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34 ORCHARD ISSUE 5 has arrived!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
It’s time … twenty-five artists focus on the things we refuse to see. Lovecraftian crazy in the Old West, Kerouac-style bummin’ with a morbid twist, Poe-esque madness on the open sea, Nin-inspired snails and more await. There are seven heartbreaking, chilling poems, a nightmare-inducing tale from Poland, and an exclusive excerpt from a forthcoming speculative memoir. A few familiar favorites, like Ali Seay, Die Booth, and Patricia Bettis, and some fresh new voices. You’ll want to get your eyes on this issue.
The downloadable PDF is designed so that it can be printed on double-sided paper for easy reading like a print magazine. As always, the issue is free, but there is a donation link should you choose to contribute.
If you like what you’ve read, spread the word! We’re also starting up some resource content for both writers and readers on our blog, so consider signing up to get those posts right in your email.
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Posted in 34 Orchard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, News
Tags: 34 Orchard, 34 Orchard dark literary magazine, 34 Orchard Spring 2022 Issue, Ali Seay, Alice Avoy, Annie Dunn Watson, B.C.G. Jones, dark literary stories, David Donna, David Holper, Die Booth, Douglas Van Hollen, Elizabeth Falcon, Eric J. Guignard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, Jeff Adams, Judi Calhoun, Ken Craft, Kevin Grandfield, Kimberly Moore, KINESIOPHOBIA by Meghan Guidry, Lynne Schmidt, M.C. Herrington, Meghan Guidry, Paula Weiman, Priscilla Bettis, Robert Bulman, Sam Berkeley, Selah Janel, speculative memoir, Thera Books, Victoria Nordlund, X. Culletto
Announcing the TOC for 34 ORCHARD’s Spring 2022 Issue 5!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
In wall-bound creatures, leucistic birds, and murderous gardens and forests; in natural disasters and terrifying hauntings; in everywhere from modern-day skyscrapers to the Old West, the upcoming issue of 34 Orchard’s twenty-five artists focus on the things we refuse to see, and what that might mean.
I’m excited to announce 34 Orchard‘s Table of Contents for the Spring 2022, which will be released on April 25—and thanks to several generous donations, this issue is even larger than our last one! We’ve even arranged for an exclusive Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in 34 Orchard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, News
Tags: 34 Orchard, 34 Orchard dark literary magazine, 34 Orchard Spring 2022 Issue, Ali Seay, Alice Avoy, Annie Dunn Watson, B.C.G. Jones, dark literary stories, David Donna, David Holper, Die Booth, Douglas Van Hollen, Elizabeth Falcon, Eric J. Guignard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, Jeff Adams, Judi Calhoun, Ken Craft, Kevin Grandfield, Kimberly Moore, KINESIOPHOBIA by Meghan Guidry, Lynne Schmidt, M.C. Herrington, Meghan Guidry, Paula Weiman, Priscilla Bettis, Robert Bulman, Sam Berkeley, Selah Janel, speculative memoir, Thera Books, Victoria Nordlund, X. Culletto
This writing chick’s got fingers crossed for an even more fabulous year …
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
Another year has passed … for me, it’s “Already?” Well, they say time flies when you’re having fun, and quite honestly, my 2021 was pretty awesome. I went to or held a few really fun virtual parties (including my 50th birthday!), and got to visit some favorite and new places: twice to Mystic, a few times to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to a retreat on Cape Cod, and to Salem for the first time. I attended two virtual Cons–StokerCon and the HP Lovecraft Film Festival–and, with my co-chair David Griffith, got the Horror Writers Association’s Connecticut Chapter off the ground. Horrorfest with my cousin returned. I read some amazing books, both issues of 34 Orchard were successful, and I was honored to participate in two online readings as well as be a guest at a few online high school and college classes. And me and Nathan got to spend many an evening watching movies in the comfort of our living room–something we have always enjoyed, but never seemed to have much time to do pre-pandemic.
But it was the Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in Deep Thoughts & Fun Stuff, The Writing Life
Tags: 2022 goals, 34 Orchard dark literary magazine, Bad Apple by Kristi Petersen Schoonover, horror short stories, I'm a Writer I Might Kill You in a Story Mug, sequel to This Poisoned Ground, Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole are there more stories, This Poisoned Ground by Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Tidings, Writing goals for a new year
34 ORCHARD Issue 4 is LIVE!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
Issue 4 is up! You can get your copy here: https://34orchard.com/issues/issue-4/
There is so much fine work in this issue, our largest yet. Don’t miss it!
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Posted in 34 Orchard, Ghost Stories, horror short stories, Horror Stories, News, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard, 34 Orchard Fall 2021 issue, Andrew Majors, Angi Shearstone, C.R. Langille, dark literary fiction magazines, dark literary journals, Donna Dallas, Greer Arrowsmith, H. Zuroski, horror short stories, Horror Stories, Horror stories for fall, Kevin M. Casin, Matt Brandenburg, Michael Allyn Wells, Molly Greer, Ness Cernac, Page Sullivan, Rachel Unger, Ray Daley, Rob Francis, Rob Smales, Robbie Gamble, Sarah Collins Honenberger, Sean Jacques, Shannon Hollinger, Shelly Jones, Tara Campbell, Walter H. Von Egidy, Writing
Announcing the Table of Contents for the Fall 2021 issue of 34 ORCHARD!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
We’re thrilled to announce the Table of Contents for the Fall 2021 issue of 34 Orchard, which will be released on November 10, 2021!
This is our biggest issue yet. Here’s what we’ve got in store for you: Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in 34 Orchard, Ghost Stories, horror short stories, Horror Stories, News, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard, 34 Orchard Fall 2021 issue, Andrew Majors, Angi Shearstone, C.R. Langille, dark literary fiction magazines, dark literary journals, Donna Dallas, Greer Arrowsmith, H. Zuroski, horror short stories, Horror Stories, Horror stories for fall, Kevin M. Casin, Matt Brandenburg, Michael Allyn Wells, Molly Greer, Ness Cernac, Page Sullivan, Rachel Unger, Ray Daley, Rob Francis, Rob Smales, Robbie Gamble, Sarah Collins Honenberger, Sean Jacques, Shannon Hollinger, Shelly Jones, Tara Campbell, Walter H. Von Egidy, Writing
The stories in Neil D’Silva’s RIGHT BEHIND YOU have teeth
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
—THIS POST IS MOSTLY SPOILER-FREE—
Horror stories coming out of India deserve a bigger spotlight; the stuff is viscerally terrifying in ways that make some of our Western classics seem tame. If you love a great scare and you’ve not read Indian horror? You’ve missed out.
Until now. Neil D’Silva’s short fiction collection, Right Behind You, is the place to start. Read the rest of this entry →
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Photos from THE SHADOWS BEHIND release party
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
Last Saturday I was lucky enough to celebrate the release of my short story collection, The Shadows Behind, with a party at my house. Here are photos from the event!
SETTING UP


THE CAKE Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in Events, Ghost Stories, horror short stories, Horror Stories, The Shadows Behind
Tags: Books and Boos Press, Damnation Island, horror short stories, How to throw a book release party, John Palisano Ghost Heart, magic realism short stories, short stories about monsters, Stacy Horn, The Shadows Behind
It’s release day! Special preview of THE SHADOWS BEHIND
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover

Man, I did NOT want to cut this gorgeous cake! It was worth it, though: a thick layer of cream cheese frosting sandwiched inside yellow cake, smothered in butter creme icing! YUM! Photo by Tom Libonate.
It seemed like it would never come, but it’s here: release day for my short story collection, The Shadows Behind! Want a preview? Here’s a reading of the first half of the short story, “Roots,” at the release party this past weekend.
You can get your copies where books are sold or through Amazon here: http://bit.ly/shadowsbehind
If you’d like a signed copy shipped directly to you instead, drop me a line through my contact page with your email and we can make arrangements.
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Posted in Ghost Stories, horror short stories, Horror Stories, News, The Shadows Behind
Tags: Books and Boos Press, Damnation Island, horror short stories, John Palisano Ghost Heart, magic realism short stories, short stories about monsters, Stacy Horn, The Shadows Behind, urban legends about man-eating trees
I have a talented sister-in-law…
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover

My sister-in-law, Rebecca Avery-Petersen, spent countless hours making me these special cookies for THE SHADOWS BEHIND release party.
My sister-in-law, Rebecca Avery-Petersen, loves to bake, and is really good at at it (much like my late mom). One day a few weeks ago, she messaged me and said she’d been playing around with doing something out of her comfort zone with her sugar cookies: my book cover.
If you’ve seen the book cover for The Shadows Behind, you know this is not a small undertaking. I really loved them, and she then volunteered to send me a few dozen for my release event this weekend.
I had to share, because she’s amazing. That’s a pretty cool person who just volunteers to take on that kind of thing out of pure love and passion. And suffice it to say the only thing I can bake is the stuff that comes out of those round tubes!
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Happy Easter! Easter decorations can be terrifying…
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
Whether or not you celebrate this holiday, I don’t think any of us can deny that sometimes, Easter decorations—especially vintage ones—can be creepy.
Growing up, we had a rather freaky plastic Easter Bunny that lit up. I have no Read the rest of this entry →
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