Hello readers and writers of fiction on Substack!
I’m Niccolò, author of Adventure Story, and I’m very excited to present to you the second ever SOTB newsletter blast containing ten selected works of fiction. Whether you’re a reader looking to discover new stories or a writer looking to amplify community and audience, this is the place for you.
Before we get into this month’s selections I want to highlight two writers without whom assembling this month’s newsletter would not have been possible:
and . Big thank you to both of you for your help reviewing submissions - we received 66 (ominous number I know, but also so high that I barely advertised past the first call) and it would have been too much for me to give each piece the attention it deserved without some help. If you’d like to get involved in SOTB as an editor or in some other capacity send me a message! We can use all the help we can get especially with how fast this is taking off.I want to highlight Keyon and Ben’s writing here before we get into the rest of this month’s selections. If you haven’t already please go check them out, you won’t regret it. I didn’t trust these two to help me curate this list for nothing. I present to you Chapter 1 of Zagros by Keyon Hejazi and the complete Four Orders Series by Ben Sherrard:
Now that you’ve liked and shared the above pieces (hint, hint) and are warmed up, let’s dive into this month’s selections. This month there were so many good candidates that we’re going to blast twice - once now and once at mid-month with ten more - so if you’re not featured today don’t despair, there will be another chance in a couple weeks.
As always, please show today’s featured writers some love by re-stacking, liking, and commenting. Please go through the motions even if you don’t have time to read each one - it doesn’t make you disingenuous to do that. This is the path to audience building and community synergy, and it’s how we’re going to take back the fiction explore page and bring more eyeballs to fiction (in an an uplifting, metaphorical way, not a gruesome, literal one). And don’t forget to share this post so more people can join the community and participate in this initiative!
Without further ado, let’s get into today’s list, in no particular order:
Destination Europa |
Destination Europa is a psychological sci-fi thriller set aboard the colony ship Leifr, bound for Jupiter's ice moon. As they near the end of the journey, tensions are rising and strange things are beginning to happen. Habitat engineer Quill has to navigate the fraught relationship between different factions on board, as well as his own hidden mission — and his own broken heart. Can he find the answers he needs, and will the Leifr arrive at its destination?
The Time Witch |
The Time Witch is serialized paranormal cozy mystery about a young witch who can control time, but the magic was purposely hidden from her because it only brings death and destruction.
The Triple World |
Follow Daphne, a memory dealer as she navigates the dark underbelly and the equally dark upper class society of the city of Skyreen.
Don’t Ask Why |
An afternoon outing leads to tragedy--but was it truly an accident?
A Drink in Toulon |
Witty young thief tries to go legit, only to find himself in the middle of a battle of Drinkers high on the magical Essence.
Cherrytown |
This is the first chapter of a historical-fantasy serial-in-progress titled Cherrytown. It's set in an alternate American Revolution filled with demons, magic, fae, werewolves and vampires (so far). The story at large follows Samuel Burtwhistle, former monster hunter and raging alcoholic, trying to save his nephew after his soul, along with the souls of an entire town, are sucked into an ancient demonic book.
The World Outside |
Joanna has endured more losses by the time she graduates high school than anyone deserves, but she's always had her friend-turned-love Erik to see her through. Now, as an adult, she is struggling to integrate her love for Erik and her small-town upbringing with her growing passion for theater, art, and urban life? The World Outside is part love story, part coming of age, part women's fiction and explores what makes a person, or a place, home.
Blackfell Tarn |
A man hikes alone in the mountains of northern England, but finds himself haunted by ghosts of his past. The lines of reality are blurred as he faces his inner demons while racing to escape the spirit that has stalked him through the hills.
Just Like a Movie |
Falling in love with Spanish superstar Emilio Caliente is not on the agenda for freshly divorced Gemma when she flies to Ibiza seeking the bohemian, creative lifestyle she's always craved. Common sense suggests staying away from gorgeous Emilio and his cinnamon kisses: his life is in turmoil, his latest single has bombed, his record label is furious with him, and his manager has lost the plot. He's also quite a bit younger.... No, her confidence doesn't need any more knocks, thank you very much. Then why is fate having a field day?
Rapunzel’s Little Sister |
A post-modern look at the tale of Rapunzel, with a forgetful fairy-godmother and hip hop bunnies.
Many thinks as always to everyone who submitted for this round! Keep your eyes open for Part 2 in a couple weeks featuring 10 more pieces, and in the meantime please share this post so we can get more eyeballs on our featured writers above. Leave a comment and let us know which was your favorite! Like, share, print them out and tie them to a carrier pigeon, put a message in a bottle, translate them into Morse Code and beam them up into space, anything you have to do to get the word out so we can carve out a bigger spot for fiction on Substack!
Now for one more shoutout and and a bit of housekeeping before we wrap this up:
I want to thank
(featured above as well) for purchasing a paid subscription to SOTB. There will never be any sort of paywall on this publication (except for maybe chat and comments eventually, because it seems like that’s where the trolls like to hang out) but donations are always welcome. It takes a long time to assemble these lists and write these posts and anyone who feels like contributing a paid subscription will be very much appreciated!I also want to make a quick note about the submission process. I noticed this time around there were several people submitting their work in the comments instead of via the link provided in the post. Please read the instructions for future submissions or I may miss you! Also, please make sure your work is well edited and free of glaring typos or grammar mistakes. I would say 30% of the submissions coming through right now are still first-draft material in terms of quality - and that’s not a bad thing, but it is something we need to go back over before submitting to a showcase. If in the first paragraph there are clear typos or things that don’t make sense, it’s hard to continue reading. I’m not sure how to say that without sounding harsh, but as writers we need to have thick skin and I think it bears repeating that some amount of internal quality control has to happen before submitting work. At some point, I’d like to open up an option to provide feedback and editing for submissions that don’t make the cut - but that’s a ways away and something I probably can’t take on all by myself at this time (see: getting involved). We also have a guidelines post that you can check out if you have FAQs (Frequently Anal Questions) here:
That’s a wrap on June Fiction Blast Part 1. Hope you enjoy these stories, I know I did! More coming at the halfway mark of the month.
Leave a comment and let us know which was your favorite! And feel free to use this as a chance to link to your own work as well (this works better if you also comment on others’).
Until next time…
Some amazing pieces this round! Really enjoyed reading these. Love this fiction community!
Thank you for including me in this round, and thank you Niccolò, Keyon and Ben for all your hard work in putting this together!!! Really looking forward to reading some of the other stories here! 🤩