I’ve had the pleasure of being published twice this month, both horror stories. My creepy gardening story “Good Neighbors” is in issue 17 of Dark Matter Magazine, which is unfortunately one of the final issues of the magazine because Dark Matter Media is pivoting to do more anthologies and other projects. They’re lovely to work with *and* they send thank-you notes to contributors, so I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to work with them again.

My dead-kids-in-an-amusement-park story, “World of Fun,” appears in the fall 2023 edition of Fear Forge Anthology. I’m pretty happy about this one because I’ve been trying to get this story published for a while, and I’m so glad people can read it now. Obviously any resemblance to real-life amusement park incidents, say in the 1980s, is entirely coincidental. The editor is a sweetheart and as you can see, produces some pretty nice promo images for her authors.

Why read horror when there’s so much real-life horror out there? Because any fiction is escapism of a sort. Because grim times call for grim entertainment. But mainly because horror stories can offer a weird sort of hope; there may be monsters in the world, but the monsters can be beaten. And maybe the misunderstood monsters can find a place in the world after all.

This is the quote I’m thinking of, and if you’re also a Neil Gaiman fan you’re not surprised. It’s from G.K. Chesterton, and it’s the epigraph to Coraline:

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

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And now back to real-life horror.

I’m adding a few more groups to this list of organizations helping civilians in Israel and in Gaza. I don’t know the status of Gaza right now, or when aid will be able to get through again, but I’ll keep listing those groups in the meantime because they’ll need the resources when they can get back in.

Stay well, stay safe.

National Council of Jewish Women is a women- and family-centered social justice group that’s raising funds to provide basic needs, counseling, and advocacy for women and families impacted by the Hamas attack

Women Wage Peace is a women-led, nonpartisan grassroots group that advocates for a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

World Central Kitchen is feeding displaced families in Israel and working with a local partner in Gaza to distribute meals to Palestinians

Soroka Medical Center is handling the emergency medical response in Israel

The JDC helps Jews and others in crisis around the world

Save the Children is trying to get needed supplies into Gaza

American Friends of Magen David Adom is Israel’s first aid/first responder service

United Hatzalah is a volunteer emergency medical services organization that operates across Israel

Americares is trying to assist with people’s medical needs in Gaza

Doctors Without Borders is trying to assist with people’s medical needs in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross is providing medical supplies and household items to people in Gaza and trying to help people in Israel locate missing family members

The Forward has a longer list of organizations that need help. And CNN has set up a fund that allows you to donate to multiple organizations at once, including several listed above.