Undawnted Interviews: Danaeka Scrimshaw, The Lamp, Day 5 of WordCrafter's Curses: Chronicles of Darkness Anthology Blog Tour

About  Curses: Chronicles of Darkness

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can't be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

_____

Introduction

Welcome, this autumn we have two blog tours. The first is Curses: Chronicles of Darkness anthology of horror stories. Undawnted's author interview for the narrative, Danaeka Scrimshaw, The Lamp. 

Please welcome them to Undawnted with our warm and graciously haunting hospitality.

_____

Interview with Danaeka Scrimshaw

What type of Curse is your favorite to write about: blaspheme, afflict, imprecate, or torment? Hex or jinx? By spell, object, or charm? 

I like to write about jinx afflictions through objects.

 

Are Curses forever? 

 

I don't think curses are forever. 

 

If you ever had the chance to use a Curse in real life, would you? 

 

I am a witch and would never dabble in black magic. 

 

Do you believe that in order for a Curse to work that the target of that Curse has to believe in it?

 
Not necessarily, but I think they need to be indifferent to curses and not, say, absolutely certain they don't work. 

What swear word is your go-to Curse? 

 
Fuck

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About Danaeka Scrimshaw

Danaeka Scrimshaw is a speculative fiction author writing novel length and short form for the past seven years. Between short stories, they're working on the first book of a new trilogy called Ghedia of Duisternis.

_____

*Giveaway*

This tour, we’re giving away digital copies of Curses: to 5 lucky winners. Follow the tour and comment at each stop, so we’ll know you were there. You’ll be entered for another chance in the giveaway at each stop. Winners are chosen through a random drawing by WordCrafter Press. We’ll be watching for your name.

__________

Support Great Artists 

Writers of the stories in this dark fiction anthology deserve your support!

 

books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

Make a purchase and keep creativity alive during this Halloween season. 

_____

Tour Schedule 

Day 1

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Denise Aparo

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo

Day 2

Stop 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with Readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis

Day 3

Stop 1 – Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane

Day 4

Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R. Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White

Day 5

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth, Danaeka Scrimshaw & Molly Ertel with Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw

-----~o0o~---oOo---~o0o~~-----

This post is sponsored by: 

 

Available at these fine retailers:

 

Book:
http://www.undawnted.com/p/in-name-of-blood.html

 

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(I appreciated the Munsters reference ;D)."

Undawnted Interviews: Robert White, Longspeth’s Curse, Day 4 of WordCrafter's Curses: Chronicles of Darkness Anthology Blog Tour

About  Curses: Chronicles of Darkness

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can't be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

_____

Introduction

Welcome, this autumn we have two blog tours. The first is Curses: Chronicles of Darkness anthology of horror stories. Undawnted's author interview for the narrative, Robert White, Longspeth’s Curse. 

Please welcome her to Undawnted with our warm and graciously supernatural hospitality.

_____

Interview with Robert White

 

If you ever had the chance to use a Curse in real life, would you?

One-hundred percent yes. (I provide details of the circumstance below as evidence of a warranted curse.)

In general, I take Marcus Aurelius’ advice not to pay attention to what other people think. In these times, where every fool with a smart phone believes in his or her self-importance, it is difficult and so I find that he bears re-reading. This passage is from his Meditations, Book XI, the translation is, I think, Victorian era and a little archaic: “ . . . when you are highly indignant or actually suffering, that man's life is but a moment, and in a little we are one and all laid low in death.” This too: “how much more grievous are what fits of anger and the consequent sorrows bring than the actual things are which produce in us those angry fits and sorrows.”

Failure to live right, morally speaking, as he says in so many sections makes one “a brigand and a shifty character.” I admit it: I am weak. That woman I describe below needs a curse attached to her.

 

What swear word is your go-to Curse?

“Fuck you!” I used it just today on some nitwit in this backasswards town I call home. I had dropped off my wife’s car at the gas station and was walking the mile home. At one of the busier intersections, I stopped at the crosswalk, waiting. The light just changed to green, giving the cars in the left turning lane the right to go. I watched the car stop. I assumed the driver was being courteous because I obviously had the right of way as a pedestrian. I waved my thanks to the driver. As soon as I reached the opposite side of the street, I saw the male passenger grinning. Then I heard the driver, a woman, yell: “I’ve got the right of way, asshole!” Ergo, my go-to curse. She yelled the same back to me in a shrill voice as she was turning the corner, only proving what I’d already suspected: she was a lowlife piece of trash (and ignorant of traffic laws to boot).

Now, if I could put a curse on her, I would without hesitation. 

 

Anything else that you would like to add about yourself, your story, or books?

My bad mood resulting from that little contretemps at the streetlight this morning notwithstanding, I did have some good news about a pair of unpublished works yesterday I’d despaired of ever seeing print. I wrote Easy Money, a first-person crime novella, and a collection of seven private-eye stories featuring my first series detective Thomas Haftmann six or seven years ago. The publisher who had done the first four Haftmann books sold its “library” to another indie press in New York. I sent emails asking what the status of those books was for years and gave up. Then the email from the publisher arrived—with the book cover and the formatted text. I could not have been more pleased. That, by the way, was like having a curse lifted from my shoulders.

_____

About Robert White

Robb White lives in Northeastern Ohio. He is a Derringer- nominated author of genre fiction and three series detectives: Thomas Haftmann, Raimo Jarvi, and Jade Hui. Betray Me Not was selected for distinction by the Independent Fiction Alliance in 2022. His 2024 publications include a collection of noir tales: Fade to Black: Noir Stories of Grifters, Drifters, and Unlovable Losers. A new thriller is Jersey Girl from Close to the Bone Publishing, U.K. 

 

_____

*Giveaway*

This tour, we’re giving away digital copies of Curses: to 5 lucky winners. Follow the tour and comment at each stop, so we’ll know you were there. You’ll be entered for another chance in the giveaway at each stop. Winners are chosen through a random drawing by WordCrafter Press. We’ll be watching for your name.

__________

Support Great Artists 

Writers of the stories in this dark fiction anthology deserve your support!

 

books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

Make a purchase and keep creativity alive during this Halloween season. 

_____

Tour Schedule 

Day 1

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Denise Aparo

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo

Day 2

Stop 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with Readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis

Day 3

Stop 1 – Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane

Day 4

Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R. Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White

Day 5

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth, Danaeka Scrimshaw & Molly Ertel with Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw

-----~o0o~---oOo---~o0o~~-----

This post is sponsored by: 

 

Available at these fine retailers

Autumn 2025:

 

Book:
www.undawnted.com/p/12-angry-dead_12.html

What happens when a story doesn't have a happy ending?  

 

 

Undawnted Interviews: Paul Kane, The Weeping Man, Day 3 of WordCrafter's Curses: Chronicles of Darkness Anthology Blog Tour

About  Curses: Chronicles of Darkness

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can't be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

_____

Introduction

Welcome, this autumn we have two blog tours. The first is Curses: Chronicles of Darkness anthology of horror stories. Undawnted's author interview for the narrative, Paul Kane, The Weeping Man. 

Please welcome her to Undawnted with our warm and graciously paranormal hospitality.

_____

Interview with Paul Kane 

What is it about a Curse that inspires your imagination?

They’re an interesting concept to play around with, for a writer. They idea that you could do someone harm by simply ‘cursing’ them is a tantalising prospect for fiction, because you can do so much with it. It’s that thing of being able to inflict damage at a distance, not getting your hands dirty really, that makes it so unique. There are so many things you could write about concerning curses or cursed places, it’s actually hard to narrow it down.


Which type of Curse or progenitor of a Curse enticed you to write your story?

My story was based on a cursed place I came up with for a story back when I was first submitting them to small press magazines in the 90s, one which seems to have become quite popular with readers. I wanted to explore urban legends connected with cursed locations, so this is a different take on The Weeping Woman; one which sees her procuring victims for a very specific reason I don’t want to give away here. Her catchphrase, ‘My children, my children’ is also now synonymous with my spin. 

If you ever had the chance to use a Curse in real life, would you?

No, I don’t think I would. I mean, like everybody I’ve thought about it in the past – when people do you wrong, it’s only human to want some kind of revenge. But curses have a way of backfiring. I once wrote a story called ‘The Cursed’ which deals with exactly that, how the protagonist curses a couple’s relationship because he’s in love with the girl. It backfires and she ends up stuck in a horrible marriage, while he lives his life on his own and realises he should have been with her all along. That he might have been, if he’d only waited for that relationship to peter out instead of cursing it without realising what the consequences would be. They’re like wishes, there’s always a catch. 

Have you ever visited a Cursed place? 

Not that I know of, but I’ve visited plenty that were allegedly haunted or had a connection to the supernatural. Some of the things I’ve seen definitely make me believe all that’s real, like voices outside doors when you know you’re in a part of a castle completely on your own, things moving around in bedrooms or whatever, figures in graveyards.

Do you believe that in order for a Curse to work that the target of that Curse has to believe in it?

It probably helps, like the placebo effect. If the person knows they’ve been cursed by someone, then inevitably they’re going to act in a certain way – and the whole thing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s one of the reasons I’d never do that to anyone, it’s pretty cruel. Whether it’s real or not, it’ll cause the person torment; that’s an awful lot of bad Karma coming your way if you indulge in it. 

What swear word is your go-to Curse?

I’m actually trying to cut down on them at the moment, but the state of the world and some of the people in it don’t make that easy. I am rather fond of a simple ‘f**k off’ though.

Anything else that you would like to add about yourself, your story, or books?

Just to say again if readers enjoy ‘The Weeping Man’ in this anthology, they might want to check out the precursor to that one ‘The Weeping Woman’ – you don’t need to have read it to enjoy this tale, but it’ll add another dimension to it. The original story was also turned into a short movie you can find online. As for my work and my books, you can find out everything you need to know – and probably some things you didn’t want to – by visiting my site www.shadow-writer.co.uk I’ve been a professional writer for almost 30 years now, with over 160 releases to my name so there’s plenty on there to discover.  

_____

About Paul Kane

Paul Kane is the award-winning (including the British Fantasy Society’s Legends of FantasyCon Award 2022), bestselling author and editor of over a hundred and sixty books – such as the Arrowhead trilogy (gathered together in the sellout Hooded Man omnibus, revolving around a post-apocalyptic version of Robin Hood), The Butterfly Man and Other Stories, Hellbound Hearts, Wonderland (a Shirley Jackson Award finalist) and Pain Cages (an Amazon #1 bestseller). His non-fiction books include The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy and Voices in the Dark, and his genre journalism has appeared in the likes of SFX, Rue Morgue and DeathRay. He has been a Guest at many conventions over the years, as well as being a panelist at FantasyCon and the World Fantasy Convention, and a fiction judge at the Sci-Fi London festival. A former British Fantasy Society Special Publications Editor, he has also served as co- chair for the UK chapter of The Horror Writers Association and co-chaired ChillerCon UK in May 2022. His work has been optioned and adapted for the big and small screen, including for US network primetime television, and his novelette ‘Men of the Cloth’ was turned into a feature by Loose Canon/ Hydra Films, starring Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, You’re Next): Sacrifice, released by Epic Pictures/101 Films. Paul was also asked to pitch, along with a co-writer, for the remake of Hellraiser in the late 2010s. In 2023 HorrorCon screened a retrospective of his Film & TV adaptations, and interviewed Paul in front of the live audience. His audio work includes the full cast drama adaptation of The Hellbound Heart for Bafflegab, starring Tom Meeten (The Ghoul), Neve McIntosh (Doctor Who) and Alice Lowe (Prevenge), and the Robin of Sherwood adventure The Red Lord for Spiteful Puppet/ITV narrated by Ian Ogilvy (Return of the Saint), plus his plays have been performed at FantasyCon and by Hideout Theatre in London. He has also contributed to the Warhammer 40k universe for Games Workshop and has been asked to pitch on projects for both DC Warner Bros. and Marvel. Paul’s latest novels are Lunar (set to be turned into a feature film), the YA story The Rainbow Man (as PB Kane), the sequels to RED – Blood RED & Deep RED, all collected in an omnibus edition – the award-winning hit Sherlock Holmes & the Servants of Hell, Before (an Amazon Top 5 dark fantasy bestseller), Arcana and The Storm. In addition, he writes thrillers for HQ/HarperCollins as PL Kane, the first of which, Her Last Secret and Her Husband’s Grave (a sellout on Waterstones.com and at The Works came out in 2020, with The Family Lie released the following year (all three novels were Amazon sellouts). His books have been translated into many languages, including French, German, Spanish, Ukrainian, Turkish, Czech, Bulgarian and Polish. Paul lives in Derbyshire, UK, with his wife Marie O’Regan. Find out more at his site www.shadow-writer.co.uk1 which has featured Guest Writers such as Stephen King, Charlaine Harris, Robert Kirkman, Catriona Ward, Dean Koontz, Olivie Blake and Guillermo del Toro.

_____

*Giveaway*

This tour, we’re giving away digital copies of Curses: to 5 lucky winners. Follow the tour and comment at each stop, so we’ll know you were there. You’ll be entered for another chance in the giveaway at each stop. Winners are chosen through a random drawing by WordCrafter Press. We’ll be watching for your name.

__________

Support Great Artists 

Writers of the stories in this dark fiction anthology deserve your support!

 

books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

Make a purchase and keep creativity alive during this Halloween season. 

_____

Tour Schedule 

Day 1

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Denise Aparo

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo

Day 2

Stop 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with Readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis

Day 3

Stop 1 – Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane

Day 4

Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R. Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White

Day 5

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth, Danaeka Scrimshaw & Molly Ertel with Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw

-----~o0o~---oOo---~o0o~~-----

This post is sponsored by: 

Available at these fine retailers:

 

www.undawnted.com/p/the-descent.html

 

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"Both the descriptions and use of language here are very elaborate. The poem shows intricate crafting, the style and subjects of course, are reminiscent of Poe- this is not only a fitting homage, but stands on its own, the word choices are exact and richly expressive."

"As if Poe came right off the page. This homage is literally perfect."

Undawnted Interviews: Joseph Carrabis, It’s a Man’s World & Grafton’s Ghost-Child, Day 2 of WordCrafter's Curses: Chronicles of Darkness Anthology Blog Tour

About  Curses: Chronicles of Darkness

There are all types of curses.

Cursed places, cursed items, cursed people, cursed families.

Curses that last throughout time. Curses which can't be broken. Curses which are brought upon ourselves. Curses that will kill you and those that will only make you wish you were dead.

Eleven tantalizing tales of curses and the cursed. Includes stories by Kaye Lynne Booth, Molly Ertel, C.R. Johansson, Robert White, Joseph Carrabis, Paul Kane, Danaeka Scrimshaw, Abe Margel, and Denise Aparo.

_____

Introduction

Welcome, this autumn we have two blog tours. The first is Curses: Chronicles of Darkness anthology of horror stories. Undawnted's author interview for the narrative, Joseph Carrabis, It’s a Man’s World & Grafton’s Ghost-Child. 

Please welcome her to Undawnted with our warm and graciously haunting hospitality.

_____

Interview with Joseph Carrabis

What is it about a Curse that inspires your imagination? 

Curses occur when someone has negative emotions towards some person, place, or thing. I can understand being mistreated by someone, feeling powerless to act socially or physically, hence resorting to a curse, but being mistreated by a place or thing? That implies agency, which means the place or thing has intelligence of some kind, which then implies intention.

The inspiration comes from asking "What interaction between the individual and the place/thing instigated the need to curse?"

Do you use mortal, paranormal, or supernatural means to render a Curse in your creative imagination?

 

The rendering agent depends on the delivery method and the desired effect. My stories here rely of preternatural phenomena (aliens) because (I hope) aliens are wiser than us.
 

 

Which type of Curse or progenitor of a Curse enticed you to write your story? 

 

In both my stories, the progenitor was man- or human-kind's stupidity. Considering women haven't had dominant or even equal social power in thousands of years, let's go simply with mankind's stupidity.

Do you believe that in order for a Curse to work that the target of that Curse has to believe in it?

 

Heavens, no! I think the best curses are when the recipient has no idea they've been cursed. Their lack of knowledge means they have no explanation for what's happening to them hence have no method of acting against the Cursor. Now the recipient is double cursed (a "twice the fun at half the cost" kind of thing).

Anything else that you would like to add about yourself, your story, or books? 

 

I tell people I write autobiography and its true. This tends to make people nervous. My sister often asks me if we were raised in the same house. I will offer that everything I write is based on something I experienced. I hope part of the fun for my readers is figuring out what, in the story, is the seed experience which gave the story life.

_____

About Joseph Carrabis

Joseph Carrabis is a master storyteller with a sharp sense of humor and deep linguistic expertise. Hailing from New Hampshire, USA, his passion for writing began at the age of seven while washing dishes with his older sister, Sandra. She’d read Mission to the Heart Stars’ for a book report and shared her fascination and excitement over the story. Joseph, a plate in one hand and a dish towel in the other decided, “I want to give that joy in the written word to people.” With a career deeply embedded in evolving technologies, Joseph served as Chief Research Officer, Chief Neuroscience Officer, and Senior Research Fellow at several institutions and agencies while earning numerous awards for his journalism and trade technical writing. Joseph refers to himself as boring - something loudly debunked by his readers and peers - and weaves wildly imaginative stories that dance on the boundary of the known and unknown sciences where natural, preternatural and supernatural intersect. Fans’ comments regularly mention Carrabis’ ability to bring together advanced mathematics, quantum physics, cybernetics, and neuroscience with believable multi-dimension characters and spellbinding future technology. Joseph has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, recommended for a Nebula Award, and received an honorable mention in ‘Writers of the Future’.

_____

*Giveaway*

This tour, we’re giving away digital copies of Curses: to 5 lucky winners. Follow the tour and comment at each stop, so we’ll know you were there. You’ll be entered for another chance in the giveaway at each stop. Winners are chosen through a random drawing by WordCrafter Press. We’ll be watching for your name.

__________

Support Great Artists 

Writers of the stories in this dark fiction anthology deserve your support!

 

books2read.com/CursesChroniclesofDarkness

Make a purchase and keep creativity alive during this Halloween season. 

_____

Tour Schedule 

Day 1

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – About the Curses Anthology & Meet Denise Aparo

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Denise Aparo

Day 2

Stop 1 – Robbie’s Inspiration – Kaye Lynne Booth & Joseph Carrabis with Readings of “It’s a Man’s World” & “Grafton’s Ghost-Child”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Joseph Carrabis

Day 3

Stop 1 – Poetry by Mich – Meet Abe Margel & Paul Kane with a guest post about the inspiration of his story “The Weeping Man”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan Interviews Paul Kane

Day 4

Stop 1 – Roberta Writes – Meet C.R. Johansson & Robert White with a guest post about the inspiration for “The Longspeth Curse”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Robert White

Day 5

Stop 1 – Writing to be Read – Meet Kaye Lynne Booth, Danaeka Scrimshaw & Molly Ertel with Inspiration Video about “Clover’s Mirror Box”

Stop 2 – Undawnted – DL Mullan interviews Danaeka Scrimshaw  

 

-----~o0o~---oOo---~o0o~~-----

This post is sponsored by: 

 

Available at these fine retailers

Winter 2025-26:

 

Book: 

 www.undawnted.com/p/kurst-inheritance-curse-cabin.html

 

“'Kurst'” has many elements that make it a good horror/suspense story! The family history of the heroine/protagonist gives a great story foundation. One of the best elements of a story is a good dark secret! The secret and how it plays out gives the reader a satisfying ending."