Deborah Sheldon's Blog

In collaboration with The Horror Tree, I'm giving away 12 of my published titles over the 12 months of 2026. Why? To celebrate my 40th year as a professional writer!

For April, The Horror Tree is giving away TEN e-book copies of my noir-horror novel, Contrition, which was shortlisted for the Australian Shadows "Best Novel" Award.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

The giveaway will run from Monday 13 April to Saturday 25 April 2026. For further information and to enter the giveaway, click here: https://horrortree.com/contrition-ebo...

Author, anthology editor and book reviewer Robin Knabel of Inky Bones Press has posted a terrific review of my award-winning collection Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories (IFWG Publishing).

In part, she writes, "Sheldon has a way of leading you down dark paths, despite the fact that you know something wicked is waiting for you. One of the things I noticed while reading this collection is her keen ability to make even mundane situations drip with dread and suspense."

You can read the full review here: https://robinknabel.squarespace.com/r...

For more information about Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories:
https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...

Horror author Eliza Broadbent is celebrating Women In Horror Month by posting interviews with female authors on her Substack! Here’s a link to my interview, where I chat about my latest titles; the novels Nighmare Reef and Bodily Harm, and poetry collection The Broonie and Other Dark Poems.

https://eliza392.substack.com/p/women...

Eliza's Substack has lots of fascinating interviews, so be sure to take a look through this WIHM series.

https://eliza392.substack.com/archive...

I'm giving away 12 of my published titles over the next 12 months, via The Horror Tree. Why? To celebrate my 40th year as a professional writer!

For March, The Horror Tree is giving away TEN e-book copies of my bio-horror novella, Thylacines, which was shortlisted for the Australian Shadows "Paul Haines Award" for Long Fiction.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

The giveaway will run from Monday 16 March to Saturday 28 March 2026. For further information and to enter the giveaway, click here:
https://horrortree.com/thylacines-ebo...

I'm giving away 12 of my published titles over the next 12 months, via The Horror Tree. Why? To celebrate my 40th year as a professional writer!

For February, The Horror Tree is giving away TEN e-book copies of my dark fantasy and horror collection,Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories, winner of the Australian Shadows “Best Collected Work” Award.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

The giveaway will run from Monday 16 February to Saturday 28 February 2026. For further information and to enter the giveaway, click here:
https://horrortree.com/perfect-little...

I'm thrilled to say that my novel Nightmare Reef (Severed Press) is shortlisted for the Aurealis "Best Horror Novel" Award!

You can see the full 2025 Aurealis Awards Shortlist here:
https://aurealisawards.org/2026/02/01...

The winners will be announced on Saturday 21 February 2026.

Back-cover blurb for Nightmare Reef:
The ocean is vast. The danger is ancient. And nowhere is safe.
For the Wagner family, sailing across the Pacific was meant to be the adventure of a lifetime. But beneath their ageing yacht, Nauti Buoy, something stirs—something thought extinct for millions of years.
Then the nightmare begins. Hunted by plesiosaurs—ferocious predators from a forgotten age—the Wagners are thrust into a relentless fight for survival.
From award-winning author Deborah Sheldon, NIGHTMARE REEF is a harrowing tale of one family’s battle to the death against nature’s brutality.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FPBSYP72

I'm giving away 12 of my published titles over the next 12 months, via The Horror Tree. Why? To celebrate my 40th year as a professional writer!

For January, The Horror Tree is giving away TEN e-book copies of my creature-horror novel DEVIL DRAGON, which was shortlisted for the Australian Shadows “Best Novel” Award.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

The giveaway will run from Monday 19 January to Saturday 31 January 2026. For further information and to enter the giveaway, click here:
https://horrortree.com/devil-dragon-e...

2026 is special for me, as it marks my 40th year as a professional writer! To celebrate, I'm collaborating with The Horror Tree for an "E-book Giveaway Extravaganza"!

Throughout 2026, The Horror Tree will be giving away 10 digital copies of a horror title each month. I'm offering up novels, novellas, and collections that will (hopefully) appeal to the broadest cohort of dark-fiction aficionados, with subgenres including body horror, dark fantasy, Australian gothic, and creature horror.

Visit The Horror Tree for all the details:
https://horrortree.com/e-book-giveawa...

First published in March 2024, and out of print soon after, my award-winning novella Redhead Town is available once more!

Many thanks to Twisted Dreams Press for re-releasing my novella in both paperback and e-book formats.

The back-cover blurb:
LIFE IS BLOODY GOOD
In Australia, vampires are a protected class.
Twenty-two towns are picked to siphon vampires, aka ‘redheads’, out of capital and regional cities. When polled, most Australians agree with this strategy. But most Australians don’t live in a ‘designated area’. Don’t have to step over drowsing redheads during the day. Or live in terror of marauding redheads during the night.
Mark Murphy is a nightshift worker in the designated area of Oleg’s Creek. His house is now worth nothing, and he can’t afford to leave. He’s heard rumours of The Refusal. Desperate, will he risk a grab at freedom?
Written by award-winning author Deborah Sheldon, REDHEAD TOWN is a dark tale of government overreach, societal breakdown, and one man’s love for his wife and son.
WINNER of the Australasian Shadows “Paul Haines" Award for Long Fiction

For more information about Redhead Town, including a few purchasing links:
https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...

The Horror Tree is a resource for speculative fiction authors featuring paying markets, writing advice, author and editor interviews, and more.

The Horror Tree has published my guest blog post, "10 Tips for Writing a Realistic Monster". These tips come from my experience writing a number of creature-horror novels and novellas. My latest is the novel Nightmare Reef (Severed Press, 2025), which features the plesiosaur, a marine reptile believed to be extinct for 66 million years.

https://horrortree.com/10-tips-for-wr...