Reading Time: 3 minutes

Hello, reader friends!

Just wanted to drop a quick update. I haven’t checked in much lately, because real life has been scary enough (both for me and my loved ones), and sometimes the daily grind plays out like a slasher film, one where I sadly lack the skills to be the final girl.

Or at least that’s how it feels… at times. But since it’s spooky season, let’s speak of some fictional scares, shall we?

THE LATEST NEWS

As of this week, I’ve amassed 26 STORY ACCEPTANCES in the past year! This is a holy shit situation I’d never anticipated. I’m still abuzz with a happy jolt whenever I get that email from a publisher. I’ve been writing my tale off (not a typo), and it’s been paying dividends. What a strange and wonderful world I live in! Real people pay me real money for making up fake people with fake problems, which will be read by other real people. It’s wonderfully absurd. I love it!

What’s next for me, you ask? Well, my psychological/sci-fi horror tale “Aeternum” is about to be published on Halloween, so that’s something! The body-horror anthology OCCUPYING BODIES by Black Hare Press is a gorgeous, disturbing book — and my most content-warning-festooned one to date. I don’t dabble in body horror much, so I took the theme to its extreme psychological conclusion.

What if you were no longer trapped inside your body? The protagonist of “Aeternum,” one Raz Odin, aims to find out. He has his reasons, and don’t we all?

You can preorder the book now, or use the same link when it goes live. I daresay my story wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of Black Mirror, so consider yourself warned. I’ve absolutely loved working with my Aussie mates at Black Hare Press. Great editors, kind admins, superb humans all. One day I will visit Victoria, Australia and buy those folks a round of pints.

A HUGE MILESTONE

Lately, I’ve been trying my hand at some YouTube creations. For instance, to promote my first pure science fiction story’s release, I filmed an Unboxing Video. First, though: here’s the story and anthology it’s in. My tale “Sister Zynn” is featured in the BEYOND anthology by Inkd Publishing. And by “featured” I mean…

My story involves an old family secret being uncovered at an intergalactic zoo (yep, it’s just as fun as it sounds). It felt surreal to receive the hardcover copy of this, with my own damn name printed as one of the three cover-featured authors! You can see the emotion on my face, and hear me recall a sentimental childhood memory as I unwrap the book and hold it in my hands for the first time. This video captures my near-out-of-body experience:

What a rush! And honestly, what more could a kid from Kyiv wish for? My name has been printed on book covers, my stories are being read by people across several continents, and I’m making friends on the global literary scene. No, I’m not a household name, but so what? I’m living the damn dream, and don’t you let me forget it! Nine-year-old me reading a book under the tree in our tenement garden in Ukraine would never believe me if I went back in time and told him any of this. A dream come true, plain and simple.

WHAT’S NEXT?

I’ve got a few more stories in a handful of other projects coming out before the year is over. I’m excited to see myself branch out a little — one tale is a food-based crime comedy, if you can believe it! Another is a Ray Bradbury-esque fantasy/horror type thing. Both are for charity anthologies in support of causes I deeply care about. That will be another new milestone for me: to support worthy causes just by making my art.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple more stone-cold classics — also known as YouTube Shorts — of my face recommending books by other authors (and some shameless plugs as a bonus).

Take care and stay safe, reader friends!

-MR

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