Opal

My short story is in this anthology! I'm officially a published author now, and I couldn't have asked for a better debut. Proceeds go to help a cancer charity, which is an issue very close to my heart.

#HorrorWritersChat Monsters are often holding up a mirror to the things society at large has been taught to fear. Disease, consumerism, queer people, etc. We should be inspired by monsters to find out what it is we should actually be fearing, what is real and what is fearmongering.

#HorrorWritersChat A hand, crooked with too many joints and tipped with razor sharp claws, beckoned. The creature it was attached to towered over me, eyes like burning embers. "Aw, poor thing looks lost," it hissed. "Check its collar," growled a second creature, emerging from the shadows.

#HorrorWritersChat The monsters in my current WIPs are people. One, an obsessed vampire hunter, the other a serial killer who chooses to kill because it's tradition. The first represents the destruction of the 'other'. The second represents the harm that clinging to outdated tradition can do.

I'm Opal! I write a lot of horror centered around grief and queer experiences. I used to be utterly terrified of grey aliens. The idea that some nearly-faceless entity would want to experiment on me, and could do so with total impunity, was very frightening.

If you're wondering what I've been doing with my time not working on my WIPs, I wrote a K-pop Demon Hunters fanfic that is now up on AO3. archiveofourown.org/works/80625876

#HorrorWritersChat "I hear them. Amused laughter. Voices, discussing mundane subjects. The clink of glasses and silverware." "I had wandered into the Fae realm, and was invited to a dinner party. I thought I was a guest. No... I was their centerpiece, my torture their dining entertainment."

#HorrorWritersChat Horror dreamscapes don't factor into any of my stories YET. If I were to write one, I think I would focus on how everything feels real, but just slightly... off. The horror would come from believing you're living a normal day in a world somehow even more cruel than our own.

#HorrorWritersChat Hey, I'm Opal! I write horror, gothic romance, and fantasy. The only nightmares I ever get involve zombies. Specifically a type I call 'revenants', which are zombies that are still intelligent. They can talk, open doors... so basically just undead cannibals.

💖👁️💖👁️💖 FREE?! GET IT FREE?! ALL NEARLY 500 PAGES OF SPHERE-HOPPING, STARRY EYED SAPPHIC GOODNESS?! FREE?! THERE HAS TO BE A CATCH! 💖👁️💖👁️💖 Oh. The catch is eldritch horrors, blight, misery, and illness? 🤔 💖👁️💖👁️💖 STILL WORTH LET'S GOOOOO!!~~ 💖👁️💖👁️💖 aubreyennis.itch.io/name-her-holy

#HorrorWritersChat She convinced herself everything was fine, if she didn't look at the pictures on the wall or the ring on her finger. Her wife was just away. But she couldn't ignore the scratching and the crying coming from the front door at night. Eventually, she'd have to welcome her home.

#HorrorWritersChat In one of my WIPs, a man tortures a woman to death. I've written the scenes before and a few after, but I haven't gotten around to writing that scene. I have been putting it off because I know such things happen in real life, and describing it in detail is going to be hard.

#HorrorWritersChat Two things come to mind. Grief, and abuse. I've experienced a lot of both throughout my life, so writing about them is hard, but cathartic. I want someone to read my works and realize that they aren't alone in what they're feeling.

#HorrorWritersChat I'm Opal! I write horror because I've spent my life feeling like an outsider. The person that people avoid, because they don't understand. Also, my grandmother is a medium, so ghosts have always been a part of my life, and my dad introduced me to horror movies at a young age.

#HorrorWritersChat It lay in his bed, which will forever be empty. It wore his hat, that he'd never wear again. It pet his dogs, who hadn't yet figured out he was gone. It watched his TV, and cheered for a team he'd never see play again. It murdered him, and reminds me of the best of him.

#HorrorWritersChat Tessa is a tall young woman with a muscular build. She's stronger than she appears, but always tries to make herself smaller than she is. However, her father had her helping him with his construction business since she was very young, which saves her life several times.

#HorrorWritersChat In one WIP, my MC lives in an extremely haunted house. It is full of the anguish and rage of those the previous owner killed, but even bigger than that is the MC's grief. It fills every inch of every space she inhabits.

#HorrorWritersChat Sooo late to the party this week! I'm Opal, I write horror mostly surrounding grief and being 'othered' by society. My favorite horror story set inside a home... that's a tough question. Strictly for novels, "The Girls Are Never Gone" by Sarah Glenn Marsh.

A friend of mine needs a vehicle to help escape an abusive situation. I know things are tight for everyone right now, but if you have a few dollars to spare, she and her child would really appreciate it. gofund.me/874f71436

#HorrorWritersChat Evelyn would not be caught dead (well, undead) in sweatpants. Twelfth century French Baronesses do NOT wear sweatpants, she will not have her dignity stolen. ...she'd love to see Josie in a pair though. There's often nothing cuter than a girl who is totally relaxed.

#HorrorWritersChat "Touch me again, and you'll regret it," Josie growled. "Participation is mandatory," he said. He reached for her again, and she fired her Colt. She stared in horror as the bloody hole in his chest began to rapidly heal. "Participation is mandatory," he said, smiling too wide.

#HorrorWritersChat It was International Playdate Day, and my daughter was upstairs with my sister's kids. My phone rang. "Sorry we're running late, we'll be there soon!" my sister's voice said over the line. "What? You dropped them off twenty minutes ago." Then I heard my daughter scream.

#HorrorWritersChat Opal here. I write a lot of horror that centers around grief, loneliness, and LGBT+ themes. My favorite international day is Shark Awareness Day. I have a lot of fond memories of my late father and me watching Shark Week and bonding over a mutual love of the sea.

A completely FREE resource for #AuthorSky #IndieAuthors

#HorrorWritersChat In my vampire story, the antagonists are human. They're bounty hunters. In my ghost story, the antagonist is a human serial killer. In my teen horror, the antagonists are more supernatural. Still very human, but imbued with supernatural power by a cosmic horror.

#HorrorWritersChat I try to ensure I'm invoking all five senses when I get into my darker scenes, to help bring my readers there. What's a worse smell, old and moldy or TOO sterile? What does the protagonist see? Hear? Is their throat too dry? Is the rotting stench so thick they can taste it?

#HorrorWritersChat My current WIPs have a lot of perceived realities that get violated. "People who are nice on the outside are probably nice on the inside." "Giving someone power simply makes them more of the person they already are." "Someone who truly loves you would never hurt you."

#HorrorWritersChat I'm Opal! I mostly write horror, with some other genres tossed in. I'm not sure how to define the horror I write, as I tend to write a bit of every subgenre. My current WIP is influenced at least somewhat by "Attack the Block", Stephen King's "IT", and "The Craft".

Add more #horror authors and horror writers to your feed. Add Horror Writers Chat Members A starter pack filled with the attendees of the weekly #HorrorWritersChat 🩸📚 📚💙 #HorrorSky

#HorrorWritersChat In my vampire novel, the protagonist steals the identity of a U.S. Marshal, dressing herself and acting more masculine to fit the part better. She transforms herself from a scared young woman chasing after the cousin she idolizes to a hard-bitten outlaw masquerading as a marshal.

#HorrorWritersChat In one of my WIPs, the protagonist has to sacrifice/set aside her own grief to help others. It's devastating for her, but is a big part of her growth. In another WIP, the protagonist has to sacrifice her freedom (become a wanted outlaw) to do what's right.

#HorrorWritersChat In my ghostly novel, the protagonist is forced to go from being broken, grief-stricken, and thinking she's going insane, to a force possessed by righteous vengeance.

#HorrorWritersChat I am Opal, I write mostly horror, with some fantasy, scifi, and gothic romance, all with LGBT+ characters. I would be most scared to give up my spouse. If you want something specific about me, then my gender. I fought hard for it, and I won't let it go.

#QueerWritersChat Don't give up. They want us to give up. You've survived this long, gotten this far. Do not stop now.

#QueerWritersChat One word to represent my 2026 outlook/vision: hope.

#QueerWritersChat I plan on working on my WIPs this year, I swear. >.> I have three horror WIPs atm: A novel about lesbian vampires in the Old West. A novel about a queer punk band with superpowers. A novel about a woman who can talk to ghosts, who try to get her to stop a serial killer.

#QueerWritersChat First time posting! I'm Opal, I write mostly horror, as well as gothic romance, fantasy, and science fiction. I'm currently working on KPDH fanfic while ignoring my actual WIPs: a horror novel about lesbian vampires, and another about a queer punk band with superpowers.

#HorrorWritersChat She looked back at the parts of her that had to remain behind. A body that never quite fit, a life lived in the shadow of others, a family that rarely remembered to love her. She watched as those chains fell away, and then leapt forward. Finally free.

#HorrorWritersChat Crossing at midnight, if I wasn't able to bring my spouse with me, then I'd bring my grandfather's knife, my father's silver ring, my spouse's golden moon pendant... you know, all the accoutrements a good witch needs for the other side.

#HorrorWritersChat Absolutely it would be the past. I made a lot of mistakes, and was too cowardly to stand up for myself many times, when I should've. My life would be completely different, if I had only said no, been honest, etc.

#HorrorWritersChat Almost missed it! I'm Opal, I write mostly horror, as well as gothic romance, sci-fi and fantasy. If I were bound and forced to haunt, it would be my spouse. I've already told them they can keep my skull if I die first, so I plan on haunting them til they're ready to pass.

I've signed, I'm not from Alberta or Saskatchewan but we shouldn't leave the people there behind if you're canadian: get on this thanks 💖

"What do you desire...?" The sibilant hiss came from the shadow in the corner, her glowing red eyes lingering on me. Her teeth, razor sharp and glistening, parted again. "What do you crave...?" "Nuggets." "We had McDonald's last night," she snarled. "We can't have McDonald's for EVERY meal."

If we can only have art from people who "aren't in it for the money" that means we can only have art from privileged middle-class dilettantes. Making art being a viable career is responsible for nearly all worthwhile art, and if it's not a viable career any more we will get drastically less of it.

#HorrorWritersChat At the moment, I am finding great joy in writing fanfic entirely about sapphic yearning and making clumsy mistakes in relationships. It feels like rebellion because fanfic is looked down on so much. I feel guilty for working on it instead of my novel, but it's making me happy.

#HorrorWritersChat My dream for my writing is to be successful. I have yet to figure out exactly what 'successful' looks like. Kurt Cobain said that he knew Nirvana had 'made it' when Weird Al did a parody of their song. So maybe success, for me, should be when Chuck Tingle parodies my work?

#HorrorWritersChat Horror to me means exploring the darker side of ourselves. Asking ourselves uncomfortable questions helps us grow as people, even if we don't always like the answer. Horror, as a genre of entertainment, allows us to ask those questions in a safe way.

#HorrorWritersChat Hey there, I'm Opal. I wrote horror, romance, fantasy, and sci fi, with a focus on dark and LGBTQIA+ themes. I didn't really know Matt, but this community has helped me realize just how many writers there are out there willing to lift each other up. 🕯️🕯️🕯️