I was delighted to receive an email this afternoon to let me know that I am a Sir Julius Vogel Award finalist for the 4th year running! This year I have been successful in two categories: Best Collected Work: Reflections Best Fan Writing: “No Horror Without the Body: How Body Horror Helped Me Embrace Being
Creative Writing
Short Story: “Long Drop”
To celebrate SEEDS receiving its (amazing!) third award nomination of the year, this time from the Ladies of Horror Fiction for Best Collection, I have decided to make one of the most talked about and much-loved stories in the collection free-to-read for a limited time. Edit: this story was also selected at the very end
No Horror Without the Body: How Body Horror Helped Me Embrace Being Nonbinary
An essay about horror and identity written for Pride in Horror, June 2022 The doctor calls my name in the waiting room and I take just a little too long to respond. The name she calls out is not the one I use anymore in my daily life, but is still my official title, the
Featherston Booktown
I am delighted to announce that was recently asked to write a scary story for the CAMPFIRE TALES segment of Featherston Booktown, an annual book-focused festival taking place this year from 8th to 12th June. My creepy, urban-legend inspired tale, “The Bobbin Man” will be performed on two evenings and included as part of the
A New Year, Another Author Questionnaire…
I found these great questions for writers on Twitter and I answered them in a couple of threads over there (you can find me at @Tabatha_Writes if you want to follow me) but I thought it would be cool to pop them on my blog too. Part One 1. I started writing as soon as
Short Story – Rabbit
I will be releasing my first novel in 2022, an as-yet unnamed collection of four intertwined novellas. The world it is set in and the characters it involves are introduced in this short story – "Rabbit."
Sneak Peek: SEEDS
The first story in my new collection SEEDS is a flash-fiction piece entitled "Bloom." It follows an elderly couple on a road trip as they celebrate their anniversary and encounter a field of mystical sunflowers. As a special sneak peek, I am delighted to share it with you now.
Story Planning—How I Move from Inspiration to the Page
How I plan a story is very similar to how I plan a road trip: the car is packed, I have a full tank of petrol and I know basically where I’m headed, but the actual route I will take to reach my destination is anyone’s guess. My writing philosophy is something akin to, “Let’s
The Story Behind the Story—Red-Eye
My short story “Red-Eye” is one of four reprints included in my new collection, SEEDS. The story was my first ever short fiction acceptance and was originally published in the Australian Horror Writers Magazine, Midnight Echo #14 in 2019. This short piece which explains the inspiration behind it was originally published at Sinister Reads. It
A Nice Soothing Horror Story
A very quick update as I go through today’s to-do list: With the whole of Aotearoa, New Zealand plunged once more into a Level 4 lockdown and anxieties rising again, it might seem somewhat counterproductive to write about how consuming horror can help and heal. But that’s just what I’ve been doing. With huge thanks