
December 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I bet some of you will be interested in this information. After six months of trying to find an agent for my southern gothic mystery THIS VIOLET NIGHT I have some stats to share.
- 122 queries sent
- 6 full requests (2 full requests still pending)
- 61 passes
- 55 no response
#writing #queryhell
- 122 queries sent
- 6 full requests (2 full requests still pending)
- 61 passes
- 55 no response
#writing #queryhell
Reposted by Josh Boldt
I just finished reading this and DAMN, y'all. You're gonna love this one.
Exciting news. My fifth novel finally has a title! I've never wrestled with names like I have for this book. It comes from the main character and plays on several themes in the book. I officially love it. Thank you to @gwenda.bsky.social for the help. Drumroll... CUPID IN BLOOM.
December 16, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I just finished reading this and DAMN, y'all. You're gonna love this one.
Reposted by Josh Boldt
My best-of-the-year list is up this morning at the NYTBR, books I found to be the “pinnacle of pleasure” in crime fiction reading:
The Best Mystery Novels of 2025
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:42 PM
My best-of-the-year list is up this morning at the NYTBR, books I found to be the “pinnacle of pleasure” in crime fiction reading:
I get all my DVDs from the public library!
YEP -- @joshaboldt.bsky.social and I watched Americana on DVD last night (we'd never even heard of this movie, which was wayyyy more interesting than we expected -- the landing gets messy, but def worth a watch!)
“As prices for streaming subscriptions continue to soar and finding movies to watch, new and old, is becoming harder as the number of streaming services continues to grow, people are turning to the unexpected last stronghold of physical media: the public library.”
December 10, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I get all my DVDs from the public library!