Hey everybody, M. here,

As I mentioned in my earlier post about the release of the new issue of Chthonic Matter Quarterly, it was a really busy weekend for me in terms of fiction-related news! On Saturday I received my copy of Kingdoms Trembling in the mail, and as I’ve mentioned in a few other places online, the physical copy of this book is nothing short of stunning.

The illustration by Matthew M. Skillern absolutely explodes off the cover with colors so vivid I don’t think a picture on a screen can really capture it. That said, here are a couple of pictures to give you a feel for what I’m talking about!

If you’re stopping by for the first time and are wondering what this wizardry is that you’re looking at, Kingdoms Trembling is my debut sword & sorcery collection from DMR Books, containing 12 previously unpublished, bloody, action-packed tales that immerse you in the bizarre, dangerous world I first created and introduced in my stories The Tears of Blood and The Eye Within The Eye, which can be found in DMR’s two Die By The Sword anthologies. (And you can now get the first of those for free to read in e-book format, in DMR Books’ new digital sampler, The Battle Rages On).

Kingdoms Trembling was picked as a 2026 Summer Read by Publishers Weekly and has already been receiving some thoughtful praise from die-hard fans of the fantastic (I’m planning on highlighting more of that in the coming weeks).

In addition to the beautiful illustration and book design, I’ve also included an image of the table of contents here, so you can dig the unique naming convention I adopted when I was writing these stories, which I think sets the tone for a rare kind of reading experience.

But rather than taking it from me, you should see for yourself!

So if you’re into sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, weird horror, and all that other good stuff, grab yourself a copy today and see what all the hype is about!

A Few Thoughts About My Substack Experience So Far
Again, for those only now just becoming familiar with my work, you can follow me on Facebook, where I have been since time immemorial, and on my relatively new Substack to get more frequent updates and occasional posts related to film, literature, comic books and magazines from my youth, and other sorts of things that are broadly associated with my creative interests but aren’t strictly the kind of news on my fiction being published that you will read here.

On the topic of Substack, I have been having a lot of fun in the Substack Notes lately, engaging in more of the types of conversations I used to have on other social media platforms about 15 years ago, before algorithmic manipulation started making polite and insightful discussions more and more difficult.

That said, it is not quite living up to the promise of letting me get my stuff out to everyone who might enjoy it, at least not yet, but I’ve only been there a short time. So if you’re on there, follow me and subscribe! I might actually start making good use of that newsletter with some long-form content the way I keep saying I’m going to soon (it’s been a hectic couple of months, that’s my current excuse!).

Anyway time for me to go work on some stuff, take care everyone!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

The first official weekend of summer brought with it a couple of exciting developments over here! First the news on my latest story release since it was chronologically the most recent, then I’ll get to the next news item pertaining to my new book Kingdoms Trembling in a separate post, because there’s enough information today for two!

The Summer 2026 issue of Chthonic Matter Quarterly officially hit the shelves on June 21 and is now available in print and e-book format. The issue contains my story What’s Behind The Walls and tales of terror from six other authors. I’ve written up a quick synopsis of the story, which goes a little something like this:

Arthur Loos just wants to get rid of the pests in his apartment. But they keep getting weird and more baffling, and everything else does too. Who, if anyone, is responsible, and who, if anyone, can help? And what the hell is actually behind those walls? 

That description hardly scratches the surface, though, so pick up a copy yourself to see what it’s really all about!

If you’re familiar with my work you may have seen me mention this a few times already, but just in case you’re just stumbling onto this blog for the first time, What’s Behind The Walls is a thematic followup to my tale of urban paranoia and grody coatings Sticky, which appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of CMQ.

If you dug Sticky, get ready for more body horror, more high anxiety, and more love or something like it in the new story.

I should add that while both stories stand fully on their own so you don’t need to read one to appreciate the other, if you’re interested in seeing what these two tales of disintegration add up to when you put them together, you can still grab a copy of the Winter 2024 issue of CMQ.

Also, Chthonic Matter Quarterly offers yearly subscriptions. So if you want be sure that you won’t miss out on an issue of the quarterly anthology series that’s publishing some of the most innovative and thought-provoking weird horror out there today visit the Chthonic Matter Press website and sign up!

CMQ offers yearly back issue bundles, too, so if you haven’t picked up that Winter 2024 issue yet, you can get it and catch up on the rest of the issues that came out that year.

And I’ve got more coming this year from Chthonic Matter, too, with the Nyctalocos: A Collection of Night Terrors themed anthology slated to hit the shelves in August, containing my story Sherman Dismantled And Afloat.

Keep an eye out here for more news on that and more! Take care everyone.
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

Just wanted to make a quick update: the Summer 2026 issue of Chthonic Matter Quarterly, which will contain my short horror story What’s Behind The Walls, should be out sometime on or around June 21.

If you’re dropping by the for the first time and haven’t seen me mention it before, the story is a thematic followup to my story Sticky which appeared in the Winter 2024 issue. So grab that one and get in the zone for the new, unspeakable terrors on the way!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

I’m thrilled to announce that my debut sword & sorcery collection Kingdoms Trembling is now available for purchase in print and e-book format!

As you may have read elsewhere, the book was picked as a 2026 Summer Read by Publishers Weekly, so grab yourself a copy today to see what all the hype is about!

These twelve never-before-published, intertwining tales follow warriors and madmen, sorcerers and vagabonds, princes, criminals, and more as they battle their way through a weird, wild, violent world in disarray; a world on the edge of cataclysm, with bizarre, terrifying threats at every turn!

Visit the DMR Books website for a more in-depth teaser of what to expect from Kingdoms Trembling, and get ready to immerse yourself in a mindbending world of action and adventure like you’ve never experienced before!

If you’ve taken the dive into Kingdoms Trembling and want more, don’t forget that you can still get the two stories in which I introduced that world, The Tears of Blood and The Eye Within The Eye. They are available in the Die By The Sword anthologies, and the first is also available in DMR Books’ free digital sampler released a few months ago, The Battle Rages On.

Busy day today over here at M. Stern Headquarters so I’ve gotta run, follow me on Facebook or Substack, and if you dig the book, spread the word! Take care everybody!
-M.