Introducing "In the Dead of the Night"

The backstory of the YA psychological thriller I'm serializing on Substack

Way back in 2015, I started fiddling with a YA novel set at a summer camp in the Adirondacks. It was moody and atmospheric, written in almost vignettes at that time. I knew it was going to feature a haunted house, (fictional) local legends, and fierce friendships. But I didn’t know much else. I set it aside.

Fast forward to 2020. It was the early days of the pandemic, and when many of us were isolating at home, I found myself revisiting this story. I’d wake up really early—5ish, before the kids would stir—and spend an hour drafting each day. These were my only free moments to myself for many months, and I used them to complete a first draft.

The book—which at this point I was calling ‘ghost story’ because I couldn’t think of a fitting title—was shorter than any YA I’d written, but it packed a punch. The vignettes were gone, replaced with traditional chapters, and the story was moodier than ever, filled with mystery, an ominous sense of dread, and a killer twist. I knew I had something special in the works, but I was soon forced to set it aside to tackle promo for The Girl and the Witch’s Garden, and following that, revisions for Dustborn.

In 2021, I came back to ‘ghost story.’ I revised it from top to bottom, and in early 2022, it went out on sub as In the Dead of the Night, a title that took me forever to find but finally felt like the perfect fit. I was excited, hopeful, and cautiously optimistic that this book might be my next published novel.

And yet… In the Dead of the Night did not find a home with a publisher. I’ll spare you the in-depth details, but the short of it is that over the next two years, the novel went out to many editors in a variety of submission rounds but gathered only kind passes, glowing rejections, or no response at all. (I even had an R&R request at one point, but my revision was eventually rejected too.)

That said, I still think this book is special. And while In the Dead of the Night did not find a home in the traditional publishing landscape, that does not mean it can’t find readers through its own means. Such as…

Serialization and self publishing

Later in 2024, I’ll be self-publishing In the Dead of the Night, but before the novel is available for purchase as an e-book and/or paperback, I’ll be serializing it in full here on Substack.

I’ll be releasing the already written and revised novel chapter-by-chapter, dropping five chapters at a time with roughly a week between drops.¹ Everyone will be able to preview the first five chapters, but to read beyond that point, you’ll need to be a paying subscriber.

Paying subscribers will also have the ability to influence the end product by voting on select details, such as final cover art and certain names in the novel. I also plan to list every paying subscriber in the acknowledgements of the self-pub’d book as a thank you for your continued support of my writing,² and paying subs will also have access to any behind-the-scenes posts/updates that I share leading up to official release.

If you do not want to upgrade to paid, please know that I understand. Not everyone has the budget to do so, nor is everyone interested in this sort of sneak peek of the publication process. You can remain at the free tier and preview the first five chapters, then decide if you’re interested in buying the indie version later down the line. (No pressure or hard feelings either way, I promise!)

But for paying subscribers, this early preview (and the poll voting that comes with it) is another perk on top of your existing paid tier perks. Your chance to influence the book with your votes starts…. now!

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Choose the cover and name a character

Before we jump into voting, please take a moment to read the jacket copy for In the Dead of the Night. It will give you a good idea of the premise and tone of the book:

It’s no secret that the abandoned estate across the lake from Camp Durant is haunted. For decades, campers and staff alike have whispered about the girl who haunts the property—how she was possessed by something unearthly and how an exorcism gone wrong caused her untimely death—but seventeen-year-old Eleanor Bradley dismisses these stories as exaggerated local legends. That is, until Nell sneaks into the estate with some fellow camp counselors and spots a flickering figure in one of the mirrors, its hair dripping with blood.

Convinced the ghost is trying to speak to her, Nell digs for answers. But the lines between interest and obsession, real and imagined, quickly blur. Nell sees things in mirrors that aren’t there. Finds blood on her hands that isn’t hers. Uncovers things that later vanish—like the body behind the estate, buried in a shallow grave. None of it seems possible, unless what happened to the possessed girl all those years ago is happening again—this time, to Nell…

Okay! Here are the two cover options. Click on them to enlarge, and then vote on your favorite below:

shown left: Option A (Dock) | shown right: Option B (Canoe)

And while I have you, help me pick the name of Nell’s childhood best friend, now turned ex-best friend! This girl is a bit of a ‘queen bee’ figure. She’s bossy, manipulative, and confident, and she’s ghosted Nell after some drama involving Nell’s family.

Once the polls close next week, I’ll clean up the winning cover art and begin rolling out chapters (which will also include the winning name for Nell’s best friend). Be sure you’re subscribed to the Serialized Fiction section of my newsletter if you want to read along.

Got a question about this project that I didn’t answer? Drop it in the comments!

Until next time,

1. I know some of you don’t like reading only one chapter at a time, so hopefully these larger chunks can help you really sink into the story.

2. If you don’t want your name included, that’s fine! I’ll likely do a poll for this at a later point, so that you “opt in” to being listed in the acks.