Nicholas Belardes's Blog
May 1, 2025
The Deading Trade Paperback Giveaway!
A 100-book trade paperback giveaway has started thanks to Kensington Books and Erewhon Books! Enter here to win!
May the dead rise and shine!
- Nicholas
May the dead rise and shine!
- Nicholas
April 26, 2025
Ten Sleep is almost here!
Can't begin to tell you how happy I am to bring my sophomore eco-horror Ten Sleep into the world. Only a few more months until its release. Lots of giveaways to watch for here on Goodreads. Lots of stuff I gotta do to prepare. There will be a few signings, a few book talks. Who knows? I'm still kinda doing those for The Deading, though they're wrapping up. I'm just happy that everyone will get to meet Greta, Think Tank, goat-fawn, and a lot more creepy human and monstery characters! Thanks, Erewhon Books and Kensington Books! This monstery cattle drive is hitting the trail!
February 19, 2024
Last Two Days of Goodreads Giveaway of The Deading!
This has been a fun ride, but the giveaway is almost over. While I've done Goodreads Giveaways before, I've never had such a kind and generous reaction from readers. We're closing in on 9,000 entrants! With 100 copies to give away, that means you still have a great chance to win! Kensington Books and Erewhon Books have been doing a great job of promoting the giveaway. Ends 2/20. Enter here.
February 13, 2024
Happy Galentine's Day!
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🥀Sometimes you have to die to live. Happy Galentine’s Day to all you goth gals! Jane taught me about Galentine’s Day and also helped develop the infamous goth girl chapter in my debut horror novel, THE DEADING. All of our lives are better because of women, especially because of the dark, witchy ones. 🔮 Don't forget to check out my GOODREADS GIVEAWAY. Only one week left to enter! Feel free to share with your favorite goth gal or anyone who loves them! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
🥀Sometimes you have to die to live. Happy Galentine’s Day to all you goth gals! Jane taught me about Galentine’s Day and also helped develop the infamous goth girl chapter in my debut horror novel, THE DEADING. All of our lives are better because of women, especially because of the dark, witchy ones. 🔮 Don't forget to check out my GOODREADS GIVEAWAY. Only one week left to enter! Feel free to share with your favorite goth gal or anyone who loves them! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Happy Galentine's Day!
[image error]
🥀Sometimes you have to die to live. Happy Galentine’s Day to all you goth gals! Jane taught me about Galentine’s Day and also helped develop the infamous goth girl chapter in my debut horror novel, THE DEADING. All of our lives are better because of women, especially because of the dark, witchy ones. 🔮 Don't forget to check out my GOODREADS GIVEAWAY. Only one week left to enter! Feel free to share with your favorite goth gal or anyone who loves them! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
The Deading
🥀Sometimes you have to die to live. Happy Galentine’s Day to all you goth gals! Jane taught me about Galentine’s Day and also helped develop the infamous goth girl chapter in my debut horror novel, THE DEADING. All of our lives are better because of women, especially because of the dark, witchy ones. 🔮 Don't forget to check out my GOODREADS GIVEAWAY. Only one week left to enter! Feel free to share with your favorite goth gal or anyone who loves them! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
The Deading
February 9, 2024
Book Giveaway of 100 Copies of The Deading Awaits Your Entry
You know you want to enter and win a copy of THE DEADING (Erewhon Books/Kensington Books) in this massive giveaway. The cover alone is super dark and unsettling and creepy cool!
Ends 2/20 but there is still plenty of time to enter. Tell a friend or two, compete to see who might win! Enter here! May the monsters above and below sanctify your dark victory!
Ends 2/20 but there is still plenty of time to enter. Tell a friend or two, compete to see who might win! Enter here! May the monsters above and below sanctify your dark victory!
February 7, 2024
Goodreads Giveaway of 100 Copies of The Deading!
Yes, you heard it right, 100 copies of THE DEADING are being given away right here on Goodreads! Enter here! Big thanks to Kensington Books and Erewhon Books for making this happen!
August 4, 2023
My Debut Novel 'The Deading' Announced By Erewhon Books
Erewhon Books announced the first in a two-book deal, The Deading, half of which I wrote about four years ago, the second half I wrote in the UC Riverside Low-res Program in Creative Writing. I graduated that program in June and now working on rounds of edits, trying to get this eco-horror/climate fiction novel ready for its Summer ‘24 release.
The Deading was acquired by Erewhon’s Diana Pho in early March. A fabulous editor, she’s kind, generous, curious, imaginative. She previously worked for Tor Publishing, won major speculative fiction awards, and has been integral to our rounds of editing, helping me find ways to expand both character and story.
Many of you know I’ve been writing a long time. The dream has always been to publish at increasingly higher levels. I’ve had a few low-tier book deals, published in journals and anthologies too, and ghostwrote for famous writers. This multi-book speculative fiction deal is what I’ve always been hoping for, the culmination of strategizing to get an MFA, then using that experience as a launching pad into publishing long-form fiction. Somehow, it worked! While I was in the program, I didn’t expect to work on The Deading. My thesis was a different work entirely, not speculative fiction but Chicano literature. Even my graduate lecture was on crafting family in literature. So, The Deading has been a complete surprise! Anyway, I ended up studying a few quarters under Stephen Graham Jones (Don’t Fear the Reaper, The Only Good Indians, Mongrels). He taught me quite a bit about the horror genre, so much that I found myself immersed in expanding The Deading into sub-genre, eco-horror. He helped rearrange some of the book too, made it tidier.
Stephen Graham Jones has this to say about The Deading: “Do not eat fish from these waters. Or oysters. Really, just stay inland. Except that, in The Deading, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe, either.”
I love that blurb. Feels like my novel will be kind of scary!
Anyway, I’m really happy about the announcement. You can read more about my ongoing writings here on Goodreads or at Erewhon Books, and of course you can find me on social media or here if you want to have a chat.
The Deading was acquired by Erewhon’s Diana Pho in early March. A fabulous editor, she’s kind, generous, curious, imaginative. She previously worked for Tor Publishing, won major speculative fiction awards, and has been integral to our rounds of editing, helping me find ways to expand both character and story.
Many of you know I’ve been writing a long time. The dream has always been to publish at increasingly higher levels. I’ve had a few low-tier book deals, published in journals and anthologies too, and ghostwrote for famous writers. This multi-book speculative fiction deal is what I’ve always been hoping for, the culmination of strategizing to get an MFA, then using that experience as a launching pad into publishing long-form fiction. Somehow, it worked! While I was in the program, I didn’t expect to work on The Deading. My thesis was a different work entirely, not speculative fiction but Chicano literature. Even my graduate lecture was on crafting family in literature. So, The Deading has been a complete surprise! Anyway, I ended up studying a few quarters under Stephen Graham Jones (Don’t Fear the Reaper, The Only Good Indians, Mongrels). He taught me quite a bit about the horror genre, so much that I found myself immersed in expanding The Deading into sub-genre, eco-horror. He helped rearrange some of the book too, made it tidier.
Stephen Graham Jones has this to say about The Deading: “Do not eat fish from these waters. Or oysters. Really, just stay inland. Except that, in The Deading, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe, either.”
I love that blurb. Feels like my novel will be kind of scary!
Anyway, I’m really happy about the announcement. You can read more about my ongoing writings here on Goodreads or at Erewhon Books, and of course you can find me on social media or here if you want to have a chat.
February 25, 2020
A Field Guide to Zen Outlining
I have a new article up in The Writing Cooperative: A Field Guide to Zen Outlining: How creating story blueprints can save your soul. I interviewed Prairie Schooner's managing editor Ashley Strosnider, writer Richie Narvaez and writer Danielle Trussoni for their tips. Also added tips of my own, and discuss outlining for yourself, ghostwriting, and more. Happy Tuesday!
February 13, 2020
Writing horror novella: THE DEADING
Sometimes it's slow going. Other times, the words flow.
I've been working on a novella coming out this year from Crone Girls Press. THE DEADING. The story came to me after a year in the field studying birds and other creatures in habitats on the central California Coast. One particular swamp comes to mind: Pecho Road Willows...
Anyway, I'm about half finished. Need to hustle through the rest. Need to make this psychological horror as creepy as I can, finding inspiration in everything from Elena Ferrante to Stephen King.
Wishing you all well.
I've been working on a novella coming out this year from Crone Girls Press. THE DEADING. The story came to me after a year in the field studying birds and other creatures in habitats on the central California Coast. One particular swamp comes to mind: Pecho Road Willows...
Anyway, I'm about half finished. Need to hustle through the rest. Need to make this psychological horror as creepy as I can, finding inspiration in everything from Elena Ferrante to Stephen King.
Wishing you all well.
