Weekly Notes from Inside the Haunted House

Dec 24, 2025

Given that this one is going out to you all on Christmas Eve, I imagine there is a very good chance many of you won’t get to it until after the big day. Either way, I hope Santa was good to you all this year. I have some fun stuff in this week’s newsletter, so let’s dive right in.

Interesting Fiction Facts

I am tagging this weekly feature as interesting, but I suppose that is up to all of you to decide. Each week, I am going to share a little detail about my books. They will be like a little bit of a behind the scenes look at my ideas and such. This week, the focus is on Be Kind, Rewind, which is one of my non-horror novellas. Swans featured quite heavily in the marketing materials, as this one was very much a love story with darker elements. Swans mate forever, so they seemed like the perfect symbol. I also used Eleusis by Dead Can Dance for inspiration, particularly the chorus:

All I fondly know
Pales upon sails of your sweet gentle flow
How our love will grow
Crowned upon swans
Calling home

Nerve Damage by the Numbers

I am now 4 chapters into my serial novel, Nerve Damage. I am a little obsessed with numbers, so I love being able to take a deeper dive into the stats provided by Substack. My concern with a serial novel was that I would lose readers until I was the last man standing at the end. So far, though, things have remained quit steady after the expected drop off after Chapter 1. Here are how the views look as of today:

Chapter 1 - 283
Chapter 2 - 184
Chapter 3 - 197
Chapter 4 - 164

All things considered, I am quite pleased with the stats. I expected a drop after the opening chapter, as this is a story that is not going to be for everyone. The remaining chapters suggest that I have found a steady returning audience.

What I’m Working On

My goal is to deliver 3 flash fiction pieces ever week for subscribers in the New Year. I want to get ahead of the game, so I am writing and banking pieces that I can start sharing in 2026. I am using a strange little resource to help with ideas. There is a website that share what the “National Day of…” is for every day of the year. It really is helping me come up with some unexpected ideas.

What I’m Reading and Watching

I have 3 books on the go at the moment, the most notable of which is House of Leaves. I am about halfway through that one now, but it has taken me weeks to get there. I understand why so many people give up, but I am determined to soldier on and finish it.

In terms of movies and TV, my wife and I are anxiously awaiting the final few episodes of Stranger Things, which we will likely binge this weekend. I have also been watching Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which takes me back to my time as a kid when monster movies were my favorite.

Ask Me Anything

My chat is always open, but if you have specific questions you would like to see answered in this weekly newsletter, please do drop them in the comments. Thank you for reading, Merry Christmas, and I will see you all next Wednesday.

JW