Sam Flynn's Cabinet of Curiosities - Issue #7

Official announcement of next book Dweller in Darkness (coming late 2026!), awards updates for The Mystery of the Pale King, new fiction and year-end wrap-up.

Author

Samuel Flynn
December 09, 2025

Happy holidays, constant readers. First things first: today is my wife Angela’s birthday and I’d be remiss to note that not only is she is an incredibly intelligent, athletic, hard-working, caring and empathetic partner, she is also the biggest reason I’m able to write at all. Right at this moment in an alternate universe, I’m alone scribbling this newsletter on a forgotten restaurant menu in some back-alley and that just isn’t an efficient way of communication.

This year, I’m also grateful for the continued recognition for The Mystery of the Pale King. Congrats to all the finalists and winners in the first annual Small Spec Book Awards, of which my book was a semifinalist. Next up, Pale King is competing in the third annual Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS3) with the semifinalists to be announced Saturday, Dec. 20.

Awards season has brought along some fresh reviews. The latest comes from Steve Hugh Westenra of the BeforeWeGo blog and a SFINCS3 judge who writes, “A welcome addition to the cosmic horror genre, The Mystery of the Pale King impresses with its command of the subgenre, its intriguing characters, and its thrilling pace. Sam Flynn is an author to watch!”

Book News:

It’s official! My next book Dweller in Darkness will be published in Q4 2026 by Timber Ghost Press. An early synopsis for the Pale King sequel goes something like this:

All Cassius Marius knows is the Pale King. Ever since his birth sixteen years ago on the night the Hero of Hathur died, his mother prepared him to join the Lightbringers: seven young men selected every equinox by the Church of the Pale King to descend underground to hunt and destroy the Dweller in Darkness, a chthonic entity the Church names as source of an unnatural blight ravaging Hathur and beyond year after year.

Cassius’ inevitable confrontation with the Dweller on his holy descent changes him inside and out and puts him on a collision course with the Pale King he once worshipped. With his world and body crumbling around him, Cassius must choose between loyalty and honor, family and humanity, not to save his home, but to destroy it.

Dweller in Darkness by Sam Flynn (Timber Ghost Press, 2026)

My biggest inspirations were the films Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Born on the Fourth of July, the Ambergris books by Jeff VanderMeer, particularly Shriek: An Afterword, and the short stories The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin and Theme of the Hero and the Traitor by Jorge Luis Borges.

Other tidbits: 1) the book is epistolary like its predecessor but contemporaneous rather than written after the fact. It presented an interesting creative challenge for me and hopefully a distinctive reading experience from its predecessor 2) Faron, our protagonist and narrator from Pale King, will return, though when and how I will leave a surprise 3) and lastly, I’ve described the book in Lord of the Rings terms as what if Frodo and the One Ring were one and the same?

Memory Lane is my latest short story published last month on Patreon for subscribers and $3 for non-subs*. The horror tale follows Thomas Armstrong, a failed artist turned petty thief on the run after a botched robbery. He hides out at the Palace Hotel, only to find himself trapped in a steadily-escalating nightmare. Oh, and there are slug monsters.

*Cheat code: my short stories sell for $3 each but the whole collection is just $4.

Lastly, I’m in the home stretch on my Apocalypse Auditor sci-fi/mystery tale. What I aimed to be a novelette will exceed that limit and land closer to novella territory when all is said and done, which should be later this month. My goal is to sell it next year.

Events:

Sam Flynn

Sam Flynn "Tonight, my friends, the performance is real. To you, my most faithful, I dedicate this, the final production of 'The Mystery of the Pale King.'" As an orphan growing up in a distant...

www.facebook.com/sam.flynn.583/posts/pfbid024D7juxsZ58JbmPypNjYRjKUHiDgXZcCLCR6HWwa4sTRrxxPjiaA6ZogmA7DH542bl

I had a great time at the Hocking Hills Book Fair in Logan, Ohio on November 15 (as seen above) and look forward to my last signing of 2025 at the follow-up this Saturday the 13th at the Dairy Barn in my hometown of Athens.

As for 2026…

…I want to go on a book tour. Details TBA as soon as I will them into existence. Next up though, I will be at the Back to the Books: A Nostalgic Book Fair for Adults hosted by Black Cat Books and Oddities on Saturday, January 31, 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. at Medina High School (851 Weymouth Rd., Medina, OH 44256)

I also want to shout out the recent openings of new Ohio indie bookstores Viridian Bookshop in Willoughby and The Cozy Book Nook in Dayton! Perfect places to pick up that holiday gift you’re looking for. Glory be to books!

What I’m Reading/Watching:

Here are two indie releases I’m hyped for:

Dec. 16 - The Neon Revelation by T.T. Madden via Timber Ghost Press (Pre-order here!). The latest release from my publisher is a gloriously queer sci-fi horror novella about Roan, a vengeful transwoman who goes undercover in a religious cult claiming to have witnessed a miracle - a true angel. Out in one week’s time!

Feb. 3, 2026 - In This City, Where It Rains by Lyndsey Croal via Luna Press Publishing (Pre-order here!). Lyndsey continues her prolific and award-nominated run with her latest ghost story set in an alternative, rain-soaked version of Edinburgh concerning a woman drawn to a haunted mansion at the edge of town where secrets from her past lies buried.

On the film and TV side, ever since COVID, I’ve celebrated Noirvember every year and 2025 fielded a treasure trove of new watches I listed over on Patreon. Check it out for free. As for the filthy, disgusting movies and shows of the modern age, here are my 2025 favorites, more or less in order:

Movies:

  • One Battle After Another

  • Eddington

  • 28 Years Later

  • Sinners

  • Superman

  • Black Bag

  • Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

  • Predator: Killer of Killers

  • Relay

  • The Actor

Shows:

  • Andor

  • Severance

  • Poker Face

  • Dept. Q

  • Alien: Earth

  • Daredevil: Born Again

That’s all from me! Send your comments/questions/suggestions on the newsletter to [email protected] and sign up for more updates via Patreon.

With authorly affection,

Sam