Anyone else have a blazing hot and rainy summer?

August 2026 edition of the Boopish Newsletter

Aug 04, 2026

TOPICS (click the link to go directly to the thing):

Announcement: Cover Reveal
Article / News
Eclectic Etymology: SINISTER
Short stories
1. July Link: Should?
Other Book Updates
1. Infinity Hall Kickstarter Page
Indie sci-fi novel
Cliff Cave Books Store

📢 ANNOUNCEMENT

I had submitted Subcutaneous to agents and got a full request about a couple months ago. Because of that, I haven’t talked much about it, in case it would be picked up for traditional publishing. However, on Monday morning (yesterday), I got the news that they are rejecting it. They had a lot of nice things to say, but cited “lack of enthusiasm” to support the project. I’m not sure what that means, but it is what it is.

So now I’ll be attempting to release an advanced reader copy (ARC) of Subcutaneous in time for Halloween 😊 I can’t guarantee that, since I still need to do a bunch of work to get it ready, but I’m going to try! If I get it out there, I’ll share the link with you all if you’d like to do an advanced review.

I started Subcutaneous a couple years ago, with the idea of blending my flagship genre, horror, with my long time hobby, soapmaking.

With that said, I have a tentative cover to show you!

Sebastian lives a low key life in the small town of Black River, Missouri. He leaves behind the corporate slog, the woman he once loved, and a childhood he can barely recall. One weekend, along with girlfriend, Lacey, he joins an old friend, Matty, and Mena, the ex-girlfriend now engaged to someone new. Their ordinary conversation evolves into a revelation about the absence of a former coworker that doesn’t appear accidental.

As Sebastian attempts to regain Mena’s affections, disturbing events befall the circle of friends that lead to the discovery of a strange white chapel in the middle of Fort Pines Park; a sprawling forest large enough to conceal the darkest of secrets.

Each new catastrophe draws closer to home, revealing cryptic connections between the chapel and a dark force hunting random victims to create ritualistic soap.

SUBCUTANEOUS explores themes of bodily autonomy, paranoia, and the fragile nature of reality through the lens of intimate horror.

What do you think?

📰 ARTICLE / NEWS

Not news, per se, but I just thought I’d share my addiction to perfume. I would be ashamed to tell you how many I actually have… full bottles, travelers, and samplers (it’s mostly samplers). My favorite house is House of Bo, and I just got one of their new releases. Their bottles are so pretty! I may be a tom boy, but there’s a girly-girl deep down under all this swag. The newest release is Acapulco 76, and while House of Bo claims to craft unisex fragrances, this one is very much for the ladies. I mean, unless you’re a dude that likes to smell like creamy flowers. I wouldn’t blame you.

House of Bô (left to right): Acapulco 76 (new), Casa Blanca, Oro Verde

Any Elden Ring fans in here?

I’ve been playing it for a few years now (still haven’t beaten it, just taking my time). If you’re not familiar with the game, other players can leave messages for you throughout the world. A lot of times, they’re cryptic battle tactics, or warnings about an ambush, or where to seek specific items, etc. The messages are boiler plate phrases that can be strung together to create these useful comments.

However, it’s always a joy to find these little gems like the one below hidden in dark corners, atop seemingly unreachable areas, and tucked behind crates:

📜 ECLECTIC ETYMOLOGY

SINISTER

(14c.), from Latin sinister “left, on the left side” (opposite of dexter), a word of uncertain origin.

The Latin word was used in augury in the sense of “unlucky, unfavorable” (omens, especially bird flights, seen on the left hand were regarded as portending misfortune), and thus sinister acquired a sense of “harmful, unfavorable, adverse.” This was from Greek influence, reflecting the early Greek practice of facing north when observing omens. In genuine Roman auspices, the augurs faced south and left was favorable. Thus sinister also retained a secondary sense in Latin of “favorable, auspicious, fortunate, lucky.”

The word had become popular in the early 1820s, had a dip in popularity from then on until 2018.

How often do you use the word sinister? Did you know it originally meant “left?”

🔖 Short Stories

Should?: a short story written for one of the “owl” Writing Battle competitions, is a bittersweet time travel story sent out last month, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s the link:
Should?
R.E. Holding
·
Jul 21
Read full story
I had 3 back-to-back competitions, and I didn’t submit to one of them. The NYC Midnight contest was the first of their 2-story line, where I had to write 2 stories, each no longer than 300 words. I was able to turn them in at the 11th hour.

Coming to Substack on the 18th of August: Pogonophobia is the Fear of Beards

📖 Other Book Updates

Work In Progress Updates

Infinity Hall: I’m making steady progress on the 4 novellas that will be included in the anthology. I’m excited to get this one going! If you haven’t followed the project yet, and are interested, click here to go there!