Hello, my Followers of Fear. Are you annoyed with me yet? No? Good. Because we got another two weeks till release, and then all the milestones after the release.
Or, to be more specific, re-release.
If you weren’t aware, I had a collection that came out in September 23, 2023 called Hannah and Other Stories. It contained seven original stories, including stories of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses. It went out of print at the end of 2024 when my contract with the publisher ended, but now it’s coming out again. With a new cover and an edit to fix any issues that were left over from the last draft. With some elements added back in that were taken out from the original publication, such as sex and cosmic horror monsters.
And it’s coming out on September 23, 2025. Two years after the original release date and two weeks from the time you are (presumably) reading this. And the first batch of author copies arrived last week, with more on the way. They’ll be going to libraries, certain lucky readers, and events where I’ll be selling books.
The first batch of author copies. They came out beautifully!
And I cannot wait for people to read it. Not only was I very proud of this anthology, but this is the first time it’ll be available in paperback (it’s a long story, don’t ask). And if it does well enough, an audio version might not be too farfetched.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a spooky collection to read this fall, or if you want to support me, or both, you can preorder a copy of Hannah using the links down below. (Paperback copies are only available for preorder through Barnes & Noble because Amazon is weird that way.) Like I said, they’ll be out in two weeks, so it won’t be a long wait.
And if you end up reading the book, I hope you’ll leave a review online somewhere. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and other readers out in the long run.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 52 days till Halloween. If you’re not preparing for the monsters eager to feed on you, what are you doing with your life?
You sick of this book yet? You’re not? Good! Glad to hear it! Now, let’s get on to the meat of this post.
So yesterday, the first batch of author copies for Hannah and Other Stories arrived. These are my personal copies which I can order at a discount and which I can use at events, give away, or just keep. Whatever I feel like. In this case, the first batch of copies include what will be my personal copy, a couple going to a few people who, for one reason or another, I need to send them to, and the rest will go to libraries.
And, of course, I had to do an unboxing video of getting the copies and put it on YouTube. I mean, how could I not?!
If you didn’t watch the video, let me sum it up this way: the author copies came out beautifully! The cover looks amazing, and the interior just looks amazing. I’m just so happy with how they turned out. So happy, in fact, I hugged my personal copy, the copy I picked up, after I finished the video.
As many of you know, this is the second time this book has been released. It was first released by BSC Publishing Group in 2023, but a paperback edition wasn’t produced due to BSC’s policies at the time. After the rights reverted to me, I knew I was going to produce a paperback. And now, in just 19 days, on the two-year anniversary of the original release, the book will finally be available in paperback.
I hope many readers who couldn’t the first time around enjoy the book.
Speaking of which, if you would like to preorder a copy of this terrifying collection full of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, I’ll include links below. (Just be aware that the paperback edition will only be available to preorder through Barnes & Noble, because Amazon is weird that way.) As I said, the book will be out on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025, so it’s only a matter of time.
And if you get a copy and end up reading it, I hope you’ll leave a review online. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and doing so helps both me and other readers in the long run.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I will have another Hannah post out soon, and I hope to have something else out at some point in the coming week. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 57 days till Halloween. And I’m only getting scarier and weirder as time goes on.
All of the author copies in the first batch. Aren’t they beautiful?
I did warn you that I would be getting annoying about this as we got closer.
So, if you haven’t heard by now, I have a collection, Hannah and Other Stories, is being re-released in three weeks, on September 23, 2025. It was originally published on that same date in September 2023 by BSC Publishing Group. After my contract with BSC Publishing Group ended and the book went out of print, I decided to re-release it at the two-year anniversary of its original publication. New edit, new cover, but still the same seven amazing stories of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses.
I’m happy to say that people are showing interest in the new edition. I was even asked to send a signed copy to a reader down in Florida, which is pretty cool. And I’m excited for people to read the new copy. I feel like this version is the closest to my original vision with this collection. Not only that, but it will be in paperback, something that didn’t happen the first time around (long story, don’t ask).
And who knows? If enough people get copies and leave reviews, an audio book isn’t out of the realm of possibility. I would love to see that happen.
Of course, we have three weeks to get through first. And if you’re at all interested in ordering a copy before it comes out, you can order one using the links below. (Paperback, by the way, is only available to preorder through Barnes & Noble). After all, it’s only three weeks away.
And, if you end up reading the book, I hope you’ll leave a review letting me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love reader reviews, and they help me and other readers in the long run.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be posting again soon. Maybe even before the two-week mark. Until then, however, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 59 days till Halloween. Is that a carnivorous horse behind you? It looks hungry!
Guess what? I have some new events I’ll be attending in the coming months! And, as is my sacred duty, I will tell you about them in case you’re in a position to attend any of them.
First, I’ll be at CryptidCon in Chardon, OH, on October 11, 2025! This new convention is going to be part of the Ohio Viking Festival, and will include authors, cryptozoologists, and more among all the Vikings and axe throwing and strong mead. The festival, and thus CryptidCon, will be from 12 PM – 6 PM, and I’ll be doing Tarot readings and signing books. You can find out more here.
Then, the Columbus Metropolitan Library is hosting HWA Ohio for Scary Saturday again! It will be taking place on October 25, 2025 from 12 PM – 3:30 PM at the Main Library in downtown Columbus. This year, we’ll be having a panel with our members, doing readings, and playing a game of Monster Mash (basically, we have lively debates about which famous monsters would win in a head-to-head fight). In-between activities, we’ll be selling books and feasting on Halloween candy. You can find out more here.
Right afterward, the Book Loft in Columbus will be hosting several of our authors on October 28th, 2025 at 6 PM. We’ll be at the Book Loft itself, which is a famous, historic bookstore in a 19th century building that twists and turns every which way. I won’t be doing readings or anything, but I will be there, probably in costume, hanging out and having a good time. You can find more info here.
Finally, we have the Columbus Witches Ball at the Ohio Brewing Company on November 1st, 2025 from 1 PM – 11 PM. In between dancing, rituals, and yes, pub food, I’ll be selling books and doing Tarot readings. If my last trip there in 2022 is anything to go by, I’m going to have one heck of a good time. You can find out more and grab tickets here.
Except that’s not all! I’ve got events already set up for 2026!
And I am going to tell you what they are.
First, I’ll be heading back to Akronomicon on February 7th, 2026 at the Emidio & Sons Banquet Center in Akron, OH. I had such a fun time at this horror convention last year, that I am coming back next year. And they got some cool guests last year, so I’m excited to see what the guest list for next year is! I’ll have more details as we get closer.
And afterwards, I’ll be at StokerCon again! This time, it’s going to be back in Pittsburgh at the Westin Hotel on June 4-7. This is an amazing event, where horror creators of all stripes get together to talk horror, network, collaborate, and have a scary good time. You can still get tickets here.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be sure to put out reminders for all these events right before they happen, and I’ll let you know if there are any more I get signed up for.
In the meantime, spooky season is coming up. If you’re looking for something to read for it, or you’d like to support me, or both, you can always check out my books. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, I have something for every horror fan (including some free stuff). I’ll include a link to my Books page below.
And if you like what you read, please leave a review online somewhere. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and they help me and your fellow readers in the long run.
Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 68 days till Halloween.
It’s hard to believe we’re already at the tail end of August, but here we are. And with that, we’re at the one month mark till the release of my collection, Hannah and Other Stories.
Wait, did I say “release?” I meant “re-release.” And yes, I plan to get a lot more annoying with it as we get closer and closer.
So, if you’re unfamiliar, Hannah and Other Stories is a collection of mine that was originally released through BSC Publishing Group in September 2023. It contains seven original tales from yours truly, including tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses. Unfortunately, the book went out of print once my contract with BSC ended and we decided to go our separate ways. Unfortunate, but sometimes these things happen.
In any case, I’m now in the process of re-releasing the book. Not only that, but I’ve done another round of edits to improve the stories and ensure it’s as close to my vision as possible. And I added that awesome new cover you see at the top of the blog post!
I’m really excited to release this book again (and on the two-year anniversary of its original release)! I always liked this book, and when it was out the first time around, people who got copies really seemed to enjoy it. And with a paperback edition this time (don’t ask), I’m sure more people will read it and enjoy it this time around.
Who knows? We may even be able to justify producing an audio version in the future.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in preordering a copy of Hannah, I’ll leave links below. (If you want to preorder the paperback copy, it’s only available through Barnes & Noble). As I said, it comes out on September 23rd, so the book will be here before we know it. And if you end up reading it, I hope you’ll leave me a review letting me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and other readers out in the long run.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I look forward to joining you when the book comes out next month. In the meantime, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 69 days till Halloween.
I wasn’t planning on writing a blog post just a few hours after the last one came out. But like the title says, I had some unexpected good news (as well as permission to share the good news), so I might as well write a post.
As some of you may remember, last year I wrote an article about writing romantic subplots in my stories while being aromantic. If you’re unaware, that means I can’t feel romantic desire or attraction. It’s a real thing, is experienced by possibly one-percent of the world’s population (the research into this is still in its early days), and is coded into our DNA. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences writing romance when I have no experience nor desire to be romantic, so I wrote an article about it.
That article was published last year by Interstellar Flight Press in their online magazine, and continues to get reads to this day (trust me, I get stat updates regularly). And I just found out from the editor of Interstellar Flight Press, Holly Walrath, that my article will appear in Interstellar Flights Best of the Year anthology, Volume 6.
I cannot say how honored and excited I am about this. Not only does Interstellar Flight Press publish some really great fiction and non-fiction, they publish a lot of it. So, the fact that they were impressed by my essay enough to include it in their annual Best of anthology means a lot to me.
At the moment, there’s no word on a release date. However, given that the anthology covers material published in 2024, and we’ve got about four months and two weeks left of 2025, I would assume they would be releasing it in the near future. Whenever if comes out, I’ll be sure to let you all know.
In the meantime, if you would like to read the essay yourself, I’ll include a link below, as well as a link to Interstellar Flight magazine. I hope you’ll give them both a look, and let me know what you think about the article.
And until next time, Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend and colleague Ruth Ann Nordin wrote about why she enjoys horror and romance stories (you can read her full post here). Midway through her post, she mentioned how she doesn’t like open endings or where things are left up to the reader’s interpretation. After reading her post, I commented on her post, “Ironically enough, a lot of horror stories have open endings, which only helps accentuate the feelings of horror and dread.”
I’ve been thinking about that conversation since then, and now I want to write about ambiguity in fiction. Especially in horror. And how that, as frustrating as it can be to some readers, that ambiguity can be helpful to stories at times.
Now, I’m not writing this to trash anyone who doesn’t like open endings or stories that leave unanswered questions. People have different preferences, and that’s okay. And honestly, at one point, I felt the same way…until someone pointed out that I’ve written stories like that in the past. I’m just writing about the open endings and the unanswered questions sometimes help a story more than wrapping everything up in a neat little bow.
So, why would writers create open endings? Or leave questions unanswered? Well, barring cases where extenuating circumstances keep the creator from tying up all the loose ends (*cough* Disney canceled The Owl House way too early *cough*), there could be a variety of reasons. In horror, it could be for a very simple reason: doing so makes the story that much scarier.
Great film. Lots of unanswered questions…until the sequels, at least.
Let’s take Hell House LLC. This horror film, while not in my top six, is a favorite of mine. The film is a found-footage mockumentary revolving around a horrific tragedy at a haunted attraction, and what happened to the team behind the attraction. While, over the course of events in this movie, what caused the tragedy in the first place is explained, a lot of things are left unanswered. Things are further explained in the sequels, but if you only see the original film, the things that are left unexplained lend this air of mystery to the story. And the fact that, at least for that film, we’re left to question what we don’t know, can be terrifying.
Another great example: Perfect Blue, one of my top six horror films and one of my favorites ever. I’ve discussed it here before, but if you’re unfamiliar, it’s an anime film about a celebrity who is hunted by a violent stalker, leading her to spiral into paranoia and madness. While the first third is straightforward, and the final third wraps things up nicely, the second third does a damned fine job of making it hard to tell what’s real and what’s delusion. You really feel the protagonist’s terror as she tries to figure out what’s real and what’s not, only to be swept along and finally stop fighting against the current.
Speaking of paranoia and madness, cosmic horror, especially Lovecraftian horror, thrives on ambiguity. The Great Old Ones and other ancient beings often have forms that are undefined by the writers. The most we can say is, “it’s so scary, even thinking about what it looks like is too terrifying! Also, it’s so unlike anything I know, my mind is having trouble defining any particular portion. That being said, it’s so scary, I can’t write it down to tell you about it.”
Even my Cthulhu statue is only an approximation of his true form!
Even Cthulhu, who is the most well-known and most defined of the Great Old Ones, is somewhat undefined. Technically speaking, his whole man/dragon/octopus thing is what people are able to recall he looked like. He’s still somewhat difficult to describe.
And that’s scary. We fear the unknown, and when we can’t fully define what we’re dealing with, it’s frightening.
So, yeah, ambiguity can be frustrating. But it does have its uses. And in the horror genre, it can help us horror writers do what we do best: scare people silly. Hell, at times, it helps the stories become that much more notable. And if a story can be made better by a bit of ambiguity, then a little bit of frustration is well worth the cost.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to make dinner and figure out what I’m doing with the rest of my evening. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 82 days till Halloween. Thankfully, there’s nothing ambiguous about that!
Usually, when I do these update posts, they have a sort of format, with specific sections devoted to specific items or topics. But this time, I’m doing things a little differently. Why? Well, it just feels right to do so.
Plus, it’s not like I’m overflowing with news. I just want to update you guys on a couple of items.
So, as you may already know, I’ve been doing a ton of editing lately. A Great Editing, so to speak. I’ve already edited two novellas, and I just finished editing another draft of The Shape of Evil, AKA the 3D Printer from Hell story. Yeah, I hear you. “What? You did another edit of that novel? Why didn’t you tell us sooner? That’s kind of your thing!”
Well, it was on the suggestion of one of the agents I pitched the book to at StokerCon. They got back to me last month and encouraged me to make some changes, including aging up the characters a bit, before they read the rest of the book. After some discussion and consideration, I agreed, and I’ve spent the past month doing those edits. The result is a fourth draft of The Shape of Evil, which I think is even stronger than the last one. And I’m looking forward to sending this draft to that particular agent very, very soon.
By the way, that new draft? I finished it yesterday. I took a day off from work for a mental health day and spent most of it just working on the draft. Finished the final 100 pages or so in a couple of hours.
Now, what’s next? Well, I think I’ll take a break from editing and work on some new short stories. I’ve already started doing research for one of them, and I already have all the research materials I need for the other one. After that, I have a short story, an essay on ballet and horror, and two more novellas that need to be edited. After that, I think I’ll focus on newer work while also trying to find homes for the already edited stuff.
Or I’ll edit the stories I plan to write and try to find them homes, too. Man, it’s so hard trying to strike a balance between writing new stuff and editing the completed stuff! Especially when you’re working a full time job and keeping up with all of life’s demands, like I am.
But hey, I’ll make it work somehow. I usually do.
So yeah, if this was too long to read: lots going on, lots of editing, and some new work on the way as well. But what else is new?
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I have research to get to if I want to get these stories out. Man, just actively researching them and figuring out the names of the characters has me so excited! I’m looking forward to seeing how these stories turn out once I write them.
And speaking of excited, Followers of Fear, we’re 85 days away from Halloween. Have you decided what you’re going to be reading this spooky season? If you’re still looking for the write book, or you want to support me (or both), I have plenty of stories available, including some free ones. Not to mention a wide variety, too! So, if you’re at all interested, click on the link below and check out my bibliography. You might find your new favorite Halloween read among the catalog.
Until next time, my Followers of Fear. Good night and pleasant nightmares.
Happy Birthday to the blog, Happy Birthday to the blog. Happy Birthday to Rami Ungar the Writer! Happy Birthday to the blog.
I did warn you that I would have a new blog post out sooner than you might expect. Still, pretty incredible, isn’t it? That today is the fourteen year anniversary of when I set up this blog?
I think I say this every year, but it’s kind of incredible that I’m still blogging all these years later. I started writing this blog at the library near my mom’s house the month before I started college, hoping that, as I entered the world as an adult, I could build an audience for when I started publishing. I was just a young, naive, newly-minted adult back then, no idea where my life was going beyond starting school and working towards my dreams.
Now look at me. I’m a man in my thirties, with a job and my own condo and books to my name. Still no idea where my life is going at times, but I’ve already accomplished some dreams and I think I’m getting closer to making some more come true.
And this blog’s been through it with me the whole journey. There were times, especially early on when getting only a view or two per day was considered a good day, where I thought about giving up on the blog. But I persevered. I kept posting, especially when I had good news or stories to share. And before long, people found it. Some of them even became my friends. Some of them read my work. And many of them are still following me, all these years later.
So, thank you, Followers of Fear. Whether you only just started following me a few weeks ago, or you’ve been here since the beginning, or anywhere in-between, you have kept me going through thick and thin. Through good times and tough times, through celebrations and failures, and through times of fast growth and times of slow growth. It’s fair to say that, without you guys, neither me as a person, nor me as a writer, would be where I am today.
Here’s hoping when I write this post in a year from now, I have plenty of developments to celebrate, and plenty more people here to celebrate with.
In the meantime, my Followers of Fear, if you want to celebrate with me, if you want to support me, or if you’re just looking for a good scary story or two to read this spooky season, I’ll include the link to my book page below. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, I have something for every horror fan (including some free stuff). So, go ahead and take a look. You might find your next favorite read.
And if you do end up reading something of mine, please consider giving it a review. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and your fellow readers in the long run.
That’s all for now. I’m off to a meadery to celebrate. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 90 days to Halloween!
Is it already August? The summer is going by quickly! Soon we’ll be getting ready for Halloween and figuring out what to put on our spooky season reading lists. Good thing there happens to be a new-ish collection of horror novelettes for you to consider adding.
So, if you’re new here and are unfamiliar, “Symphony for Walpurgis” is my latest book, a collection of nine novelettes (stories that are longer than short stories but much shorter than novels), four previously published and five original. They range from stories of cryptids and giant bats (“Famous,” “Disillusionment and Trauma Sometimes Go Hand-in-Hand”), to malevolent spirits (“The House on Lafayette Square,” “The Parasite Man”) and even a Jewish exorcism (again, “The House on Lafayette Square”). It came out on May 1st, AKA Walpurgis Night, when witches hold their get-togethers, which means it’s officially three months old.
And I’m very happy with the response so far. Everyone who’s bought a copy and gotten back to me has told me that they’ve enjoyed what they’ve read, and have even enthusiastically recommended it to other readers. Plus, at both the Big Ohio Book Con and the Columbus Book Festival, I sold out of copies on the first day of both events and came close to doing so on the second days. Clearly, people are liking the book!
But don’t take my word for it. Read some of the reviews:
Dipping my toes once again into the world of indie horror. And this, a rare read of single author short story collections.
All these stories are so very different, but they’re linked (in my mind anyway) by one common theme… that is, all these stories start out a certain way, but a turn of events during the narrative delivers a quite different story.
None of these stories are especially weak, but I have some stand out favourites: The House of Lafayette Square, Mother of Spiders, The Little Goddess of Horror, and Natural Predators. Even those I weren’t so keen on were solid, just a matter of personal taste.
Not my first outing reading this author, and it certainly won’t be my last.
MG Mason, author of “The Residents of the James Hotel,” Goodreads
Bravo! This might just be Rami Ungar’s best work yet. Offering tales of unearthly retribution, dark mysteries, vampires re-imagined and blood curdling entities, Symphony is a gloriously ghoulish anthology with something for almost every kind of horror fan.
I absolutely adored the introduction; it creates a spooky atmosphere straight away and is so much fun, putting you in exactly the right mood for the horrors ahead. Each story is creative and the characters are so vivid and well crafted– Rami has done an incredible job of filling every page with witty prose, clever descriptions and emotions which pulled me right into the characters’ minds. Mother of Spiders was my favourite tale, and definitely one of the most nightmarish.
Only two stories had plots which I wasn’t so keen on, but even then the writing was still engaging enough to make them enjoyable reads. 100% recommend!
Louise Conway, Goodreads
From the fiendish imagination of Rami Ungar, Symphony for Walpurgis presents nine stories, each with its own wildly imaginative tale to tell. The author’s acknowledged favorite, The Parasite Man, will make your skin crawl. In contrast, the warmth and psychological insight of The House on Lafayette Square made it this reviewer’s favorite above all. An underlying theme, returned to across several stories but never repetitively, is the revenge of the mistreated, wreaking havoc on a world they never made
Ann O’Mara Heyward, author of “Tourtiere: A Culinary Horror Story,” Goodreads
Rather enthusiastic, wouldn’t you say? And so far, I’ve been lucky enough to only have one review that’s not five stars. And even that one was four stars!
And with this sort of response in just the first three months, I’m hopeful for more of the same over the next three. Since before Symphony was released, I’ve been working hard with specific goals for this book, including some milestones I want to hit in the first year. I’m not sure I’ll hit those milestones, but I’ll work like hell to make them happen. And with spooky season creeping up on us, I think now is a good time to strike.
And if this post has made you at all interested in reading Symphony, I’ll include links below. It’s currently available in paperback and ebook, and if things continue to go well, an audio version might not be out of the question. Until that happens, you can buy a copy using any of the links below.
And if you like what you read, please leave a review online. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps me out in the long run. Plus, reviews help other readers find books and figure out whether or not they want to read them. So you’d be helping both me and your fellow horror fans by letting your thoughts be known!
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be back very soon with another post (believe me on that promise). So, until next time, good night, happy reading, and remember, we’re only 91 days away from Halloween. You better be getting ready to have some pleasant nightmares this fall!
Rami Ungar The Writer 