Mandy’s short horror story “The Cursed Isle” won second place for the Inkd Pub Short Story contest at Multiverse!
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While A Single Spark did not make it into the semifinalists for Philip Chase, he gave it a nice review on his YouTube channel.
We created an anthology of irreverent poetic trash. You can buy it here.
Mandy’s new YA fantasy novel A Single Spark is now available! Click the image for more information and the universal book link, which will show all major retailers.
Tainted Love: Women in Horror Anthology launched in February 2021 and features Mandy’s story “My Lady Báthory.”
“My Lady Báthory” is a queer romantic historical horror story following a young lady named Mariska, who is unfortunate enough to find herself at the finishing school of the notorious serial killer and sadist Countess Báthory.
Read by Dusk included this in their review of the anthology: “My Lady Báthory by Mandy Burkhead is a take on the real-life horror of Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed who reportedly murdered more than 600 young women in the 1600s. This beautifully written tale is seen through the eyes of her victims where they fight not just to survive but to have the freedom to be who they really are.”
The anthology can be purchased through Amazon.
Well, we made it to the last 50 out of the original 300 titles before our book was cut. While The Black Lily didn’t make it into the top 10 finalists, our reviewer Kitty G enjoyed our book and left us a wonderful review on her Youtube channel. Check it out!
Video not loading? Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/lkM7fQMnmR0?t=780
Our dark fantasy novel The Black Lily is a contestant for SPFBO 6. SPFBO is short for Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off. It is a competition for self-published fantasy books that is currently in its sixth year.
This year, 300 books were entered in the competition. We’re currently in the first round, where the 10 judges read (and often review) the 30 books, weeding out the ones that won’t go on to the semi-finals.
After that, each blogger chooses their favorite book to go on to the semi-finals (10 total). Then, they each read the semi-finalist and choose their favorite book from those. The one with the most votes is the winner.
The judge assigned to our book is Kitty G, a booktuber. Her channel can be found here.
We adore our book, but the competition is fierce. While we have no expectations of winning, we would be happy if we just got a review from Kitty G, as she has a large audience (15.1K subscribers)!
The steampunk anthology Gears, Ghouls, and Gauges (and its companion Cogs, Crowns, and Carriages) is now available for purchase. Distribution was exclusive to Kickstarter backers and authors for the first four months of publication. If you weren’t able to get a copy from us directly, you can now order it on Amazon by following the link: https://www.amazon.com/Gears-Ghouls-Gauges-Steampunk-Anthology-ebook/dp/B085MN5KJK/
We are so pleased by the new cover for The Black Lily. The cover was created by J Caleb Design, who is an absolutely amazing artist with very fair prices. He was willing to do multiple versions to make sure the cover perfectly captured Lily and Adrian. He even worked our self-designed Arestean Crest into the banners and book spine. If you are looking for a badass cover designer, definitely check him out. He also posts a weekly premade on his Facebook page. https://www.jcalebdesign.com/
The Monsters We Forgot Vol. 3 is now available for purchase. In this horror anthology, you can find lots of creepy tales about monsters, demons, and cryptids, including Mandy’s short story “The Cursed Isle.”
Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/MONSTERS-WE-FORGOT-3/dp/1671299620
This story is set is set in the year 1709 and follows a monk and priest who visit the French town of Brouillard to investigate claims of witchcraft and demonic possession. The townspeople believe that the source of their troubles is a cursed island just off the shores of the lake that the town is built on. Brother Dominique is a man of science and is not certain that he believes in demonic possession, witchcraft, or hauntings, but he soon begins to experience unexplainable phenomena.
This story was partly inspired by Le Grand Hiver (the Great Winter) of 1709, which was the coldest European winter on record in the past 500 years. “The Cursed Isle” offers a supernatural and demonic origin for this devastating cold spell that killed tens of thousands of people.
Mandy is being published in yet another anthology, so it’s Kickstarter time again! This horror-themed anthology titled The Monsters We Forgot is being published by Soteira Press. Mandy’s story “The Cursed Isle” will be appearing in Volume 3 of the anthology. Please consider backing it on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/…/dopabe…/the-monsters-we-forgot
Mandy is pleased to announce that her short story, “The Lady Defiance,” will be published in the steampunk anthology Gears, Ghouls, and Gauges. This anthology is part of a set; its companion is Cogs, Crowns, and Carriages. This publication is pending successful achievement of the funding goals on Kickstarter. More information on how you can support the anthology coming soon.
In celebration of Read An Ebook Week, The Black Lily is available for free on Smashwords from March 4-10, 2018!
Click on the image below to get your free copy, and while you’re at it, check out the thousands of other free ebooks available on Smashwords.
Blogger Ammar Habib interviewed us about our writing style, technique, and current works in progress. The full interview can be read here.
I’m being published in an upcoming anthology: Tennessee’s Best Emerging Poets by Z Publishing. My poem is titled “My Imagination.” You can purchase a copy by clicking on the image below. I will receive a $4 royalty for any copies purchased through this link. -Mandy
We’ve updated our website! Check it out!
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Mandy Burkhead
G.D. Burkhead
