Jennifer Shaw

I have a new story coming out soon, and I’m excited to share teasers from this macabre yet moving anthology.

Here are glimpses of a few ghoulish gems inside this collection:

“Shifting Vapors” by Andi L. Gregory

Although Virga visits Tropos World Park almost daily, envious of the park rangers’ ability to create pathways among the clouds, when she reveals her accursed talent to save a child, she knows she’ll never be welcome at Tropos again.

The blurb alone tugs at my heart. Poor Virga!

And what exactly is going on at Tropos?

“The Weeping Woods” by R.A. Mack

Desperate to rid herself of the grief from her mother’s passing, Margot takes a chance on a local legend. Depending on who you ask, the Weeping Woods will either take away your pain, or pull you in and never let go. But the forest holds many secrets, and when Margot loses her way, she finds that escaping her grief, and the woods themselves, won’t be an easy task. When she stumbles into a hidden grove, she’ll have to place her trust in the mysterious stranger there, or risk being lost to the woods forever.

This is so intriguing (I’m getting The Secret Garden vibes), and I love how it includes mental health as a theme–so important!

“I Know Where You Live” by Candy Good

For sixteen-year-old Candy, Saturday night means dancing at the Grange Hall. Then her sister shows up outside with a stranger.

Something about him feels wrong. Before they leave, Candy gives him a warning: “Take good care of her. ’Cause I know where you live.”

He doesn’t laugh.

As his red taillights disappear into the darkness, Candy goes back inside to finish her dance.

I’m excited to read all of these stories, but holy hell this is like catnip for me! Right or wrong, I love true crime (I just finished four Morbid episodes about the Green River Killer). I’m crossing my fingers and holding my breath, though, that Candy’s tale ends well.

“Don’t Go into the Woods” by Charity Rau

Sienna lives in a town gripped by fear. A shadowy entity haunts the woods—the same entity that took Sienna’s fiancé, Phelan, and others after they ventured into the forest. But when a note appears from Phelan pleading for help, Sienna determines to make the dangerous trek to find him. Once there, she must figure out how to defeat the darkness, or it will cost both Phelan and herself their lives.

Sienna sounds like a strong, admirable woman, and I love the Little Red Riding Hood vibes (also hinted at in the FMC’s name). Charity is a lover of fairytales, so I’m anticipating a satisfying new take on an old favorite.

“The Last Cranberry Girl” by Rachel Bellard

New house. New town. Again.

Staci’s parents chase fixer-uppers from town to town, and she has stopped bothering to make friends. As summer fades, their latest project brings them to Cranberry Lake House in Carver, Massachusetts. Staci finds something jammed beneath the porch floorboards: a handkerchief stitched with three initials. L.J.W. It’s the first clue in a trail left by a girl who vanished decades ago, a girl who knew every corner of this property. Someone wanted Lenora “Lenni” Jean Whitmore forgotten. Lenni had other plans.

What a fabulous title, and what an uncanny mystery awaits us in this one! I’m hoping it’s a tale of a girl’s friendship (and alliance) with a ghost because one of my favorite books when I was little featured just such a pair of unforgettable characters. We shall see!

“Thieves and Killers” by Julie Fugate

After turning in her serial killer mother, teenager Layla may have avoided prison, but she still had to deal with the haunting memories of her training. Then, a wealthy benefactor offers her a place in a program for those who don’t deserve redemption. It’s a chance for her and those like her to make amends for the death and pain they’ve caused. Except on her first mission, she finds herself falling for the seemingly perfect boy she’s supposed to recruit. Everyone has secrets. Some are just more killer than others.

This sounds like a killer romance! (Terrible, I know.) But seriously, I love dark romantic tales, and I’m eager to dive right into this one. Plus, we get more serial murderers! And that gorgeous cover!! *chef’s kiss* Though, I could only capture part of it because I was struggling to convert the image from a pdf, which is an absolute failure on my part.

“Homecoming” by Stephanie Dooley

Returning to her childhood farmhouse and the ghosts she thought she had left behind, Frankie must confront a horrific past that just won’t stay hidden.

Oh, this sounds like a classic haunted house story, and one I can personally relate to because odd things happen in our old farmhouse. That image is so creepy, too! I already love this!

“Don’t Touch Those, Baby” by Amy Fortenberry

Marley Jones came to her grandmother’s Mississippi farmhouse for a birthday, not a haunting. But when she arrives to find Memaw has performed a sixty-five-years-in-the-making banishing one day too soon, Marley comes face-to-face with the three haints once trapped inside the china fairy figurines she was never allowed to touch. Now the wrinkled, bickering trio wants her youth, and with only a thinning line of salt holding them back, it’s up to Marley to put a lifetime of Memaw’s folklore to use.

This sounds like such a clever, amusing little folkloric story. Amy, a Southern writer, has a wonderful voice and sense of humor, and I know this piece will be a delight. It might also provide some much-needed levity among all the pathos.

Finally, a little about my own story, “The One Who Wouldn’t Jump.”

A lonely girl. A flooded quarry. A warning from the darkness.

“The hard stuff’s behind us,” her mother insists.

But ten-year-old Jessica isn’t so sure. Her parents are divorced, she’s lonely in a new neighborhood, and the uncertainty of a new school hangs over her. If all that weren’t enough, Jess is haunted by a mysterious figure that appears in her bedroom at night–an impossible presence that smells of rot and whispers words too terrifying to bear.

As autumn deepens and Jessica finds friendship among a small group of neighborhood kids, The Figure’s message becomes increasingly urgent. Can Jess overcome the paralyzing fear this awful shadow evokes, or will The Figure render her helpless, destroying more than she can ever imagine?

Both haunting and hopeful, “The One Who Wouldn’t Jump” is a story about fear, fate, first love, and the moments that shape the people we become.

An early reader called my contribution “a beautiful, eerie story with a great deal of heart.”

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed these.

I, for one, can’t wait to dive into my e-copy when it lands on my iPad a week from today. What a fun way to usher in Spooky Season! Also, all stories are “PG-13,” as we in RHS like to say, so they’re suitable for adolescent readers too.

Publication day is September 23, and the e-book is available for preorder now ($.99). All proceeds will go to a literacy charity, and the paperback will be available soon.

A big thanks to my fellow contributors for sharing their teasers. All images and blurbs were created by the authors themselves.

XOXO,

Jenn