Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy – cover & details

The body of this post features a treasure trove of unfortunate elements. Feast your eyes on the cover for Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, my upcoming and first short story collection, published by The Seventh Terrace. Cover and interior art by the amazing Janice Blaine; introduction by the wonderful Laurel Hightower.

The collection releases on May 7, 2021 and the ebook is up for pre-order on Amazon. I can’t wait to share with you.

Synopsis:

Love twisted into horrific shapes, nightmares driven by cruel music, and a world where what little light remains fractures the sky into midnight rainbows in eighteen stories tracing the dark veins of queer horror, isolation, and the monstrous feminine.

The universe unwinds to the tune of a malicious ice cream truck jingle in “We All Scream”. “The Law of Conservation of Death” dictates that a ghost pursue his prey across her every reincarnation. Superstitions thrive even in the distant future and across the stars when a colony shuttle mounts a witch trial in “Hairy Jack”. And try to “Forgive the Adoring Beast” as it scavenges a world of dead gods for tokens of bloody affection.

Including two new short stories and a never-before-published novelette, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy digs deep inside us and clings to the beating nightmare heart you always knew was there.

“The Bird With the Clownish Plumage” in Campfire Macabre; Worm translation

Posted on 2021-01-06 by Hailey Piper flash fiction novella short story the worm and his kings

Welcome to the world of 2021! It comes with clowns in my neck of the woods. Campfire Macabre is a flash fiction anthology of monstrous proportions, boasting dozens of stories by incredible horror authors. This publication also marks a personal milestone: my woodsy tale “The Bird With the Clownish Plumage” marks my 50th published short story.

Check it out.

Also, I’m pleased to announce that my queer cosmic horror novella The Worm and His Kings will be translated into Spanish for a release in Spain by Dilatando Mentes Editorial, a wonderful publisher that has been translating works of horror in beautiful new Spanish editions. More details and cover art to come.

Best Lesfic Award; Inkheist; “In Subspace, No One Can Hear You Scream” in Mycelia, Issue IV

Posted on 2020-12-22 by Hailey Piper award novel novella podcast queen of teeth short story the worm and his kings unfortunate elements of my anatomy

Today I had the fantastic honor of winning the Best Lesfic of 2020 Award for Best Horror, for my queer cosmic horror novella, The Worm and His Kings! Make horror gay AF!

Also, I had the pleasure of reappearing on the Inkheist podcast to talk about The Worm and His Kings as well as writing process, queer representation, my upcoming 2021 releases Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy and Queen of Teeth, and whether psychic powers fit into supernatural horror or form their own subgenre of psychic horror. Give a listen!

I expect this will be the last update of a long, long year. Ending it with a bang is my erotic horror story, “In Subspace, No One Can Hear You Scream” that appears in Mycelia issue IV. At this club’s show, there’s more happening than meets the eye. Check it out.

“Brain Trust” in Planet Scumm; “The Curse of She, Part 6: The Final Girlfriend” in We Are Wolves

Posted on 2020-12-12 by Hailey Piper interview short story

Happy December busy time! I’m a bit swamped, and so I’m a little late with updates, but here are a few things that have popped up of recent.

At the end of November, my horror mystery “Brain Trust” was the cover story in Planet Scumm #9. We open with a bathtub full of brains, the latest in a baffling string of situations in this steampunk city.

This past week, We Are Wolves released from Burial Day Books. Edited by the incredible Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower, and Cina Pelayo, this charity anthology gathers women’s horror fiction and howls at the moon like nothing before. Among the many wonderful stories, you’ll find my cinema-laced tale of expectation, exploitation, and community in “The Curse of She, Part 6: The Final Girlfriend.”

Over at Nightworms, I chatted with Andrew “the Book Dad” about my new queer cosmic horror novella, The Worm and His Kings.” Check out the interview here.

And speaking of Worm, it’s now available on Barnes and Noble!

“The Inheritance Thread” in Love Letters to Poe; interviews

Posted on 2020-11-20 by Hailey Piper audio interview novella podcast short story the worm and his kings

This week has been busy! The Worm and His Kings, my new queer cosmic horror novella, released from Off Limits Press on the 15th, and it’s now available from Bookshop if you would like to support indie bookstores.

In the short fiction realm, Gothic horror magazine Love Letters to Poe published my coming of age tale “The Inheritance Thread” in their most recent issue. It’s a story of lineage and burdens, and the long-sought voice of a mother. The magazine’s podcast, available on both the site and podcast places like Spotify, has an audio version to, narrated by my wife J. The page also includes a short interview with me about the story. Check it out here.

In the non-fiction department, I’ve had the pleasure of appearing on several venues:

Gabriel Hart invited me to LitReactor, where we talked cosmic horror and NYC.

Necronomi.Com had me on to talk in depth about one of my favorite horror movies, The Wicker Man (1973).

And most recently, I appeared on the Women in Horror Film Festival Facebook page for a video interview about The Worm and His Kings.

The Worm and His Kings release day

Posted on 2020-11-15 by Hailey Piper novella the worm and his kings

2020 has been a long one, and the journey from announcement to release for my queer cosmic horror novella has sometimes felt stretched between distant stars.

But today’s the day! The Worm and His Kings is here, published by Off Limits Press!

New York City, 1990:

When you slip through the cracks, no one is there to catch you. Monique learns that the hard way after her girlfriend Donna vanishes without a trace.

Only after the disappearances of several other impoverished women does Monique hear the rumors. A taloned monster stalks the city’s underground and snatches victims into the dark.

Donna isn’t missing. She was taken.

To save the woman she loves, Monique must descend deeper than the known underground, into a subterranean world of enigmatic cultists and shadowy creatures. But what she finds looms beyond her wildest fears—a darkness that stretches from the dawn of time and across the stars.

“Hailey Piper’s The Worm and His Kings is haunting and beautiful, heartbreaking and triumphant, a story of harming and healing, of knowing when to hold on and let go. It is a story of transcendence in a way Lovecraft’s work should have been. One of the best cosmic horror novels I’ve read in eons.” — Mary SanGiovanni, author of Thrall, The Hollower, and the Kathy Ryan series

“Eerie and visceral, Piper combines the supernatural with the deeply human in a novella that explores the many faces of horror, at once haunting and familiar, yet utterly new.” – A.C. Wise, Nebula Award-nominated author of Catfish Lullaby

Audiobook of The Possession of Natalie Glasgow; 10 Weird Writers List

Posted on 2020-11-13 by Hailey Piper article audiobook novella the possession of natalie glasgow the worm and his kings

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! Let’s get some horror going.

First up, The Possession of Natalie Glasgow is now available in audiobook from Amazon! TPONG is my debut novella, and though I had hoped to release the audiobook in time with the two-year anniversary of TPONG’s original ebook release in October, 2020 had other plans. Still, it’s available now, and narrated by Bram Stoker-nominated author Gemma Amor, whose voice takes hold of TPONG so readily that I can’t look at the book’s text anymore without hearing her voice.

Check it out!

Earlier this week, I was honored to be placed on Silent Motorist Media’s list of Ten Weird Writers to Save Us in 2020. Authors were nominated by readers and chosen by editors and writers. I’m proud to be here, and especially proud that this list is so inclusive.

Lastly, my new queer cosmic horror novella, The Worm and His Kings, releases in just two days! Off Limits Press is now sold out of copies, but it can still be ordered in ebook and paperback from Amazon. It’s been a long time coming, but the Worm is nearly here!

“The Last Noel” in Gothic Blue Book VI: A Krampus Carol

Posted on 2020-11-09 by Hailey Piper short story

I’m supremely late in updating for this, but it’s also been a rough several days. In any case, on Halloween, Burial Day Books recently released Gothic Blue Book VI: A Krampus Carol, 31 short stories and poems of Christmas-flavored horror, one story or poem for each chilly December night.

In the middle, you’ll find my story of babysitting gone wrong in “The Last Noel.” Wear a coat; it’s cold in those woods.

I also recently had the pleasure of appearing on the Dead Headspace podcast to talk about writing process, influence, and The Worm and His Kings, my new queer cosmic horror novella releasing from Off Limits Press on November 15.

Speaking of which, that’s only six days away! And just in time, the paperback is now up for pre-order on Amazon, too.

The Worm and His Kings early reviews; Novel announcement

Posted on 2020-10-17 by Hailey Piper Announcement novel novella queen of teeth the worm and his kings

Less than a month to go until The Worm and His Kings releases on November 15, 2020! There’s still time to pre-order a paperback from the publisher and the ebook from Amazon.

Early reviews are already coming in from Goodreads and iHorror!

And then another announcement:

I’ve signed with Rooster Republic/Strangehouse Books to publish my body horror novel as part of their 2021 line-up! Check out the press release snippet from the publisher:

“Hailey Piper … has signed on to release a new horror novel through Strangehouse Books, and this is one hell of a manuscript. We are tempted to call the book “Cronenbergian” but we aren’t sure that really does the story justice. It’s more than that. This book will knock yer socks off. It’ll be getting the hardcover treatment, as well, and we’ll have further announcements over the next couple of months. But, go ahead and get excited.”

Title, cover art, and release date to be announced. Stay tuned! This one has teeth.

“Hopscotch for Keeps” in Places We Fear to Tread; “Autotomy” in Monsters Out of the Closet

Posted on 2020-09-29 by Hailey Piper audio short story

Two new stories for September!

First, travel back to the ’90s in central New York in this location-based horror anthology. Play a game, kids, but make sure you know what you’re playing for. My story “Hopscotch for Keeps” appears in Places We Fear to Tread.

Then, Lovely LGBTQ+ horror podcast Monsters Out of the Closet released a new episode today. DOUBLE focuses on doppelgangers. My story appears second, “Autotomy.” Mom is gone, replaced by a stranger, and she has plans. Check it out here or on Spotify, iTunes, any podcast place!

Hailey Piper