I enjoyed writing every story in Dreadful Delights, but like all creators, I have my favorites. Some of these tales spent years marinating in the darker corners of my imagination, while others were born fresh for this collection.

Let’s dive into the three that stood out the most to me:

Hand in Hand

This one makes the cut because of the history behind it. Hand in Hand was one of the very first story concepts I ever came up with—long before Shotgun Grandma.

Originally, the working title was “Katherine’s Secret,” named after a metal song I was listening to when the idea struck (Tasters – Katherine’s Got a Secret — great track 😉). The early premise revolved around an animalistic vampire, long buried underground, who’s awakened by fracking (a classic nature vs. man trope). He hides in an old house and forges an unnatural bond with a young girl—a sinister master/thrall dynamic—before terrorizing her family. I had the ending in mind years before I ever sat down to write it.

When it came time to include it in Dreadful Delights, I stripped the concept down to its horrific essence to fit the short story format. And really… what’s a monster collection without a vampire? This was my oldest vampire idea, and I was intimidated to tackle it at first—but I ended up loving how it turned out.

What did you think?

The Mourner

Another idea that had been haunting me for a while, The Mourner was my original attempt at writing an unreliable narrator. I’ve always loved those kinds of stories, but I’d never written in first person before, so I hesitated… until I couldn’t anymore.

The result is one of the strangest stories in the collection. I wanted readers to constantly question the narrator’s intentions toward the mysterious woman in black—and to step into the fractured psyche of a psychopath. Of course, like any good unreliable narrator tale, it needed a rewarding twist ending.

I think it turned out particularly diabolical. How about you?

The Muse

Unlike the other two, this story was written specifically for Dreadful Delights. I already had plenty of familiar monsters in the mix, so I wanted something different—something ancient and eldritch.

Then the idea struck: a muse.

When I started crafting this one, I dug deep into the creative corners of my own mind, wondering what piece of myself I could drop into the story. And just like the muse herself, I drew inspiration from the artist—literally. I decided to make the protagonist a writer, a trope that can feel overplayed, but I leaned into it and had a blast writing from that headspace.

For the “monster,” I tipped my hat to H.P. Lovecraft by drawing from his particular brand of cosmic horror. I loved how she turned out, and I hope I did the old master proud.

As a bonus, I hid a fun easter egg: a commercial for the fictional antidepressant Luminhale—a callback to my free short story Side Effects May Include. I got such a kick out of it that, even when someone suggested I cut the scene, I refused. That was one darling I couldn’t kill.

Those were my favorite stories from Dreadful Delights. What about you? Which tales kept you up at night?

As always—happy reading!