Writing Dark Fiction with Amanda Cecelia Lang

Plus 5 Open Horror (ish) Calls That Pay, No Fee!

Amanda Cecelia Lang is one of the first writers I connected with when I began my journey on the road of short story horror writing. She was a guest author on my podcast, Read Me A Nightmare, where she shared her gothic thriller flash piece, The Woman in the Churchyard.

Her new collection of short stories called The Library of Broken Girls launches today!

Check it out here.

She’s sold stories to The Deadlands, Cast of Wonders, Uncharted, Ghoulish Tales, Dark Matter, The Dread Machine, Flame Tree, No Sleep Podcast and a few other venues I’ve yet to crack.

We’ve shared TOCs in a few anthologies like Tales of Superstition and Doom and It Was All A Dream 2.

Amanda is an author and aspiring monster-slayer from Denver, Colorado. She writes weird novels and short fiction, tales of horror laced with whimsy, magic, and mayhem. When she isn’t plotting her next imaginary murder, she sleeps all day and plays all night—but probably isn’t a vampire since she thinks hickeys are seriously gross. You can learn more about her at

https://www.amandacecelialang.com

AF: Tell us about your inspiration for your latest book of short stories.

ACL: Women standing in their power!

My writing often leans toward one of two themes. It’s either a nerdy love letter to horror movies (see my debut collection Saturday Fright at the Movies: 13 Tales from the Multiplex)—or a celebration of underdogs who fight their oppressors in magical, unexpected ways.

In The Library of Broken Girls, I wanted to highlight stories starring my favorite badass heroines—the characters that, as I was writing them, made my inner feminist feel empowered and electric and alive. My fairytale rebels, my everyday ghosts and witches, my final girls. At the core, their stories are all about surviving their respective monsters. But I wanted this collection to show how survival can manifest across a spectrum of experiences. Sometimes survival is riotous and bloody, sometimes it’s private and introspective and transformative, often it’s a sisterhood of everything in between.

March is Women in Horror Month, and March 8^th was International Women’s Day—reminders that women’s voices are raging and beautiful and deserve to be amplified. I chose this month for my release, not only because I’m proud of these stories, but because I stand in awe of so many amazing women (looking at you Shirley Jackson, Margaret Atwood, Anne Rice, Mary Shelley, Gwendolyn Kiste, Gemma Amor, Diablo Cody, Nova Ren Suma, Gillian Flynn, L.J. Smith, Kate Pentecost, Judy Bloom, Ai Jiang, Angela Sylvaine, Drew Huff, Angelique Fawns… the names echo on and on…).

AF: You’ve written your first novelette After the Solstice, can you talk about the process of how you managed to tackle longer fiction after years of short?

ACL: Writing longer fiction is actually sometimes easier for me. I love adding quirky details and cinematic texture to my stories, but that inevitably means more words. These days, so many open calls restrict word count to 6K, with current trends sneaking well below the 4K mark. Usually, my editing process involves cutting between 1K and 2K words from my first drafts.

Many of those words deserve their merciless deaths. But there are some darlings I’ve had to murder in the name of word count alone, and those still sting.

After the Solstice (coming later this year) is a sci-fi romance that follows a meet-cute mystery across ten consecutive summers. The longer word count gave me the freedom to fully explore my heroine’s close encounters with a sizzling stranger and the world-changing secrets he reveals—so I’m definitely not complaining.

In a perfect world, every open call would consider novelettes. But alas.

AF: Tell us about your career path and plans for the future?

ACL: When I first started submitting short stories, my goal was to see everything I publish appear in both print and audio. I adore old ‘40s and ‘50s radio shows like Suspense and Inner Sanctum, and fiction podcasts are the next best thing. So yeah, audio is still a running goal. So far, a third of the stories I’ve published have appeared on podcasts or as audiobooks. This year, I plan to do a big audio push for my reprints.

I’m currently finishing up my third short story collection, For Those Who Stay Buried: 13 Tales of Misfits and Monster-Slayers, and hope to find a home for it soon. I’ve also got seventeen brand-new short stories currently out on submission, everything from magical cannibalism to near-future dystopias. Plus, an additional thirteen WIPs—my favorite being a little ditty I’m calling “The Big Sister’s Guide to Trick-or-Treating After the Apocalypse.”

Right now, short stories feel like my happy place. There’s the instant gratification of completing projects way faster than long-form novels. I also love the sense of collaboration that comes with anthologies and magazines. Not to mention, promoting my work feels infinitely less intimidating when I know I’m sharing the pages with a community of amazing authors.

All that to say, I won’t stop writing short fiction any time soon. Of course, I do still have two novels in the works—Freak Week, a YA horror, and Voices on the Wind, a YA supernatural romance.

And last but totally not least, given my undying love of movies, this year, I’ve also started dabbling in screenplays, with the ultimate dream goal being to see my stories appear on a big screen. Eek.

AF: Do you have any advice for other short story writers hoping to mirror your success? And can you define what success means to you?

ACL: As a writer writing, always stay true to your voice and your message.

Use your stories to say something that’s vital for you. Don’t let yourself be censored by the editors/readers/people in your life who might not understand your vision. No author has ever pleased all the readers all the time.

But this world is a big place, and there is ALWAYS someone out there who will connect with your unique perspective.

As a writer submitting, expect a roller coaster—and stay on the ride!!

I find it helpful when other authors share their publishing wins and fails, so here are my stats. Yes, I’ve had some exciting acceptances. The Deadlands, Cast of Wonders, and Ghoulish Tales all felt surreal when they appeared in my in-box. My most successful acceptance (as far as the submission game goes) was picked from a slush pile of 1,500 other stories—after first being held and rejected by a dozen other publishers, three of which were dream markets I have yet to crack.

According to the Submission Grinder, over five years, I’ve made 902 submissions, received 656 rejections and 73 acceptances. (With 45 withdrawals, and a whopping 90 dead letters). I currently have 38 active submissions, and if the balance of the universe and my previous stats hold true, perhaps three of those will pan out as acceptances.

In the end, I’m proud to report that I’ve also received a handful of fan letters. And honestly, more than any acceptance, knowing my stories have actually spoken to readers somewhere in the great beyond makes this whole wild publishing journey worthwhile. For me, that’s the best kind of success.

AF: What role does dark fiction play in our society, and why do you write it?

ACL: I’ve always found dark fiction to be weirdly comforting. No matter what I’m going through in my real life, those wonderful, hideous, twisted, gorgeous tales remind me I’m not alone. I think dark fiction serves as both a societal mirror and a refuge, reflecting our deepest fears and struggles while offering a cathartic escape from them. Dark fiction gives us a safe space to examine personal trauma, societal injustice, or just good old-fashioned existential dread. As a kid cutting my teeth on horror, the strange monsters and scary gimmicks drew me in, but it was always the heroes—the final girls, the dream warriors, the survivors—who keep me coming back for more. It sounds a little cheesy, but horror movies and books helped me discover a strength of my own, and inspired me to stay brave in the face of real-life struggles.

I write dark fiction because, more than anything, I hope my own weird twisted stories might be a refuge for others who are feeling lost or broken or alone.

AF: Do you attend cons, and what is your opinion on them? (And are you going to any in the future?)

ACL: The last couple years, I’ve attended the Colorado Festival of Horror, but beyond that, my con attendance has been woefully lackluster. I do have several author friends who absolutely thrive at cons, sitting on panels and doing book signings, not to mention all the networking. Those are the social butterflies. As a socially awkward introvert, getting myself to cons has proven to be my Achilles heel. Every year, I swear this is the year I’m going to break out of my shell and attend the big ones. And every year, life finds a clever way to derail my best laid plans.

Inspired by Amanda to do some submitting? Here are some extra calls I’ve found since my last list.

Cursed Morsels

Horror - Different themes - Open till March 21st - 500 words max - 10c a word - sim subs fine - My Insights - NONE - I’ve never sold to this press, but this would be fun to try. Short, scary, and sweet, right?

TROLLBREATH

SPEC Fiction - April 1 -30th - 4c a word original - 1/2 c a word for reprints - 1500-7500 words, sweet spot 4000-5000 - Trollbreath Magazine is a journal of speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, publishing electronic issues on a quarterly schedule. Our interests are as varied as the endless amount of genres, from dark fantasy to hope punk to surrealism, and everything in between. -We have a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms, but what motivates us most are great stories by wonderful authors eager to share their visions of the past, the future, the in between, and everything that lies outside the margins. Coloring beyond the lines encouraged. My Insights -Looking at their art, I am getting a dark, magical vibe.

Submit here

COHENSION PRESS

Snafu: Contagion - fantasy, horror, sci-fi - open till March 31 - 2,500-7,500 words, no reprints - pay 5c Australian - SNAFU: Contagion, featuring action-filled tales of viral, fungal and bacterial horror.

**I just saw Jonathan Maberry is writing a story for this anthology, which moves it to the top of my list!!)

Whether it be giant brutish mutations, fungal infections gone wrong, or experimental nightmarish creatures made with super soldier experiments, it always ends with people fighting to survive the horrible, seeping creations that result from contagion and infection.

​Combine The Last of Us with Resident Evil, throw in some 28 Days Later and see what comes out of the mix!

I like the idea of this and have several stories in this vein, but none of them are long enough. If I find some extra time, I might expand one.

Learn more

Flametree

Newsletter Flash Contest - Theme Hare’s Gambit (fantasy genre)- open till March 16th - 8c a word - 1000 word story - email to Flash2024@flametreepublishing.com - My Insights - I feel like literally all of my writing friends have sold here. Except me. Lol. FOMO anyone?

UNCANNY

Spec - open for FLASH March 24-28 - 750 -1500 words - 10c a word - Uncanny Magazine is seeking passionate, diverse SF/F fiction and poetry from writers from every conceivable background. We want intricate, experimental stories and poems with gorgeous prose, verve, and imagination that elicit strong emotions and challenge beliefs. Uncanny believes there’s still plenty of room in the genre for tales that make you feel. - My Insights - this is a BIG market with high regard in the industry. I’ve never cracked it.

Learn more