The Twenty-Fourth Dispatch
Two years of posting C.J. Dotson’s Dreadful Dispatch! And I’ve been late for an issue or two, but I haven’t missed a one of ‘em yet!
The Writing
Just as I’d hoped with the frantic (by my standards, anyway) pace of debut month behind me, I’ve found my ability to focus returning to me as I work on my new manuscript. I’m revising the first few chapters now in a way that feels like tearing up vinyl and laying down real floorboards. It’s a pretty thorough overhaul but it’s going to be so much better. I’ve got some ideas for strengthening the character work, and for deepening the impact of the ending.
In fun-for-me news, over the next couple of weeks I’m going to clear out and repurpose a spare bedroom and then I finally, finally, finally get to have a writing office of my very own. I’m so excited to decorate it however I want and to watch piles and piles of books grow on every surface and to have a door I can close when I’m trying to work!
Hey, guess what? I also have a short story up with Pseudopod now! You can head to their website and listen to “Every Last Gossamer Strand” right now!
In other fun book news, something cover-shaped has landed in my inbox for book two! Keep an eye out next month for the cover reveal for my second standalone horror novel, THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, coming out April 14th, 2026. I’m so pumped to share it with you!
At the link below, you can see how we’re doing the social media cover reveal for THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, and if it sounds fun and you’d like to help out you can fill out the form under all that information!
Click here to learn more, and to volunteer!
Also, if you’ve been eyeing The Cut but you’re not a fan of hardcovers, then you’ll be glad to know that pre-orders for the paperback edition, coming in March of 2026, are now available through most major retailers.
Events
Last Saturday I participated in a speculative fiction debut panel with some other lovely SFFH 2025 debuts, hosted by Utopia State of Mind. It was a really fun chat with some really smart, charming authors, and you can find it here
Tomorrow (Saturday, May 17th) from 2 to 4 PM you’ll be able to find me at the Eastview Mall B&N in Victor, NY (in the Rochester area), signing copies of The Cut.
I’m looking forward to attending Stoker Con in mid-June—if you’re going to be there and want to meet up and say hi, hit me up on bsky or Instagram. I’m so excited to meet everyone!
If you’re in the NE Ohio area and missed my book launch last month, keep an eye on my socials or in next month’s issue of the Dispatch for information on an upcoming mid-July event in the greater Cleveland area.
On November 9th I’ll be participating in Horror Reader Weekend’s Horror on the Hudson event. There are going to be more than 30 horror authors there, with readings and panels and signings, hanging out, chatting, having dinner, telling ghost stories, the works. I’m really looking forward to it! Find all the information you need about the event here!
Hardcover Giveaway Winners’ True Tales
Not long ago I ran a little giveaway for five signed hardcover copies of The Cut. The rules for entry required a story about the creepiest local place near you, or your own personal ghost (or at least inexplicably eerie) stories. A couple of the winners allowed me to include their entries in this issue of the newsletter, and I present those below:
The Abandoned Steel Mill
from Matthew Siadak
Years ago, my father and brother worked to create a company for cleaning rail cars which meant they had to rent some land where they could do this safely and away from potential dangers to nearby places. This led them to renting land that had train tracks on it. As an added bonus, on the land there also sat an ancient, abandoned steel mill / factory of some sort.
Because my friends and I were young and dumb at the time, we ended up borrowing keys from my brother, since he was renting the land, with the express purpose of doing some exploration in this building.
Now, this place was not in the best area of town, and had sat empty for decades at this point. We found evidence of people having lived there. Not recently, but someone had squatted in an old office at one point. That added to the level of creepy fear, of “we’re not supposed to be here.”
We never ran into anyone living there; if they still did, they stayed away from us being young and dumb.
The things we found, though? An old vault full of blueprints and designs. We had to be careful to not close the vault door, because who knew when it might next be opened, if ever? We didn’t even joke around about that, because one slip…I still get shivers thinking about being trapped, in the dark, with a slowly dying flashlight.
We found an old, really old technology room. What might have once housed what limited server racks or mainframes sat gutted, but there remained evidence. Ghosts in the machine, so to speak. 8” floppy disks, computer parts and boards that I never saw the like of before. More diagrams and old manuals for hardware that likely no longer existed.
We walked through the corpse of a once-thriving company, brushed shoulders with the ghosts of those who worked there. We walked the trail they did, beneath the “Welcome to work. Smile!” sign that greeted us at the tunnel under the road into the factory.
On the exit, we saw the sign “Tomorrow’s another day.” And yet, at some point, that ceased to be true to those who left. That particular tomorrow never came, did it?
We found an old x-ray room, with a narrow passage into a lead-lined cabinet that I barely fit through. I remember squeezing in, and fearing again I’d get stuck. I didn’t, but man, I can still imagine the tight walls, the old gurneys, the straps.
We made a few trips there, taking pictures and exploring. I still have the pictures. I still have a blueprint. I still have an old glow in the dark “Exit” sign.
I can still feel the emptiness of that building, and the specters of those who once filled it day in and day out, until all were simply no more.
Matthew Siadak is an author of a number of published short stories, from Lost Boys Press to Quill and Crow, and others, and is working on his first novels The Dark Side of Super, and The Backwards Knight. With a love of all things Fantasy, Eldritch, and horror in general, he's always looking to mash genres together to play with some of his favorite tropes across his love of reading. Living a life of logic as a software engineer, he loses himself in writing to explore the creative side of himself, when he can. He loves to tinker with new projects, or feed people with homemade bread and jam. You can find him as @backwardsknight on most Socials, or at backwardsknight.com.
The Queen Mary
from Barbara Drake
The Queen Mary a notoriously haunted ship. I was a teenager and my Momma worked for the government. We were invited to a military ball board the ship. Naturally loving all things spooky I convinced her to go a day early so we could do the ghost tours! It was of course creepy and the guided ghost tour was fantastic, although unfortunately no ghosts were feeling social during f the tour. It was a general creepy ambiance and the next day the ball was gorgeous and stunningly atmospheric with old time glamour! After the glamourous evening I convinced my mom we needed to do some of our own ghost hunting! ( she does not share my love of the spooky and is easily spooked) so not took some convincing! She knew I was going anyways so I think it was more of a protective momma bear move! We changed out of our glamorous attire to our creeping around clothes! We were able to go a few floors down before we reached locked doors and signs warning of closed off. Not renovated, closed to the public. Naturally I said perfect! To my teenage luck on of the doors was unlocked ( to my Moms horror!!! Sorry Mom I love you!) It led us to the lower decks of the Queen Mary that were not redone or finished. It was straight out of a horror movie. Shabby red carpet lay sprawled in pieces covering the worn floor. Ancient wall paper cracking, yellowed and peeling from the walls. Lights flickering, dimming, humming, threatening to shut off at any moment. We crept down the hall way and explored many twists and turns. A slight unease began to form in the air. Almost like the air right before a thunderstorm. We came to a stairwell, that looked straight out of the Titanic… I kid you not locked metal gate across it and all. At this point I say let’s go up and my mom is begging me to leave. I say a few more minutes and we ascent the stairway my momma a few steps behind me…. The air feels thick and almost alive? I reach the locked gate my momma a handful of steps down and away from me ( it was a spiral staircase). I feel the air become almost electric like before lightning strikes….. I freeze and turn to look at my Mom out of arms reach and a few steps down from me. ( she has very short hair at the time) and as she raises her arm with a terrified look on her face the hair on her head, arms as well as the back of my neck is all standing on end! I suddenly feel a sharp shock or jab on my side. Keep in mind a locked gate is behind me a few steps up. I did not touch anything. We both scream Locke eyes and run faster than we ever have before tearing through the threadbare hallways back to our room. We examined my side and I had a huge welt where I had felt the poke! Needless to say we didn’t sleep a wink and did not explore any further! We left in the morning and still talk about it to this day! It was one of the most terrifying / (exhilarating now being long removed form the situation! ) experiences we have EVER experienced!!!!! And my Mom will still never go exploring with me in creepy places to this day!!!!!!
Barbara Drake is a Lifelong horror lover that lives in Ohio with her family. She is a Horror book ARC/Beta reader and passionate indie horror reviewer (Instagram: @booslittlehausofhorror)! She is also a Medical Momma that is passionate about rare disease research!
Pet Pics
Everybody’s favorite part of the newsletter—the pet pictures!
And That Wraps Us Up
With my brain starting to un-melt after the busy time of debut month, I’m expecting that coming issues of the newsletter will again have things like book/movie/game recommendations, everyday horror inspiration, and musings on horror and writing.