The now fully official Author’s Hangout Halloween 2025 competition support thread

[MelissaBaby]

You know those Halloween stores that just appear out of nowhere sometime in September and vanish on November 1st? Didn't you ever wonder if there was something sinister about them?

Mr. Spooky's House of Halloween Fun

 

[MelissaBaby]

Nonsense! I've never heard any woman complain about anything being too long.

Well, last night's Tigers-Mariners playoff game...

 

[iwatchus]

Nonsense! I've never heard any woman complain about anything being too long.

Did you ever think that may be a you problem?

 

[StillStunned]

Did you ever think that may be a you problem?

I consider anything that keeps my life free of complaints from women a boon, not a problem.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

The Kitsune’s Mask went live this morning.
A Domme’s journey to taking off her mask for Halloween.
It’s a BDSM-themed story that contains 8 sex scenes in 27k words, ranging from 1 paragraph to about 2000 words.

 

[EmilyMiller]

You know those Halloween stores that just appear out of nowhere sometime in September and vanish on November 1st? Didn't you ever wonder if there was something sinister about them?

Mr. Spooky's House of Halloween Fun

Yay! Glad it got published

 

[EmilyMiller]

The Kitsune’s Mask went live this morning.
A Domme’s journey to taking off her mask for Halloween.
It’s a BDSM-themed story that contains 8 sex scenes in 27k words, ranging from 1 paragraph to about 2000 words.

Happy you you got it published

 

[StrangeLife]

When you have been more successful here than @Voboy has is probably the best time to think about explaining how things work to him.

Oh, that'll never happen. Don't worry. I'm very conscious of my own suckage

So no need to be insulted on his behalf... especially since no insult was intended.

 

[Djmac1031]

If i can get an afternoon with no distractions, I might actually finish mine today. Although itll most certainly need a good edit.

It's not a spooky or supernatural story, just a sexy little encounter that happens on Halloween.

It probably won't even come close to winning but that's not why I'm writing it. Im just happy to BE writing at the moment.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Although itll most certainly need a good edit.

 

[Voboy]

Well, last night's Tigers-Mariners playoff game...

"Ouch."
-the Tigers

 

[EmilyMiller]

Oh, that'll never happen. Don't worry. I'm very conscious of my own suckage

So no need to be insulted on his behalf... especially since no insult was intended.

Hey,

It’s a trigger, OK. I get mansplained so much here, that seeing it happen to a guy friend also gets me going .

We’re good!

 

[Voboy]

Oh, that'll never happen. Don't worry. I'm very conscious of my own suckage

So no need to be insulted on his behalf... especially since no insult was intended.

I'm capable of suckage, too. No worries.

 

[MelissaBaby]

"Ouch."
-the Tigers

It's too bad they didn't go a few more innings. I was looking forward to seeing the batboy pitch to the hot dog vendors.

 

[FrancesScott]

I have written a first draft and am currently incorporating beta reader feedback. Assuming I don’t have the submission issues that some are experiencing, it should be published on time. It’s called Pumpkin Spice and is a lesbian story.

 

[Voboy]

It's too bad they didn't go a few more innings. I was looking forward to seeing the batboy pitch to the hot dog vendors.

I'd been asleep for hours by then. I woke up this morning to a short video my son made around midnight as he watched the 14th inning. Crazy.

I remember that Sox WS game a few years back, when they played the Dodgers and the game went 18 freaking innings. I wanted to go to bed after fifteen, but I just couldn't. The Sox pitched Eovaldi in relief, but it turned into something more like a start for him because he ended up throwing like five unexpected innings.

 

[DEFCOM5]

@EmilyMiller,
Is this an homage to the exorcist?

 

[EmilyMiller]

@EmilyMiller,
Is this an homage to the exorcist?

Yup

 

[DEFCOM5]

Yup

Well done ......

 

[WeShallUnclench]

Question regarding the story categories here - I take it not every entry is automatically "Erotic Horror?"

I consider entering something I'd rather classify as Erotic couplings or Romance, it's just that one of the lovebirds is a cannibal hermit who butchers people in the woods (not mean spirited or anything, that's just how they roll)

 

[DEFCOM5]

Question regarding the story categories here - I take it not every entry is automatically "Erotic Horror?"

Yes. My entry is in SF/F although it could have been EC.

When it is published (tomorrow YEAH!), it will make the Sf/F desert a little less empty.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Question regarding the story categories here - I take it not every entry is automatically "Erotic Horror?"

I consider entering something I'd rather classify as Erotic couplings or Romance, it's just that one of the lovebirds is a cannibal hermit who butchers people in the woods (not mean spirited or anything, that's just how they roll)

Based on experience spanning two Halloween Comps where I was dumb enough to publish in Erotic Horror, avoid it like the plague. Low views and lower tolerance for anything not precisely their kink. 1/5 would not recommend.

 

[Trionyx]

Well, last night's Tigers-Mariners playoff game...

The game may have been long but the climax was worth it.

 

[Actingup]

Based on experience spanning two Halloween Comps where I was dumb enough to publish in Erotic Horror, avoid it like the plague. Low views and lower tolerance for anything not precisely their kink. 1/5 would not recommend.

That’s worrying me a bit. My story is undergoing its final mixing process after the usual dramas (sacked the producer, re-recorded the vocals, replaced the drummer, did the guitar work myself instead, wrote new songs, but otherwise it’s 100% faithful to the band’s live experience). I’d best describe it as corporate gothic horror with a slice of organic gardening. There’s some @PennyThompson-inspired defenestration involving a loving wife, but it’s definitely not a LW tale. It could potentially go in humour/satire, but is that just another graveyard?Decisions, decisions…

 

[Voboy]

That’s worrying me a bit. My story is undergoing its final mixing process after the usual dramas (sacked the producer, re-recorded the vocals, replaced the drummer, did the guitar work myself instead, wrote new songs, but otherwise it’s 100% faithful to the band’s live experience). I’d best describe it as corporate gothic horror with a slice of organic gardening. There’s some @PennyThompson-inspired defenestration involving a loving wife, but it’s definitely not a LW tale. It could potentially go in humour/satire, but is that just another graveyard?Decisions, decisions…

I mean, you never really know. When my stories underperform, it's almost always because of the category. Sometimes I realize that going in, but I feel like it's cheating to try to shoehorn a story into a "better" category unless I can justify it to myself.

I've been successful in EH when I've kept things relatively gothic or "monster-y." If the supernatural elements are only incidental, it's not usually a very responsive category. Which I'm experiencing right now.

"Nonhuman" is often a better choice if it's werewolf-based.