Marshall J. Moore

Bonus picture: me, directly after receiving the offer of publication call while actively boarding a flight.

Because community is the heart of this book. I wrote it for those who feel adrift, or trapped, or lonely. For those looking for belonging and meaning, and for those who need a gentle word of encouragement. I hope you’ll find what you need in this book, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Thank you to the friends, family, and fellow writers who have been part of the journey. Publishing is an industry rife with uncertainty and doubt, and your feedback, encouragement, and enthusiasm have buoyed me through the low moments. I am so grateful to belong to such an incredible community.

And thank you always to Megan, without whom none of this would have ever been possible.

Gabby, thank you for loving Igor and his friends and their story—I feel so lucky to be working with someone whose vision for this book is so perfectly aligned with my own, and I’m so happy that we get to bring it to life together.

A huge, huge thank you to my amazing agent Brent Taylor for helping to shape this oddball idea into an actual book, and for pitching it to my incredible editor Gabby Colangelo.

Next fall, something cozy this way comes…

I am overjoyed to announce that my traditionally published debut novel THE HENCHPERSON’S GUIDE TO UNIONIZING will be published by Bantam Books in Fall 2026!!

#debutauthor #cozyfantasybooks #cozyhorrorbooks #publishingannouncement

A Publishers Marketplace deal report from the Fiction, Horror category, dated November 14, 2025 which reads as follows: Marshall J. Moore's THE HENCHPERSON'S GUIDE TO UNIONIZING, pitched as Horrible Bosses meets What We Do in the Shadows, in which a mad scientist's hunchbacked lab assistant teams up with a witch's feline familiar and a vampiric count's vigilante bride to free themselves of their controlling masters—if the angry mob of townsfolk doesn't get them first, to Gabby Colangelo at Bantam Dell, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2026, by Brent Taylor at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world). Rights: decronin@penguinrandomhouse.com

Congratulations to @marshalljmoore.bsky.social on the sale of THE HENCHPERSON'S GUIDE TO UNIONIZING! #TeamTriada #BookSky

Thanks! There’s no such thing as unskilled labor, so it was high time the henchpeople digging up graves and piecing together body parts got their moment to shine.

Just hit 25k on my current WIP and now off to Seattle for Worldcon!

Great meeting you Garrett!

The publishing world is crazy small sometimes. Nothing like stepping into a random coffee shop while on vacation and immediately running into one of your @btaylorbooks.bsky.social agent siblings!

This was SUCH an awesome panel to moderate!!

Wait, this is just Fight Club

“Your outie does combat sports after clocking out at Lumon, which is why you have new bruises every day.”

#severance

In light of *gestures around at, y’know, everything* I hope Tom from MySpace is doing well.

Personally offended that my computer’s spellcheck doesn’t recognize Nyarlathotep as a word.

Do you want to know the limits of cozy fantasy? The #TBRCon2025 panel all about that starts in 1 hour! With @marshalljmoore.bsky.social @travisbaldree.bsky.social @stephanieburgis.bsky.social @sarahbethdurst.bsky.social @momteacherwriter.bsky.social & Mariana Costa

https://buff.ly/4jem5HQ

TBRCon 2025 | What Are the Limits of Cozy Fantasy? YouTube video by FanFiAddict

Hey, just over 6 hours until tonight's @tbrcon.bsky.social panel on cozy fantasy with @sarahbethdurst.bsky.social, @momteacherwriter.bsky.social , @travisbaldree.bsky.social, Mariana Costa and @marshalljmoore.bsky.social! You can open up the tab right now: www.youtube.com/live/an6_1XX...

I’m so excited for this!! Come watch if you can 😁

a cartoon cat says wow i have a lot of people to disappoint .. ALT: a cartoon cat says wow i have a lot of people to disappoint ..

Living with social anxiety means this gif is basically my whole internal monologue 24/7

Do cozy fantasy stories present any limits? #TBRCon2025 poses that question for @marshalljmoore.bsky.social (mod) , @travisbaldree.bsky.social , @stephanieburgis.bsky.social , @sarahbethdurst.bsky.social , @momteacherwriter.bsky.social & Mariana Costa, to discuss !

a black and white photo of a group of punks standing next to each other on a street . ALT: a black and white photo of a group of punks standing next to each other on a street .

Be a rebel punk. Believe in a better future.

The status quo HATES that

“Bob trembled, and got a little nearer to the ruler. He had a momentary idea of knocking Scrooge down with it, holding him, and calling to the people in the court for help and a strait-waistcoat.”

I’m rereading A Christmas Carol and we don’t talk enough about the fact that Bob Cratchit’s first instinct on Scrooge raising his salary is to beat the old man into submission and then have him committed to an insane asylum.

#achristmascarol

This is SUCH a good character building exercise!

Writers, let’s all share a piece of writing advice that we’ve found helpful. I’ll start:

The larger the cast of characters, the more you run the risk of losing reader attention. If multiple characters are serving the same story role, try condensing them into a single character.

#writingcommunity

a cartoon character with the words mission accomplished written below him ALT: a cartoon character with the words mission accomplished written below him

Last night I had a new student taking a trial class, and afterwards she complimented me on “how you made those guys talk about their feelings.”

I’m a Muay Thai coach. At the end of each class while we’re stretching I have everyone give feedback to the person next to them, specifically one thing they think that person did well this class and one thing they can work on for next time.

The beginning of PSYCHO (1960): a black and white panoramic view of Phoenix, Arizona, with FRIDAY, DECEMBER THE ELEVENTH written across it in white letters. (Is Psycho a Christmas Movie? There is a fleeting glimpse of Christmas decorations in one shot.)

Happy Psycho Day to all who celebrate!