March, From the Boiler
March Announcements and February Recap from Kindling
Good morning, and welcome to Kindling!
If you’re new here, you’ve made it just in time for my first ever monthly announcements and recap newsletter, From the Boiler. I thought this would be helpful for all of you who want to participate in the book club during March, see what you missed in February, and get a read on all the good fiction brewing for March.
February
The month God never should have made has nevertheless delivered up some winter morsels on Kindling.
We started the month off with a bang in Sleep Tight, with the finale of a short story serial called, “The Tube,” a strange dark tale that follows a young protagonist, David, and a life-altering encounter with his neighbor, Jamie Lewis. Jamie’s dad is an inventor, with a television that gets channels David has never seen. But when he breaks it, and the glass gets inside his hands, he starts to see and hear things, things which haven’t happened yet.
We read two short stories in The Barrens from Stephen King’s first short story collection, Nightshift, “Quitters Inc.” and “I Know What You Need.”
And last but not least, Kindling got a makeover, and to go with it, a new lease on this newsletter.
Kindling’s New Look
The ever so talented artist and writer of local Substack fame,
designed this beautifully disturbing new logo. He works with writers creating book covers, illustrations. You name it, he can draw it. Hit him up if you’re looking for custom art.We Interrupt This Newsletter...
Good morning! If you’re new here, welcome. I’m glad you decided to stop by. If this is your first newsletter, the following might help bring clarity on where this whole journey is going. If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know I’ve done this a couple of times.
The Barrens
We tackled two of King’s short stories from Nightshift. If you’d like to join in, read and comment via the links below.
Skeletons in the Closet
**For the first time, I have a voiceover of this post, followed by an off the cuff, riff on this story. I hope you enjoy! Note: I could not for the life of me pronounce Necronomicon…even after looking up how to pronounce it. Enjoy my stuttering through it halfway through my reading ;)
Aversion Therapy
Good morning! Welcome back to The Barrens, a Stephen King book club. Currently we are making our way through Night Shift, King’s first collection of short stories. If you’d like to jump in, grab a copy and read “I Know What You Need” for next week. Today’s story is “Quitters, Inc.” the only previously unpublished story in this collection. It hits on a cou…
Sleep Tight
The finale for “The Tube” dropped at the very beginning of the month.
RED CARD
Good morning. If you’re new here, welcome! This is Sleep Tight, the section of Kindling where I publish original short fiction. If you’re just joining in, this is the third installment of a short story called, “The Tube.” To start at the beginning, click
March
The Barrens
This month we are closing
March 4th - “Children of the Corn”
I’ll be watching two of the movies based off of this short story, the one from 1984 (free on Amazon Prime), and the 2023 remake (3.99 to rent).
March 11 - “The Last Rung on the Ladder”
March 18 - “The Man Who Loved Flowers”
March 25 - “One For the Road”
Sleep Tight
Are you afraid when the lights go out?
This Spring, Kindling’s first ever short story collection, Lights Out is coming to an inbox near you. Inspired by folk horror and mythology, this collection of short stories will explore the unknown, the consequences of touching the forbidden, and the mysteries that lurk in the dark, unexplored places of the world.
Inspired by my early exposure to horror, dark sci-fi and dark fantasy through anthologies and collections such as, Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, The Illustrated Man, The Twilight Zone, and Tales From the Crypt. Each week a new fear unlocked.
(That beautiful header was designed by another fiction writer and artist on Substack,, aka M.E. Beckley. Contact her if you’re looking for something to set your newsletter apart.)
I hope to see you all here in the nooks and crannies of the Kindling community. So much to look forward to in the coming season. If you need me I’ll be in the boiler.
Happy Reading!
Children of the Corn scared the heck out of me as a kid. "Outlander! We have your woman, she still lives!"
Looking forward to what is planned this year