Deborah Sheldon's Blog, page 2
May 24, 2025
Forthcoming re-release of my novella REDHEAD TOWN
My novella Redhead Town was published in March 2024, shortly before its publisher closed down. Last month, Redhead Town was named as a finalist in the "Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction" presented by the Australasian Shadows Awards. So, award-nominated but out of print! A tough spot for an author.
This has been in the pipeline for months, and now the contract is signed! Twisted Dreams Press will relaunch Redhead Town in the next few weeks. I'm thrilled that my novella has a second chance at finding its readers!
For more information about Redhead Town: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
This has been in the pipeline for months, and now the contract is signed! Twisted Dreams Press will relaunch Redhead Town in the next few weeks. I'm thrilled that my novella has a second chance at finding its readers!
For more information about Redhead Town: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
May 11, 2025
SPAWN 2 story wins an Aurealis Award!
Congratulations Ben Matthews!
His story “Flesh of My Flesh”, published in my anthology Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies (IFWG Publishing), won the Aurealis Award for “Best Horror Short Story”!
Here's a link to Ben's website:https://bjcmatthews.wixsite.com/ben-m...
For more information about Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
His story “Flesh of My Flesh”, published in my anthology Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies (IFWG Publishing), won the Aurealis Award for “Best Horror Short Story”!
Here's a link to Ben's website:https://bjcmatthews.wixsite.com/ben-m...
For more information about Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
April 30, 2025
REDHEAD TOWN is a finalist in the Australasian Shadows Awards!
My novella Redhead Town is a finalist for the "Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction" presented by the 2024 Australasian Shadows Awards!
Here's a link to the full list of Australasian Shadows Award finalists: https://australasianhorror.com/austra...
The back-cover blurb for Redhead Town:
“LIFE IS BLOODY GOOD”
In Australia, vampires are a protected class.
Twenty-two towns are picked to siphon vampires, aka ‘redheads’, out of capital and regional cities. When polled, most Australians agree with this strategy. But most Australians don’t live in a ‘designated area’. Don’t have to step over drowsing redheads during the day. Or live in terror of marauding redheads during the night.
Mark Murphy is a nightshift worker in the designated area of Oleg’s Creek. His house is now worth nothing, and he can’t afford to leave. He’s heard rumours of The Refusal. Desperate, will he risk a grab at freedom?
Written by award-winning author Deborah Sheldon, Redhead Town is a dark tale of government overreach, societal breakdown, and one man’s love for his wife and son.
For more information about Redhead Town: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
Here's a link to the full list of Australasian Shadows Award finalists: https://australasianhorror.com/austra...
The back-cover blurb for Redhead Town:
“LIFE IS BLOODY GOOD”
In Australia, vampires are a protected class.
Twenty-two towns are picked to siphon vampires, aka ‘redheads’, out of capital and regional cities. When polled, most Australians agree with this strategy. But most Australians don’t live in a ‘designated area’. Don’t have to step over drowsing redheads during the day. Or live in terror of marauding redheads during the night.
Mark Murphy is a nightshift worker in the designated area of Oleg’s Creek. His house is now worth nothing, and he can’t afford to leave. He’s heard rumours of The Refusal. Desperate, will he risk a grab at freedom?
Written by award-winning author Deborah Sheldon, Redhead Town is a dark tale of government overreach, societal breakdown, and one man’s love for his wife and son.
For more information about Redhead Town: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
My poem is a finalist in the Australasian Shadows Awards!
My triplet "Galérien" is a finalist in the Poetry category of the 2024 Australasian Shadows Awards!
"Galérien" was first published in Illumen Magazine Summer 2024, and is included in my newly released collection The Broonie and Other Dark Poems (Hiraeth Publishing).
Here's a link to the full list of Australasian Shadows Award finalists: https://australasianhorror.com/austra...
For more information about The Broonie and Other Dark Poems: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
"Galérien" was first published in Illumen Magazine Summer 2024, and is included in my newly released collection The Broonie and Other Dark Poems (Hiraeth Publishing).
Here's a link to the full list of Australasian Shadows Award finalists: https://australasianhorror.com/austra...
For more information about The Broonie and Other Dark Poems: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
SPAWN 2 stories shortlisted for Australasian Shadows Awards!
The anthology I conceived and edited, Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, was released last year by IFWG Publishing. Now two of the wonderful stories are finalists in the 2024 Australasian Shadows Awards!
“We Have Children Now” by Anthony O'Connor, and “Envelopes” by Matt Tighe are nominated in the Short Fiction category.
Congratulations to Anthony and Matt!
Here's a link to the full list of Australasian Shadows Award finalists: https://australasianhorror.com/austra...
For more information about Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
“We Have Children Now” by Anthony O'Connor, and “Envelopes” by Matt Tighe are nominated in the Short Fiction category.
Congratulations to Anthony and Matt!
Here's a link to the full list of Australasian Shadows Award finalists: https://australasianhorror.com/austra...
For more information about Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
April 22, 2025
Horror Tree reviews my novel BODILY HARM
Horror Tree posts a terrific review of my crime-horror novel Bodily Harm (Undertaker Books, 2024). In part, reviewer Stuart Conover writes, "Deborah Sheldon’s Bodily Harm grabbed me by the throat on page one and never once loosened its grip. Set against the rain‑slick streets and fluorescent glare of present‑day Melbourne, the book fuses the relentless momentum of a police procedural with the raw nerve of psychological horror. The result is a bruising, white‑knuckle thriller that also happens to be one of the most compassionate examinations of trauma I’ve read in years..."
You can read the full review here: https://horrortree.com/epeolatry-book...
For more information about Bodily Harm: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
You can read the full review here: https://horrortree.com/epeolatry-book...
For more information about Bodily Harm: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
April 18, 2025
Interview with the Horror Tree about my collection THE BROONIE AND OTHER DARK POEMS
The Horror Tree is a resource for writers, offering submission information on all the latest horror anthologies and publishers. The Horror Tree also posts articles, news and interviews.
The Horror Tree has posted an interview with me about my latest release, the collection The Broonie and Other Dark Poems, which Hiraeth Publishing released earlier this month.
In part, interviewer Robyn O'Sullivan writes:
"For those of us who read her horror stories with relish, the contents of this poetry collection will not disappoint. Intrigued that Sheldon has now turned her hand to verse, I caught up with her recently to talk about her multi-faceted writing journey...."
You can read the full interview here:
https://horrortree.com/an-interview-w...
For more information about The Broonie and Other Dark Poems:
https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
The Horror Tree has posted an interview with me about my latest release, the collection The Broonie and Other Dark Poems, which Hiraeth Publishing released earlier this month.
In part, interviewer Robyn O'Sullivan writes:
"For those of us who read her horror stories with relish, the contents of this poetry collection will not disappoint. Intrigued that Sheldon has now turned her hand to verse, I caught up with her recently to talk about her multi-faceted writing journey...."
You can read the full interview here:
https://horrortree.com/an-interview-w...
For more information about The Broonie and Other Dark Poems:
https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
April 14, 2025
My novel BODILY HARM is shortlisted for an Aurealis Award!
Some fabulous news to share! My crime-horror novel, Bodily Harm (Undertaker Books, 2024), is shortlisted for the Aurealis Award "Best Horror Novel"!
The full list of nominees:
https://aurealisawards.org/2025/04/15...
The winners will be announced in May.
The back-cover blurb of Bodily Harm:
Survival has a price... Is Cara ready to pay it?
From the moment she feels a gun barrel shoved into her back, Cara Haynes is thrown into the brutal world of vicious criminals and the police officers tough enough to pursue them.
Cara has lived in Melbourne just a few weeks when she survives an armed robbery at her local pizzeria. Traumatised, afraid and alone, Cara’s lifeline is Mick Thompson, a detective from the Armed Offence Squad, whose compulsion to find these violent offenders keeps him awake at night. But soon, Cara doesn’t know the difference between safety and danger…
Written by award-winning author, Deborah Sheldon, Bodily Harm is a fast-paced, savage and disturbing read where one woman’s nightmare becomes a detective’s obsession.
WARNING: MATURE CONTENT
For more information: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
The full list of nominees:
https://aurealisawards.org/2025/04/15...
The winners will be announced in May.
The back-cover blurb of Bodily Harm:
Survival has a price... Is Cara ready to pay it?
From the moment she feels a gun barrel shoved into her back, Cara Haynes is thrown into the brutal world of vicious criminals and the police officers tough enough to pursue them.
Cara has lived in Melbourne just a few weeks when she survives an armed robbery at her local pizzeria. Traumatised, afraid and alone, Cara’s lifeline is Mick Thompson, a detective from the Armed Offence Squad, whose compulsion to find these violent offenders keeps him awake at night. But soon, Cara doesn’t know the difference between safety and danger…
Written by award-winning author, Deborah Sheldon, Bodily Harm is a fast-paced, savage and disturbing read where one woman’s nightmare becomes a detective’s obsession.
WARNING: MATURE CONTENT
For more information: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
SPAWN 2 stories shortlisted for Aurealis Awards!
The anthology I conceived and edited, Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, was released last year by IFWG Publishing. Now three of the wonderful stories are finalists in the 2024 Aurealis Awards!
“Flesh of My Flesh” by Ben Matthews, and “Envelopes” by Matt Tighe are nominated for Best Horror Short Story, while "In War with Time for Love of You" by Carol Ryles is nominated for Best Science Fiction Short Story.
Congratulations to Ben, Matt and Carol!
Here's a link to the full list of Aurealis Award finalists: https://aurealisawards.org/2025/04/15...
For more information about Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
“Flesh of My Flesh” by Ben Matthews, and “Envelopes” by Matt Tighe are nominated for Best Horror Short Story, while "In War with Time for Love of You" by Carol Ryles is nominated for Best Science Fiction Short Story.
Congratulations to Ben, Matt and Carol!
Here's a link to the full list of Aurealis Award finalists: https://aurealisawards.org/2025/04/15...
For more information about Spawn 2: More Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/...
My drabble published in Trembling With Fear
Trembling With Fear is the weekly fiction section published by the Horror Tree, offering drabbles, flash fiction and dark poetry. This week's selection includes my 100-word drabble "Calling Them Down".
The TWF fiction is free to read here:
https://horrortree.com/trembling-with...
The TWF fiction is free to read here:
https://horrortree.com/trembling-with...
