Matt Athanasiou

Pumpkin head scarecrow monster with a grin and crescent eyes lit up from the inside. It wears a pointed hat and black tassels.

Bought a new ornament for spooky season that I already loved. My dark heart got even darker (or maybe brighter?) when I discovered it lights up!

#halloween #pumpkin #scary #joy

Never give up on your dream that one day, you will finally have a bookshelf with a rolling ladder.

You were never meant to leave.

#ITWelcomeToDerry premieres October 26 on HBO Max.

Had a great time chatting with @thecorlew.bsky.social on the pod about the book, and writing, and life :) Thanks for having me on, Chris!

Loves these episodes. Great for #spookyseason.

Pen, crayon, and paper doodle of a leaf-covered monster with eyes peering out. The monster is saying, “I’m looking for leaves.” The leaves are colored red and yellow.

A recent little doodle.

September’s for the leaf monster. He’s got a chilly air about him, but his heart is as warm as the fall colors he wears.

A quick, fun one to sketch, while I sat outside with a cold drink and a warm (non-leaf) jacket on a cool evening.

#doodle #makemistakes #monster #spooky

Ha (sympathy laugh). That’s a rough one. I could see how that situation could trigger the wonky part of the brain. I’m glad we all still exist!

Going to have copies of The Barre Incidents at Printers Row Lit Fest this weekend btw!!

Matt Athanasiou's review of The Cuckoo Clock of Doom (Goosebumps, #28) 4/5: I was in second grade or third grade when I ordered this book from Scholastic, because look at that awesome cover. I took the book to my brother’s hockey game in Tomahawk, and I camped out with i...

Reliving spooky childhood memories around the start of spooky season. Goosebumps will always have a place in this dark heart.

www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

#bookreview #amreading #horror #rlstine #goodreads #books

From a passage in Faith, Hope and Carnage: Seán: So do you relate to some degree to every character you write or sing about? Nick: Well, of course. How could I possibly not? Seán: Bunny Munro? Nick: Yes. Seán: Staggerlee? Nick: Hell, yeah, and Billy Dilly! Seán: Okay, that is deeply worrying.

Lol’d.

Thanks, Nick Cave.

(From Faith, Hope and Carnage. Also inspires a thought that there can be no minor characters, if they all share pieces of you.)

#amreading #nickcaveandthebadseeds #staggerlee #song #murderballads #music #writingcommunity #writingadvice

Looking forward to The End Times.

Can’t wait to see this horror in the actual mailbox.

#scary #newspaper

The Babaduck

Cream

YouTube video by TEDx Talks The case for making art when the world is on fire | Amie McNee | TEDxManchester

Amie McNee on why making things is an act of self-care, rebellion, and inspiration.

If you want a world of creation and playfulness—if you want others to join—you have to create; you have to play.

The talk reminded me of many @sarahgailey.bsky.social messages.

youtu.be/2XZ9z6OewR0?...

#art #tedx

Office Hours for newsletter subscribers on August 7! If you have tried booking a consultation with me lately, you have likely noticed that my schedule is more crowded than the bar at a writing conference. In order to help out more writers who have press...

Got writing/publishing questions? I'm going to host office hours exclusively for newsletter subscribers on August 7! Drop by and ask me anything.

Oven mit with an illustration of a cowboy cat holding a pan over a fire. A cowboy mouse carries wood and a horse eats grass in the back. Boss Kitty and Cookin up a storm are written on it.

Other side of the oven mitt. The pan sits steaming on a log and a horse eats grass in the background. Certified paw protection is written on it.

Was in Toronto and had one of those “I need this not at all but I need this” moments.

#cats #cooking #ineedzdis #travel

Garfield as Maria from Silent Hill 2, tempting James

Let me direct the next Silent Hill movie, I got great ideas.
🎨 @jetpackbraggin.bsky.social

A furry, rotund white monster on a bright orange background. It has sharp teeth and long curly horns that twist from its head to the ground. It says, “Long horns are so hot right now.”

Even the monsters are feeling the heat rn.

#doodle #art #sketch #makemistakes #sohotrightnow #summer #monster #scary #hot #horror

How to Tell a Story With a Central Dramatic Argument — MA How to tell a story.

Made a small edit to my journal entry about writing with the Central Dramatic Argument (CDA) in mind. Give it a look-see if you’re curious how it can shape your story structure.

www.mattathanasiou.com/journal/cent...

#writingcommunity #amwriting #writingadvice #theme #storytelling

For those asking me about the wrapper I used in #FoundObjectArt I posted recently, an #ArtProcessVideo showing how I used a #Lindor chocolate wrapper, Pentel Pocket Brush, & a white gel pen to create this winter skater.

A bookkeeper once told me I could claim chocolate as a biz expense. 😉 #Uplift

Would be great if we could sell enough copies to print with Bookmobile! I’ve got my pen ready and the bookmarks… also ready

Art by Jin Yung Kim
#kpopdemonhunters

cartoon of Snoopy wearing a red cape and flying on his dog house. Superman and Woodstock fly with him.

Cartoon: More Krypto fan art :) Enjoy.

The Babysitter Lives by @sgj.bsky.social

It’s very Coraline meets Twilight Zone meets House (movie-1985). Charlotte babysits for a family, but their house has a twisted past, and it soon becomes clear the past isn’t always in the past.
(It’s a short read. The audio book is 7.5 hrs)

#booksky

Writing Advice and Literary Wisdom from the Great E.B. White E.B. White, beloved children’s author (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan), innovative and revered essayist, and co-editor of the indispensable The Elements of Style, celebrate…

From the original spider man, thoughts on writing from E.B. White. I feel the note about the blank page, which’s why I tucked one away on my website for anyone who finds themselves scrolling too much for inspiration.

lithub.com/writing-advi...

#writingcommunity #amwriting #authors #creators

The Hearth - Nightmare Magazine The hearth is a trope of holiday songs and stories. It’s a warm place in a cold time, and families gather around it---for love, laughter, storytelling, a cup of cheer. This short story is an attempt a...

Here's a bone-chiller of a winter story served up on a hot summer day. "The Hearth" -- a horror short penned by me and published in @nightmare-magazine.com . www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/the-...

Ink sketch of a black cat. Meow is written beside it.

Jus’ doodlin’ to chill. Mostly felt like using diagonal lines to see where that netted out. Since it’s a cat, I have few complaints.

#doodle #art #sketch #cat #meow

OHI0752_BrokenCrayon_RedOrangeSlide A broken red-orange crayon is positioned so that the two pieces form a slide for a drawn girl, who appears to be climb up out of the broken bit. At the bottom of one angled piece, a drawn boy with wind-blown hair and glasses is shown laughing with arms raised as he slides down the crayon slide. The crayon label reads “red orange.” Illustration and photo by Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

You never know what will come out of a #BrokenCrayon.

a ½ gallon of neutral milk

They finally made the milk from that hotel

Screenshot from the game. A shadowed giant with glowing eyes towers over a boy on a bridge.

Screenshot from the game. A boy stands in a field of green and red flora.

Screenshot from the game. A boy stands below a glowing red cave drawing. The drawing looks like a devil throwing wind at animals and knocking them over.

Screenshot from the game. A boy walking up a hill at night. A full moon shines on him and the sky is choked with stars.

Bramble: The Mountain King is gorgeously dark. The Scandinavian fairy tale is a horror story, and the various settings reflect each unsettling antagonist within. At times, I wished it used shadow like Limbo to dull the gruesomest parts, but not at the expense of the rest of the beauty. #videogame