This is an uncomfortable post to write, but it’s also one that is a little necessary at this current time. After working hard to build a decent little following and regular sales, I hit a 2–3-year period where my mental health did me in. With momentum gone, I removed all my books from Amazon and decided to try and rebuild on my own.

The good news is that I have a large collection of books to sell in my own shop. The downside is that with zero money coming in from those books, rebranding and adding new covers and such is making it a slow process. Rather than just asking for your help, I am trying to offer some sort of reward for your investment. With that in mind, I have a pair of deals to share.

First off, I have just finished my second collection of drabbles (100 in all). That eBook is now up in my store for $1.50, but I have combined it in a bundle with the first book in this collection for the same price. This will likely be a limited offer for the month of April. I have zero goals with this other than moving a few copies and getting some money for a logo for my upcoming Nightlight Stories YA horror book. I want this to be an ongoing series, which means covers, which means money I don’t currently have. You can grab the 2-for-1 deal below:

The Delightful Drabble Deal

Another great way to support all of this is via an annual subscription. I have that set at the lowest amount Substack will allow, which is $30. With that, you will get a bunch of subscribers only posts every month, a free copy of every eBook I create, minus this current one, as well as a Macabre Mail package, which I will go into more detail about in an upcoming post.

These types of messages are absolute torture for me, but I also understand that to build my business and make it worthwhile, I need sales. I will always go out of my way to provide as much value as possible in return for your support.

Thank you to all of you that have taken the time to read my work, subscribe, and buy my bits and pieces. You have all made me feel like I have made the right decision and am on the correct path.

Forget the Coffee, Buy Me A Brand

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We are already closing in on the end of March, and I have yet to deliver anything of any real significance. Sure, there has been a ton of flash and drabble pieces posted, but if I am to build out my shop, I need to start thinking about bigger projects. With that in mind, let me share with you my realistic goals for the remainder of this year, with a little glimpse into 2027.

Nerve Damage

I got started on Substack with the idea of doing a serial novel. I got 7 chapters in and found that life started getting in the way a little. The goal here is to knuckle down, remove the serial aspect, and just write the entire damn thing. Given how this has gone, I will likely end up releasing the finished work as a freebie with donations turned on. It was supposed to be free anyway, so doing that is no biggie. I’m not sure if this one will go to print. I am setting end of June as the finish point for this one, but hopefully earlier.

Nightlight Stories

I have always loved the idea of doing a Goosebumps style series of YA books, and I have decided that Nightlight Stories will be the banner these fall under. As soon as Nerve Damage is finished, I will crank out one of these. I have a very good story idea for at least one of them, but I am open to you guys choosing, so perhaps I will do a poll. I’m looking at 20-25K words here, which I can reasonably do in 30-45 days.

Long Pig

This story was my wife’s idea, and since she has been prodding me to get it written, I want to have it done for her by the end of this year, hopefully in time for Christmas. I also want to have this one as a paperback, so this will give me time to decide between the multiple print on demand places.

Looking Ahead to 2027

The first order of business for 2027 will be another of the Nightlight Stories, as I think I can crank those out quickly. I will then jump to another novel called The Midnight Monster Club. This one will be short stories and a wraparound tale that I think is very cool. Many of the shorts are already written, so I should be able to get a good jump on this.

Finally, I want to get a start on the Matt Collins Chronicles series of standalone books. This is about a guy who lives the van life and had dreams that leads him to haunted and mysterious locations. Think of it as a supernatural Reacher set of books. If I push myself, I might also be able to get another Nightlight Stories book done, but that would be a bonus.

I am feeling really creatively alive at the moment, and while this seems like a lot, I think I can get most of it accomplished if I just knuckle down and get to it. Thank you all for your support and for helping set that creative fire alight once again.

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When I finally started on Substack for real back in mid-October, I had zero idea that things would move so quickly. As I close in on 1K subs, I feel like this is the time to actually answer some questions to allow you all to get to know me a wee bit better. I posted a thread in my chat, and these are the questions I received:

asked, “What is your writing process for flash fic, and when do you feel it’s ready to ship?”

My process here is really quite simple. I’ll get a basic idea, start writing, perform a cursory scan for errors, and then post it. I like the idea of them all being a little raw and almost stream of consciousness in style.

asked, “Where do you get your ideas from? Are they purely from your own creativity or do you look for writing prompts? Or a bit of both.”

A lot of my ideas come from dreams, as they tend to be very vivid, and pretty much have been that way since I was a kid. Things I see or overhear also deliver ideas, but I do also enjoy looking at images and text prompts to see there they go in my head.

asked, “Favorite Stephen King book? (If you read him)”

I do read King, although he is not my favorite horror author. The Green Mile is my favorite, with 11/22/63 running a pretty close second.

asked, “What drew you to Substack in the first place and what have your goals been in your writing?”

Substack has been on my radar for a minute, and while I opened an account a while back, I never did anything with it. I had a spell of 2-3 years where writing went out the window, and I struggled with my mental health. That blew up what little career I had going, so I looked at Substack as a way to reach new readers and hopefully get my work seen again.

asked, “Have you ever tried to see Nessie in real life?”

I have never been to Loch Ness. If you ask me whether or not I believe in her, I will maintain my Scottish card by saying, of course she is.

asked, “How do you work with the more difficult themes in your writing without allowing it to impact your emotional state? Or do you allow it to and how do you work with those emotions?”

It works the opposite way for me in that I tend to tap into my emotions to write. Given my struggles with anxiety and depression, it is not that difficult for me to find the darker details in even the simplest of stories. I find that getting those words out is very cathartic.

asked, “Do you ever have nightmares after writing your stories?”

I don’t get them from my stories, but they come at a rather alarming rate. Many of my stories were plucked straight out of my dreams. Sleep is not always easy to come by or pleasant for me.

had a pair of questions. #1 - “You’ve always got many creative ideas buzzing in addition to your writing and your design of your story art and new novel covers. Then there’s what must be endless Substack notifications, plus your other socials. I have a hard time switching tasks and transitioning, and I’d love to hear how you structure your days to work with all these different projects.”

I am lucky enough to get to write on a full-time basis, but I do need to try and rein in some ideas and stick to a schedule without burning out. I am getting better at taking chill days where I do very little at all, but the gears are always turning.

#2 - Oh I’ve got another. Do you consider yourself a believer (skeptical believer) in the paranormal at all or is horror pure fiction for you?

I have had some experiences that are very hard to explain away, and while I love the idea of the paranormal and all it entails, I am still slightly on the skeptical side of things.

That is all the questions I have for now, but if there is anything else you would like to know about me or my work, please do feel free to ask.

The No Questions Asked Tip Jar

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Given how much content I like to share here on Substack, I always like to have a couple of stories in my back pocket. I always fear that the well will run dry, so it makes sense to me to have a few things lined up in order to maintain a posting schedule. I have a short story set aside that will never see the light of day, and it actually pains me to write about it, but here goes.

Four years ago, my wife came home from work all giddy an upcoming work trip that I would be allowed to go on. It was a trip to Hawaii, and all that we had to do was pay my flight. The hotel, which was a luxury resort, was covered, as well as a small meal allowance that would help offset some costs. Call me crazy, but I was not enthralled with the idea. Heading out for groceries or a meal is an exercise in anxiety abatement for me, so imagine what a trip halfway around the world felt like in my head.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and a night of drinking, and I found myself saying that I would go. Penny, unwilling to wait for sobriety, booked my flight immediately. As the date grew closer, the nerves kicked in, but there was also some excitement, as Hawaii was a place I always wanted to visit.

As always tends to happen, I was fine once we got on the plane and arrived at our destination. From the moment I set foot on that soil, things began to change. I felt a level of relaxation unlike anything I have ever felt. Most of my days were spent alone, since Penny had work stuff to attend to, but rather than getting in a panic, I settled into the calm of the islands.

Our 8 days in Maui became a life changing situation for me. Anxiety floated away as I embraced the Aloha spirit, and I found myself not wanting to ever leave. As our time there was coming to a close, we booked a romantic dinner cruise out on the ocean that was nothing short of astonishing. The music being played was lovely, and one song in particular left me choked up. I’ll share it below. The highlight was the captain cutting the engine, turning off the lights, and telling us to look to the night sky. Writing is my thing, but I don’t have words to describe what it looked like and how insignificant I felt looking up at the Milky Way. It seemed close enough to reach out and touch, and it brought with it a story idea.

The story was called “By Land, By Air, By Sea,” and it told of an alien invasion on 3 fronts, starting in the town of Lahaina. When I returned home, I wrote it and planned on adding it to short story collection. Not long after, I looked on in horror as wildfires tore through the town of Lahaina and essentially destroyed it. The story, which was in the vein of disaster movies, felt a little too real at that point, but that was not the only reason for setting it aside forever.

Leaving Hawaii was brutal, and I am not ashamed to admit that tears were shed. When I returned home, it felt as though I had left a part of myself there, while bringing a little piece of Lahaina back with me. Watching it burn on TV was heartbreaking, and I couldn’t help but think of the people I had met there, including one I have kept in touch with (thankfully, he was safe from the fires and got out in time).

So now, the story sits on a hard drive, and while I could change the location pretty easily, I would know the origin. Putting it out would feel like an insult of sorts, and I am simply not prepared to ever do it. We will be returning to Hawaii in late September this year, again on the company dime, and my hope is that I find more stories to tell, perhaps of the kinder, gentler variety. If I so, those I will share.

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There comes a time in your life where you start to think about death more often than ever before. There is a creeping sense of inevitability that arrives, making you wonder just how long you have left before time runs out or you become too frail to do anything meaningful.

When I saw this “Day of…” challenge, my initial thought was to talk about writing horror and how ideas and images turn dark when I try to put them into a story. I realized, though, that talking about aging and how the ticking of the clock might be more important, as it is something we will all eventually go through.

As I write this, I am 58 years old, in relatively decent health, and feel as though I have many good years ahead of me. Feeling that way is one thing, but I also understand that there are zero guarantees in life and that my time could run out quicker. The question you all probably want to know is how that impacts my everyday life as a writer.

I will do my best to explain it, and the word that immediately comes to mind is “frantic.” I have a million ideas in my head, but I know that it will be impossible for them all to see the light of day. This is one of the reasons I turned to drabbles and flash fiction here on Substack. I see those as the perfect way to get ideas out there and to make space in my head for more.

With that in mind, my average day as an aging writer is spent hammering out words or thinking about them. I have other things, such as videos, music, and art that I want to create, but all of ties into the words. On the days where I refuse to focus and instead think about them all, that is when I become frantic.

Now, you might imagine that as a horrible feeling, and in some ways, it is, but it is also when I am at my creative best. The spigot is wide open, and everything is flowing. There are no clogs, no drips, and nothing but clear pipes delivering fresh ideas that excite me. My wife will watch me fidget, pace the room, and talk a mile a minute. She knows what is happening better than I do now, so on those days, she mellows me out and gets me to focus.

No two days are really the same when you write all the time, but there are common threads throughout, not all of which are positive. On those days when things are bad, it is the thought of aging and the ticking of time that keeps me tapping away on my laptop. I hope I have many more days to share with you all.

Drop A Coin in the Geriatric Tip Jar

Share Watson's House of Horrors

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I am not entirely sure where it began, but I have always had a strange obsession with stats and numbers. Perhaps it was because math tended to come easy to me when I was a kid. Maybe it was learning about the importance of numbers in the order of the universe. Whatever it was, it is an obsession that has stuck around into my adult life.

This may explain why I so often head to the Substack stats page to get a look at what’s what. I am certainly not doing it to stroke my own ego or vanity as my subscribers climb. It’s more about trying to determine what it is I am doing to create that effect. Are there certain themes that bring in more eyes? Did I say something to make people want to check out? For me, it’s all about a learning process and trying to find the sweet spot that will make the maximum number of people stick around and engage.

Why am I rattling on about this now, I hear you ask. Well, it all stemmed from an excellent article I read by Kimberly Ramsawak this morning. In that piece, she talks about hitting a plateau in the horror stack genre and trying to figure out why. I have not yet hit that point, but I am also aware that everything has a peak.

Within the article, she also discussed the need to understand what it is you are trying to deliver on Substack. How would you describe your offering in a single sentence? The more I thought about it, the more I found myself unable to answer that question. I have become so lost in the numbers side of the game that I have maybe lost my way in delivering a message to subscribers, as well as those who may be on the fence about subscribing to my work.

I can sit here and tell myself to get out of my own head, but I know that doing so is like turning the Titanic around to avoid the iceberg. With that in mind, I would like to put the question to you, the people who read my work. How would you describe my Substack in a single sentence.

Please be aware that this is not an expedition to fish for compliments. It is honestly my trying to figure out how to adequately explain what I do to anyone that might ask.

Share Watson's House of Horrors

I am always looking to try new things with my writing, but that often means stepping well outside of my comfort zone. The latest thing I am doing is something called Talking Terrors. Simply put, I create drabbles that I narrate and turn into videos. I make covers and images for each, while also using Suno to create some creepy background music.

I hate the sound of my voice, so I always feel more than a little self-conscious reading them, but I am starting to get a little more comfortable. I thought it might be fun to introduce the 6 that I have created to this point. If you enjoy them, please do consider liking and subscribing to my YouTube channel, as this will help them get seen and also help the channel grow.

1. Mirror Mary - I took the old Bloody Mary urban legend and tried to do something a little different with it.

2. Pressed Flowers - This one was inspired by a moodboard that one of my Substack subscribers posted.

3. Sunlight - A different take on vampire lore that is now one of my most popular drabbles on Substack.

4. Imbued - This story came from a word of the day website that I frequently use for ideas.

5. Reflections - Mostly sad, this drabble came to me out of the blue. Not even sure there was any kind of inspiration, as it just popped into my head.

6. An Unwanted Gift - I often do theme drabbles on Substack, and this one was part of a children’s crayon drawing set.

I post new videos on Tuesdays and Thursdays for now, but I am considering adding a weekend edition, too. Again, if you enjoy these, help the channel grow by liking and subscribing, and maybe even sharing.

At the end of my pieces here, I usually ask for a tip over on my Buy Me A Coffee, but I would consider the subbing as more than generous here. I am close to 100 subs on my YT channel, so let’s see if we can go beyond that.

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel

My goal is not to make this section of my Substack about my mental health, as there are so many other things that I want to talk about. That said, something happened over the last few days that made it clear I am in a much better place that I was 7 or 8 months ago, so let me explain.

I spend a lot of time on another little part of the internet and love my time there. Over the last couple of days, though, a situation arose that I found myself dragged into. I voiced my opinion on the issue, said my part, and let the chips fall where they may. I am only one voice, and I understand that it is up to others to make the bigger decisions.

Yes, I am being vague, but the details don’t really matter. What does matter was that I began to feel bitterness seep into my anger and disappointment. I am a nice guy, but if you land on my bad side, all bets are off.

I found myself wanting to interject and say negative things, be sarcastic, and ultimately demeaning. In short, I would have taken my negativity into a positive place. 8 months ago, I would have gone off like a ticking time bomb and would likely have been escorted from that part of the internet with no means of return.

My negative feelings reached fever pitch today, but I recognized it and I stepped away. I am not taking a permanent trip away from that little oasis, but I am taking a break until I can get my emotions in check and behave like an adult.

This is a level of clarity that I have not seen for 2 or 3 years now, and while I am unhappy at the way things played out, I feel good that I am able to see when negativity is seeping into my headspace and making me feel and act in ways that are totally contrary to how I want to behave.

Today feels a little bad, but it is still a good day.

When choosing a laptop, most people look at things like memory size, speed, display, and all the important things that go into making a device that will last you for the longest time possible, even though we are all aware that even high-priced electronics seem to be considered disposable these days.

All of the above makes sense, but I have a different criteria sitting on top of all the other stuff. That would be the sound that the keys make when I type, which I’m sure seems like a bonkers way to buy a laptop over the price of $500. Allow me to explain.

When I was a kid, I remember my sister telling me a story about my dad. She was afraid to ride on the train, which was a common mode of transport in my native Scotland. To allay her fears, my dad would tell her to listen to the rhythmic sound the train made while speeding across the rails. She would listen intently, and he would whisper, “I’ll get you there, I’ll get you there,” to the beat of the sound. My sister said her fear was almost instantly gone once she understood that the train was a friend taking her somewhere cool.

That, though, is just the first part of my obsessions with the sound of tapping keys. The second came when my other sister found all my little notes and scribbled stories. I was about 13 at the time, and I was certain that she would make fun of me for my silly tales. All she did was ask me how long I had been doing it and whether or not I enjoyed. I sheepishly confessed that I did and she let me be.

A couple of weeks later, right after she received her paycheck from work, my sister arrived home with a rather mysterious looking plastic briefcase. Inside was a used typewriter that she had purchased for me at a jumble sale (garage sale). It was, to that point, the greatest gift I had ever received, and is still very high on the list of my best presents.

I hammered away at those keys, falling into a rhythm when the words were flowing, the sound reminding me of what my dad told my sister. It felt the same to me. There was always a little bit of fear for me when staring at a blank piece of paper and thinking of filling it with words. Once I got rolling, though, it felt as though the keys were saying “I’ll get you there, I’ll get you there,” on my way to the end of the story as opposed to the end of the line.

Now, I hope you can all understand why the sound that the keyboard makes is so important to me. I always want to find my way to the end, and if the keys can reassure me along the way, I’m sure I’ll reach my destination.

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Since my first book was published in 2019, Amazon is where 99% of my sales have come from. Sure, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and all the other book spots had some sales, but nothing like the mighty Zon. That partnership came at a price, though, which is why I have made the decision to move on. What’s next for an author ditching the world’s biggest book market? Read on and find out.

Why Did I Ultimately Make This Move?

At the end of the day, it all came down to basic economics. Let me keep the math as simple as possible here. If I have a 99-cent eBook on Amazon, they take 65% of every sale, which is an absolutely ridiculous cut. After that, I then have to do a 50/50 split with my publisher. I am more than happy with that, as they paid for the covers and editing and all that good stuff. So, at the end of all that, I am left with 17 cents from every 99-cent book sold. Not exactly the path to riches.

I Want Full Control

Heading into 2026, I told myself that it was time to become a little more selfish. Since becoming a published author, I have spent more time pushing other authors than marketing myself. I always feel a little off hyping my work, but making this move will almost force me to put myself out there. If I want to make sales, and I very much do, then I need to sell myself more. Don’t get me wrong, I will still actively promote other authors I like, but I need to put myself first. This move will also allow me to get creative with pricing, which I really like.

The Massive Rebranding Job

I will retain rights to my covers, but while the more popular titles will stay untouched, the lesser seen books will likely get a makeover. This will be a slow process, as it is not cheap to have new covers made. I don’t mind using AI for smaller releases, such as drabble and flash fiction collections, but when it comes to my novels and novellas, I want real artists every single time. I have created a very basic logo for my future endeavors, which will fall under the Black Thistle Publishing banner.

Long story short, I am fast approaching 60, and I do wonder how much longer I will be able to continue churning out stories. It feels like the right time to try something on my own, knowing full well that it could be a disaster. Only time will tell, I suppose. If you want to see where my books will be going, in eBook form at least, check out the button below.

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Also, if you want to support my endeavors, please do consider a wee donation, although zero pressure on that front. Reading this and maybe spreading the word will be a huge help.

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I answered a serious of questions recently, one of which was about my favorite music. I have a definite favorite artist, which I will get into in a moment, but it did strike me that I have gone through certain phases. Each phase is pretty much linked by my love of all thing’s synthesizers, but you will see that there are definite little islands that I have landed on along the way.

I grew up in a house where music always seemed to be playing. My dad loved the rock ‘n’ roll sounds of Jerry Lee Lewis, while my mum loved crooners. She would have music blasting while she cooked or cleaned, singing along in a way that would make vampires want to walk into the sun. Music was all around, but it never really passed through me until the first time I heard Cars by Gary Numan on the radio.

The sound of his iconic synth sound made every hair on my body stand on end, and for the first time in my life, music really spoke to me. That led to a quest to find similar sounds, and I landed on the likes of OMD, Depeche Mode, and Ultravox. When I got to see Gary Numan live at the Glasgow Apollo in 1980, my musical future was set.

As I approached my 20s, things took a shift in a number of different ways. I moved to Canada, where I discovered some newer bands. Industrial became my thing, as I adopted the angry young man motif. Skinny Puppy and FrontLine Assembly became my go to, but I also discovered clubbing and developed a love for techno music.

By the time I burned out on partying, I found myself in a mellower state of mind. Vangelis, who I had always loved, became a regular, as did Jarre, Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance), and Liquid Mind. I actually have a very cool story about the latter, but I will save that for another post I have in mind.

Jumping ahead a few years, depression became a thing, followed by divorce and an extended period of misery. Angry music returned full force. Skinny Puppy returned, as did new aggrotech stuff by Hocico, Dawn of Ashes, and others. I found that while the music was ferocious, it would calm me, although the meds may also have had something to do with that.

I am close to 20 years on from that part of my life and am happier now than I have ever been. I have a great wife, I get to write every day, and my musical islands have all merged into one big land mass. I am even toying with ambient music and putting up my own stuff on YouTube.

Why, though, did I choose to write this little note today? It was while listening to the live Gary Numan album called “Perfect Circle.” The title is in reference to his returning to Wembley Arena for a gig decades after prematurely announcing his retirement with a series of shows in the same venue. It does feel at times that my music listening has also come full circle, but I do wonder if there will be new islands to explore in the future.

Tip Jar

A couple of years ago, my wife surprised me with a new DSLR camera. I had mentioned in passing that I had always loved the idea of learning photography and somehow using the images I caught in my fiction. That hasn’t happened in the way I expected, but what catches my eye has taught me something about myself.

Since getting the camera, I have found myself drawn to the uglier side of life. Specifically, I am talking about old buildings and signs in a state of abandonment and total disrepair. I initially thought that this was for the same reason that I love horror, which is that it is fun to find beauty in something disturbing. If you are as big a fan of Clive Barker as I am, you will know what I’m talking about.

Instead, I have come to the realization that I look at these places in the same way I look at myself in the mirror. While I certainly don’t think I look totally horrible at 58. I can see the definite signs of age taking hold. Lines are deeper, bags under the eyes look heavier, and an aura of tiredness seems to hang over me like dark clouds in an incoming storm.

Then there is my mind. It is, to put it rather mildly, broken beyond repair. Modern medication keeps those storms from, for the most part, breaking into cause even more damage, but I am still flawed. Creatively, my mind works well, but for everyday life, it hammers me with fears and anxiety about things that are mostly out of my control.

The pictures included in this piece are from a recent trip that my wife and I took to an abandoned psychiatric facility. The building, although ruined, still looked stunning to me, but I also couldn’t help but think that it was a place I may have landed in were it not for medical intervention. The reason why this last picture resonates with me is because I could clearly see myself in that chair, lost and alone as I watched the world go on without me.