Category: Announcements & Updates

Writing Rituals

March 19, 2026 / samanthahund / 0 Comments

I try to write something here every month, but this month I feel I’m scraping the bottom dregs for anything to say. I’ve started this blog a few times, but petered out as I realized it’s just a bunch of whinging with no real purpose. This could be general malaise on my part. In these last few months before the weather breaks for good, I usually try to travel and give myself a chance to refresh before summer.

Unfortunately that wasn’t possible this year, and I do think I’m a little worse for it. I have tremendous creative energy, but very few places to exercise it. My work on The Patron continues, though I’m currently deep in a scene that is giving me some trouble. This story seems to come in fits and bursts, and I think the fragmented nature of my time lately is to blame.

I prefer to write in a flow state- and that requires a significant investment of time. I prefer to write during the day, with ample time to stare into space. It’s best if I do not have to cook dinner, and can rely entirely on coffee, girl dinner, and occasionally, wine.

I think of how I spent two weeks away working on my early draft of The Last Dawn. I was house-sitting in South Carolina, completely left to my own devices with a stocked fridge, and no need to do anything except wake up, make coffee, write, eat some avocados, write until I couldn’t stay awake any longer, and sleep. Repeat.

The tremendous amount of focus I achieved in those two weeks was absurd. I took a meandering manuscript that had been doddering along for months, and in two weeks I had a completed 83k draft. I was writing 5k-8k a day in South Carolina, and being in such a flow state let me explore so much depth for my characters. I had the freedom to spend a day in abject misery and guilt over the death of a character I didn’t even think I liked. I was extremely invested.

I told myself I should make a ritual of this, a book a year, with a two-week hyper intense focus period where I can push a manuscript home. I feel now, I should have taken my own advice. But when you aren’t a career writer, taking two-weeks away from home and work to write is quite the luxury, and I won’t pretend it isn’t. I basically had to eat two weeks pay in order to take the time last year, a significant sacrifice for me- but worth it in so many ways at the time.

However, this year I hesitated when the opportunity arose. It’s been a hard year of querying The Last Dawn, and while I was willing to make the sacrifice for my first novel, I had a hard time justifying doing the same for The Patron. Especially now that I know how to avoid some of the time-consuming pitfalls I had writing my first novel.

Still, I think I underestimate the creative clarity it gave me. I also, sadly, would think very differently if I was currently preparing a book for submission with agent guidance. I think certain sacrifices are easier to make when you feel you are going somewhere definite. But maybe I’m just making excuses once again.

In my heart of hearts, I think finishing The Patron in Paris, staring out from a tiny balcony in Montmartre would be fitting. I feel somewhat disingenuous writing a novel set in a place I have never seen. Instead I take Google Map tours, and virtual tours of landmarks, I listen to French poetry, and watch performances of Giselle, but I know it’s still too far removed from what I wish to capture. At one point, writing a scene at the Palais Garnier, I became very depressed, realizing I may never get to feel the velvet on the balcony of a box seat.

In any case, I am forever a romantic, and I do think if the winds should change in my direction any time soon—a stipend for a retreat to Montmartre would be non-negotiable.

In writing updates; I am starting to shop around a couple short fiction pieces, one absurdist and one thriller which I’m hoping will find homes soon. I think my poetry and fiction that’s already accepted this year probably won’t appear until June/July.

Next month I’m attending the Writer’s Day Workshop locally and pitching live to one (or possibly two) agents and seeing how that goes. I am forever a nerd about publishing so I’m equally excited for the panels, especially since this is taking place post London Book Fair and AWP.

I’ve hit 20k on The Patron, and I’m starting to slot out longer chunks of time on the weekend to really get it drafted before summer. I was hopeful it might be done before April, but only because my expectations for myself are utterly unreasonable. In any case, Summer here tends to chew up all my time whether I want it to or not, so I’d like to be mostly done before that- and look at querying possibly around the end of summer/early fall.

A last thought that’s been buzzing in my brain lately is poetry readings. I know there are a couple here locally, so they might be something I try. I at least enjoy hearing other people’s work. Reading my own I’m unsure of. Still, I’m tempted enough to listen and see what’s out there.

With the faintest hint of exhaustion—SMH

Currently Reading:

Temeraire Series: His Majesty’s Dragon, Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

On paper, Napoleonic Wars + Dragons shouldn’t be my vibe. In reality, Naomi Novik can write ANYTHING and I will kiss her feet. I think something of the pre-teen book nerd in me fell in love immediately with this story. Growing up on Dragonriders of Pern, Dragon’s Milk, and a heavy dose of Diana Wynne Jones—I am somewhat the target audience. Also, since reading Dan Simmons’ (RIP) The Terror, I’ve developed a strong love for stories of the British Navy for some odd reason. Suffice to say, I devoured the first novel, I’m finishing the second, and I am beyond excited to know there are six more to go.

Also, on a very nerdy note, His Majesty’s Dragon being Novik’s debut is absolutely gutting. This is the standard. I am humbled.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

This is my bookclub’s current pick, and as usual I have not started reading it yet. Yes, I’m that bookclub member. However my TBR stack is getting somewhat easier to manage, so I’m sure I can finish this one in time.

Brimstone by Callie Hart

This one is interesting. I think, for the most part, I struggle with romantasy. However, I think Callie Hart gets a lot of things right here and overall it’s an enjoyable fun read that never gets too hopeless or frustrating. The overarching plot is compelling and driven. I think the thing I notice the most about her writing is how incredibly tightly paced it is. There is no downtime. It’s literally crisis after crisis. However, and it’s hard for me to turn off writer brain, there are many highly interesting side moments that I would’ve enjoyed a closer look at. All in all, it’s an addictive sequel that stands out in a genre that unfortunately I find most stories and characters blur together into an amorphous book-boyfriend shaped blob.

On Writing by Stephen King

I finally bought a new copy of this, after my original one that I purchased in highschool got damaged. It was the first piece of ‘writer advice’ I ever read, and yes it still holds up. I’ve always been partial to no-nonsense, common sense approaches and this will always have a place on my shelf.

The End

February 23, 2026 / samanthahund / 0 Comments

It smelled like mud today. Just the barest whisper on the breeze, the snow melting into soggy gray sludge on the streets outside. Hardly anything to celebrate, but for a moment—I had a hazy delusion, imagining warmer days ahead.

There will be many false starts and stops, and this is only the cruelest of teases, but I’ve learned to cling to each small drip of dopamine this time of year. We’ve had weeks of deep freeze and negative temperatures, so a balmy 20° F gives me joy.

Metaphors aside, I’ve also had the more than welcome warmth of writing news. In fact, I even find myself a bit suspicious of my good fortune. I’ve recently had an onslaught of positive responses to my writing, with acceptances in poetry, short fiction, and even more interest in my querying novel.

I think to a point, you become conditioned to a state of silence as a writer. However, it can make certain days feel incredibly surreal when your quiet work is recognized. I confess, I still find praise difficult to withstand. I have received such encouraging feedback from editors of late, and seeing my work connect with others is a wonderful gift. I am both extremely humbled and excited by these opportunities. Expect some publication news over the next few months, and I’ll update my Published Works section with the relevant links.

Let’s see, I’ve also lined up a few writing events for myself just to keep momentum going. I haven’t done a live pitch before so this should be an interesting learning experience. So far my elevator pitch of The Last Dawn has consisted of variations on; “This is a book about people who keep making bad choices. And it just gets worse.” Which is probably not a great way to stir interest. Mostly people ask me if there’s smut/spice. I still haven’t come up with a clever answer to that.

I’ll workshop something intriguing for my pitch sessions, or at least try. I tend to be polarizing in person, so this might be a struggle. I think there must be some extra awkwardness to having someone say ‘not for me’ directly to your face, but I didn’t endure years of live critique in college for nothing.

I also find myself thinking that the next few months will probably bring the end of my querying this project for now. Calling it on a project is always hard, but next month it will have been a year of querying. I have to be realistic about these things, and I do have a new novel that needs my attention. I refuse to think of it as failure, but more of a pragmatic pause.

I’m still proud of The Last Dawn, it’s exactly the book I wanted to write. If I’ve hamstrung myself by going too risky with it—that was my choice and I stand by it. I could have played it safer, and maybe that would have been the smarter call, but I chose not to. Willfully. Stubbornly. And if that isn’t my writing style in a nutshell, I don’t know what is.

I’m not throwing in the towel yet, there are still live opportunities for The Last Dawn, but I’m too restless to keep all my eggs in one basket. I’d like to keep on track of completing one novel per year, and work on The Patron progresses. I’m very excited to see what kind of response this one gets; and it’s definitely more literary (can you be literary and low-brow? we’ll find out!), more gothic, and more millennial-humor coded than my other work so far. It’s refreshing to step outside the fantasy space a bit and write something a bit snappier, a bit more present, and overall less lofty.

A fitting end to this blog would be to reminisce slightly on endings in general. I finished reading three books from my TBR stack this last week and I was summarily engulfed by the strange grief that follows finishing a book you connected with.

The Vampire Tapestry, by Suzy McKee Charnas left me quite bereft. There is a beautiful meditative, probing sort of philosophy that is threaded throughout the story that I think is so rare in modern publishing. I think it might be our collective attention span as readers has waned, so much that novels structured in this way get lost, but I devoured it. I found Weyland captivating, and the various characters that reflect him to be incredibly human, and impossibly empathetic. As I finished the last page I was hit with that old, wonderful feeling—a mixture of satisfaction, loss, and awe.

This is the power of a story, one that truly lasts. The ending matters. As a reader, you have trusted the author. You have allowed them to take you on a journey. When they leave you at the end, what remains?

Give me something to keep thinking about, because that is what will linger with me long after we’ve parted ways. That is what will make me eager to pick up a book and start all over again.

Keep me thinking, keep me wondering, keep me dreaming.

Wistfully—SMH

This is My Body: a horror story

September 6, 2025 / samanthahund / 0 Comments

As a kid, I never had a moment where I thought God was listening. The concept seemed flawed straight away, and my little six-year-old brain was ready to poke holes.

I had a hard time with the fact that people seriously believed in some Invisible Old Man in the clouds, presumably bearded, who just spys on people all day and guilts them if they don’t abide by his rules.

If I were God, I’d certainly find something more entertaining to do.

Still, I was mystified by the lengths people would go for this Invisible Old Man. The devotion, the fear, the righteous anger. The strange division between the various subsets of churches who all, apparently, thought they were the only ones really getting it right.

Catholicism especially fascinated me. There were so many rules! Strange clothes! Songs I didn’t know the words to! Every time I had to attend a first communion or a funeral mass, I felt like I was observing the most mysterious ritual.

People go into a cupboard, and confess their secrets to a stranger. People eat stale crackers and call it a blessing. Of course, as an unbaptized child I was a stranger in a foreign land.

Myself, I didn’t pray, I wished on stars. I plucked petals, and broke twigs. I made promises to trees and dirt and called it magic. I just couldn’t comprehend trying to strangle the concept of ‘God’ into a single entity.

I prefer the vast unknowable universe.

It makes me feel insignificant enough.

But I digress.

Just yesterday, This is My Body was published by the wonderful folks at ExPat Press.

You can read the full story here: This is My Body

Every time someone says something kind about this story, I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s a hard thing to be proud of, knowing how some people feel about the subject matter. I suppose I expect the response to be angry, and when it isn’t, I’m a bit lost.

Though I didn’t write this to be controversial. Spoiler alert; the story isn’t about Catholicism, or even God, really.

If you want to know how this story came about you can check out my previous post about it here: My Byronic Horror Weekend

One last fun update, I have decided to attend StokerCon 2026 – though I have no idea what to expect. Now that I’ve published my first horror story, I can at least enjoy being among my fellow HWA members without feeling like a total fraud. I’m excited to meet all the wonderful horror folks!

From somewhere in querying limbo–SMH

a face full of flowers: poetry chapbook release

July 6, 2025 / samanthahund / 0 Comments

Poetry was my first love.

Poetry to me was dream speak. Where you have the freedom to say what you are thinking, without the burden of explanation. Where a dream could become a memory could become a poem could become a spell. You could haunt people with words. The ghost of a moment lingering long past the reality.

I fell in love with that blurry vision at a young age, and found there the truth I so longed for. I read Plath and felt like I was home. I devoured Sexton, Snodgrass, Whitman, Dickinson, Poe, Shelley, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Sappho like they all had something to teach me about the strangeness of being alive.

So, despite the disapproving looks my childhood English teachers lavished on me during our ‘creative writing’ lessons— I have always written poetry. Terrible teenage confessionals, petty depressives, half-remembered nostalgia.

Poetry must be bad, at first.

So must everything, if I’m being honest. If you mean to be good at anything you must first be terrible, accept that you are terrible, and keep going anyway.

Yes, my early poetry was bad. But it was honest. And if I didn’t learn how to be honest through those trite confessionals first, I wouldn’t have written a face full of flowers.

I am equal parts horrified and proud to announce that Bottlecap Press has published my debut poetry chapbook, a face full of flowers, which spans poems from the past ten years.

I’ve included 19 poems, under the themes of ROOTS, FEVER, and BLOOD, which explore motifs of detachment, manic obsession, and renewal of spirit. These poems are my tiny offerings, fragments of truth. The dregs of a dream you just woke up from.

This is my first work to be published in print, and it brings me so much joy that these poems are made tangible by sacred ink and paper. I’ve been criticized for my romanticism, but I will forever support the flesh and blood / paper and ink of printed books.

As a final note: to claim oneself as a poet in the current state of society feels anachronistic at best, and like the butt of someone’s starving artist joke at worst. But I think even with the current state of the world, despite it even, we owe it to ourselves to pursue art.

We deserve a world with poetry, both great and terrible, and I’m very lucky to be able to make my own small contribution.

Oh, What a world—SMH

a face full of flowers

This 36-page collection features 19 poems that explore grief, inheritance, myth, and the uncomfortable beauty of decay. Fusing confessional voice with surreal imagery, a face full of flowers maps emotional wreckage with a sharp, intimate edge.

Bottlecap Press, based in Los Angeles, is known for championing bold new voices in contemporary poetry. Hund joins a growing roster of emerging authors whose work is reshaping the boundaries of small press literature.

The chapbook is available for purchase online in both print and digital formats.

The Horrors Persist

May 14, 2025 / samanthahund / 0 Comments

Hello. Welcome to my dark corner of the internet. It smells like deadjournal in here. If you don’t understand that reference maybe find somewhere else to haunt. I’m still writing, and there is so much happening around me I’ve struggled to keep up.

It’s unseasonably hot at the moment, but I’m not sure if it’s just summer getting started or the dumpster fire in my head that’s keeping me warm. I’ll get to that in a moment; first— updates.

Post NYC Midnight (Summer 2024)

I started reworking my short story The Crossing, from the first round of the contest into an entirely different animal. It’s not that I didn’t love what I wrote, it’s just that I’ve always loved villains more— and that’s where The Last Dawn began.

Submitting Short stories and Poetry for small publications (Fall 2024)

I also decided to share some of my short stories; Something Like Love, and The Farm with some small publishers to see if I could get a bite. Spoiler Alert: a year later I’m a published poet in Crowstep Journal, so let’s check that off my starving artist bingo card.

Drafting The Last Dawn (Spring 2024-Spring 2025)

Looking back now, I have to say this all feels like it happened in a bit of a fugue state. I drafted half the novel lightning fast (to about 40k) before starting over and getting the color coded post-it notes out. I have pictures. It was pure madness. Then I was halfway through the next draft before I finally got two weeks to myself to finish it.

It was a lovely, insane two weeks in South Carolina, with no humans to bother me, only a small dog and plenty of girl dinner. Eat, sleep, write, repeat. A tornado happened, but I hardly noticed. Also I discovered how to write 5k a day consistently, and I honestly can’t recommend Rachel Aaron’s 2,000 to 10,000 enough for those struggling to boost their writing speed.

When I returned home to frigid NY once more, I had a finished first draft in hand, and I was absolutely delighted with myself. I thought maybe I’d earned a moment to take a break, and bask in the glory.

Then I remembered that I’m a monster, and dove straight into my brutal revisions. Let it be known— I do not have any qualms about strangling my darlings. I was almost horrified to discover that my ‘cuts’ folder was growing exponentially as I revised. At one point there were over 40k words in the cut folder, and the manuscript was barely more than 70k long.

But I stuck to my plan, make this story sharp as heck. So I committed. I rewrote so much. I tore out the spine of the main plot because I realized it was comically complicated. I thought my revisions would take two to three months. Imagine my shock when I realized— two weeks later, it was ready for betas. I had done it.

Now, hold on. I know what you might be thinking; you could not of possibly revised properly that quickly. That’s a fair assessment. But remember, I did not hesitate to rip my beloved child of a manuscript wide open with a box cutter. I prodded at it, poked at it, watched it squirm, and got back to work. I’m just unreasonable like that.

So- by March of 2025 I had the first beta-edition of The Last Dawn ready. I had already made up my mind to start querying agents in June if all went well. Then everything went… fast. I was querying by late March, and seeing interest by May.

Trust me, this makes it all sound simpler than it is. I’m intentionally leaving out my multiple imposter syndrome spirals, feral meltdowns, fear of handing other humans my trauma-ridden manuscript and—gasp!— letting them read it.

I’m also saving you the obsessive play-by-play of my querying journey so far; suffice to say, I’ve gotten too many “almosts” for my liking— and I’m still in the trenches.

The horrors persist, but so do I.

I should also add, I’ve been feeding my brain as many books as it can handle. I’m currently reading:

The Last Argument of Kings – Joe Abercrombie

I may name my next cats Glokta and Jezal. Really.

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Sinking into this like a well worn sweater in the autumn.

To Be Devoured – Sara Tantlinger

The reviews were promising. I love a book that horrifies people, but my standards are high.

Les Fleurs du Mal – Baudelaire

I am both reading this and listening to a man with a lovely voice read it in French. I highly recommend both. And a bubble bath.

Farewell for now, theres a manuscript that needs gutted—SMH