Writer of Weird

Francesca Maria

Francesca MariaFrancesca MariaFrancesca Maria

Francesca Maria

Francesca MariaFrancesca MariaFrancesca Maria
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Writer of Weird


  • What's New
  • The Work
    • Black Cat Chronicles
    • Horror Tales
    • Comic Tales
    • Musings
    • Newsletters
  • Meet Francesca
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published work

Crystal Lake's Shallow Waters Christmas Edition

Black cat Tales: An Anthology of Black Cats

coming Friday the 13th of June 2025

I'm thrilled to give birth to this book baby as it's co-editor and co-publisher. This is the first book I've edited for an anthology and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out. I can't wait to get this into everyone's little black paws this June!


More about Black  Cat Tales:


A black cat approaches, do you let it cross your path, or run in the opposite direction? From the superstitious to the unlucky, from a witch's familiar to a soul stealing grave robber, black cats have captured our imagination and remain solidly in the realm of the dark. 


Join authors from around the world for never before published horror, dark fantasy and mystery short stories and poems featuring the beloved, feared and mystical black cat. Black Cat Tales showcases a diverse group of authors ranging in age from 17 to 80, some with multiple award winning publications under their belts, for others, this will be the first time seeing their work in print.


Cover design is by the award winning Kealan Patrick Burke. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DUST AND SHADOW by Daniel Roop

JAMOCA'S LAST PATROL by Daniel Bulone

INLAND SELKIES by William Shaw

THE CAT AND THE CUSTOM by Richard Lau

THE VERMIN by Mary A. Turzillo

HEAL ME WITH YOUR PURR by Sumiko Saulson

THE LAND BELONGS TO THE CATS by Francesca Maria

CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO RISE by H.T. Martineau

THE BLACK CAT by John Russell

MARROW by Ash Fanglore

THE GOLDEN HAIRBALL by Joanie Brittingham

PRIZED BLOOD by Kelly Matsuura

A BABY'S BREATH WREATH, A HEART FULL OF THORNS by Ken Hueler

A MEWLING MADNESS by Paul A. Freeman

IN THE BOTTOMLESS FALLING PIT ALL CATS ARE BLACK by Amelia Gorman

DARK STRANGER by Edward Lodi

CATS JUST DON'T CARE by A.H. Plotts

JUDGE by Jordan King-Lacroix

SCHRÖDINGER'S DINNER by Cailín Frankland

BLACK AS SHADOW, RED AS BLOOD, WHITE AS BONE by Loren Rhoads

THE FAMILIAR by Meredith Gladwell

JANIS AND NOODLE by Andrea L. Staum

ILL LUCK by Chris Opyr

THE HOOD by S. Michael Wilson

THE WRITER by S.S.N. Smith

GARBO by Scott Urban

NIMBLE CAT by Linda Neuer

GIRLHOOD IS A THING WITH CLAWS by A.R. Bagne

ELEGY FOR PILATE HARDESTY by L.S. Johnson

BAIT by Nico Martinez Nocito

A PRESS OF A BUTTON by A. Kristina Casasent

LITTLE BLACK KITTEN by Gregg Stewart

DOES THAT FAMILIAR COME IN BLACK? by Gerri Leen

LUCKY THE 13TH by Mark S. Causey

THE COLD by Alexa Donley

COUNT DRACULA'S CAT by Deborah H. Doolittle

LAVENDER by Donna Marie West

AGENTS OF SATAN by Ben Kardos

REST by T.L.K.

There is no use of A.I. or Artificial Intelligence in the making of Black Cat Tales.

preorder links

THEY HIDE: Short Stories to Tell in the dark debuted at #1

Who are we if not for the monsters that we keep?

They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark collects thirteen chilling tales that weave through the shadows, exploring the nature of fear, powerlessness, and control.

- A series of murders in a New England colony
- An untamed beast in pre-revolutionary France
- A mysterious stranger who invades 18th-century Ireland
- A traveling circus that takes more than the price of admission
- A gathering of the Dark, telling tales on the longest night of the year, and more.

Come play with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, ghouls and the devil himself. Make sure you check under the bed and don’t turn out the lights. 


Order they hide Now

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Barnes & Noble
Apple Books
Goodreads reviews
  • Amazon
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Apple Books
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Catch my episode of Creature Features!

creature features tv

I had the BEST time hanging out with Vincent, Tangella and Mr. Livingston as a guest on Creature Features. The episode airs October 5th at 9 p.m PST on various stations including their YouTube Channel. 

WATCH

Black Cat Chronicles: Portland's Underground is out now!

from Black cat publishing

In this fourth issue of Black Cat Chronicles: Portland's Underground, we explore the seedy underbelly of Portland, Oregon's hidden city beneath the city. 

From corruption to vice to human trafficking, 19th century Portland proved to be anything but the jeweled City of Roses it proclaimed itself to be. Thousands went missing as they were carted off into slave labor aboard ships headed to the East. Few ever made it back alive. 

Get your copy

My short story won 3rd place!

The devil and the laundromat

The theme this month was "Say Yes to Satan". My flash piece, The Devil and the Laundromat, is about a worn down and out woman staring forty in the face, dejected by life until a handsome stranger shows up in the Laundromat.  

Read Full Story

To hell and back anthology - Out Now!

from hellbound books publishing

I'm thrilled to be a part of this collection edited by Joe Mynhardt from Crystal Lake Entertainment along with some of my best horror writing pals: Gregg Stewart, Kyle Toucher, Jay Bechtol and many more!   

My short story, Luka and the Luchador is about two blokes trying to make their way through life and hell. 

Get your copy

under the stairs anthology - Out Now!

from Ossuary Press

My short story, Trapped is a true account of my life living in a haunted house and one of the most traumatic memories from that experience. The anthology is chalk full of both fiction and nonfiction work centered around homebound horror - cuz nothing is scarier than the shadows that lurk in your own home!  

Get your copy

My short story ties for 2nd place!

from crystal lake publishing

My short story, Camping Merit Badge, tied for 2nd place in last month’s Shallow Waters contest! This is especially humbling as voters only got one vote this month (as opposed to their top 3 or 5). And there were some phenomenal camping with cryptids tales! Thank you Crystal Lake and all who voted for my merry tale of Boy Scouts + Sasquatch + Aliens! 

read full story

shallow waters paperback edition now available!

from crystal lake publishing

I am thrilled to announce that two of my short stories, Unholy Night and Motel 8 are part of this collection - the last of the Shallow Waters series from Crystal Lake Publishing. They have been so great and supportive and I am honored to be a part of this amazing collection with fellow authors Jay Bechtol, Gregg Stewart, Amanda Blake and more!

order

DEBUTED AT #1 AMAZON BEST SELLER!

from crystal lake publishing

Two of my short stories: Unholy Night & Motel 8 are included in Shallow Waters Vol 9, out now! Both of these won 1st place in their respective monthly Flash Fiction contests which are voted upon by my peers.  

order

THEY hide won a silver reader's choice award

from connections magazine

They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark just won a Reader's Choice Award from Connections eMagazine!! Thank you to all who voted for my love letter to horror tropes!

Connections Magazine

THEY hide debuted at #1 on Amazon!!

#1 in new Horror Short Stories for ebook!

THEY HIDE: SHORT STORIES TO TELL N THE DARK ranked

#1 in New Release Horror Short Stories

#2 in Best Sellers Horror Short Stories

#3 in Horror Suspense

#3 in Literary Short Stories


I was so floored to see my book next to the likes of Stephen King and Margaret Atwood. At one point on launch day, THEY HIDE was one book away from these legends. So now, I can say, I was Stephen King and Margaret Atwood 'adjacent'. 

Amazon

THEY hide audiobook now available!

Amazon's #1 Best Seller now on Audible!

I'm so thrilled to be able to work with the extremely talented Spencer Dillehay (Don't Fall Asleep) and Lucy Kay (Spirit Voices) on the audiobook for THEY HIDE! 

Now on audible

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