S.E. Howard's Blog

Food is my love language, a way of showing my family I care about them. A homecooked meal brings everyone I love together in one place, allowing us the chance to connect, share, and enjoy each other's company. Sadly, for many Americans facing food insecurity, there's no guarantee of that kind of simple comfort. Too many wrestle with the heartbreaking dilemma of whether to pay bills or buy groceries. And while the recent federal government shutdown and subsequent stop for Supplemental...

So I finished the rough draft of what's turned out to be a not-so-short story I've been working on. It clocks in at 15,733 words. I'll still go through it with edits and trim it down, but man, it sure took on an unexpected life of its own! What started out as a really simple idea quickly blossomed into a whole lot of worldbuilding and backstory, and while not all of that will make the final cut -- and I don't know what I'm going to do with it whenever there actually IS a "final cut" -- I had...

Jeff Clulow's new collection of short stories, "The Leper's Garden and Other Contagions," is nothing short of brilliant. I knew he was a talented writer going in, having read his gothic horror novel "Veil" earlier this year. But from the opening passages of the first story, "Rats' Alley," I realized that Clulow was, in fact, a PHENOMENAL writer, one of those rare and extraordinary talents whose work is so impressive, you can't even envy it as much as you covet it, longing for even one iota of...

Victoria Ravenwood is grieving the deaths of both parents when she receives unexpected news: as their only child, she's inherited Ravenfell Manor, the sprawling and mysterious estate where Victoria had briefly lived as a child. Though the circumstances of the family's abrupt departure from Ravenfell remain murky in Victoria's memories, her mother's parting words are crystal clear: "Sell it. Burn it. Tear it down. Just get rid of it. I never want to return." Despite this admonition, Victoria's...

If you missed my fun-filled Halloween podcast appearance on author Michelle Miles's series, "Miles Beyond the Page," you can catch up by clicking below. Settle in for some spooky small talk as Michelle and I dish about our favorite Halloween traditions, horror writing, and my latest release, just in time for the season: "Hauntings."

I watched the 2025 movie "Companion" on Halloween Eve. It's a fun flick that stars Sophie Thatcher (who I loved in "Heretic") and Jack Quaid (son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, and the latest in a growing trend I've noticed of adult-children of stars following the footsteps of their famous folks). In "Companion," sweet and idealistic young Iris (Thatcher) travels to the middle of nowhere with her affable beau, Josh (Quaid) to hang out with some of his friends for the weekend. The setting is in...

Happy book birthday to HAUNTINGS, my collection of short stories. Help me celebrate by snagging your copy today! Available i n ebook and paperback HERE . A volcanic eruption unleashes a hidden, dormant evil. A washed-up film actor finds himself stranded in a haunted hotel during the COVID-19 quarantine. An astronaut's idealistic wife realizes her husband may not have returned alone from a recent mission. A cozy back yard in an idyllic subdivision hides a vicious, bloodthirsty secret. This...

Serarosa is a successful young artist living out her lifelong dream of owning her own art gallery. She's partnered with longtime friend Maddy, who shares the gallery space with her and operates a cafe there. Serarosa seems to have it all: a successful business, an adoring husband, artistic freedom, and a bright future ahead of her. The one thing she's missing is the truth about what happened to another old friend years earlier named Anna. Anna disappeared without a trace on the night of an...

Just in time for spooky season, Amanda Rusza brings us "Wicked Things: A Collection of Halloween Horror." The poems and prose in its pages conjure up nightmarish visions of trick-or-treating gone horrifically awry, and nostalgic moments of how much fun Halloween can be. My favorites from the bunch: "Candy Corn," which gives a whole new (and gruesome) take on this much-maligned seasonal staple; "The Rot that Binds Us," in which a grieving couple happens upon a novel way to keep their child...

So earlier in the year, the publisher for my novel "The Vessel" switched to a new distribution company to handle its ebook and paperback sales. As you may or may not know, the paperback release of "The Vessel" ran into some snafus because of this, as did other titles from the publisher following my book's release. The publisher tried in good faith to address the issues with the new distributor, but ultimately decided to part company with them. In the process, more snafus have occurred, and...