Cynthia “Cina” Pelayo

A list of THE GRACEVIEW PATIENT-specific events. October 14th - Powell's, Portland OR Graceview Launch Event With Keith Rosson October 21st - Bucket o Blood, Chicago IL With Grace Daly October 22nd - Blue House Books, Kenosha WI With Cynthia Pelayo October 24th - Haunted Burrow Books, Seattle WA With Xe Sands October 25th - Bridgeport B&N, outside Portland OR Signing only

A bigger list of general spooky season events: October 1st - Always Here, Portland OR - conversation partner - Launch event for Demon Song by Kelsea Yu October 2nd - Raven's End Virtual Trivia October 4th - Book Bin, Salem OR - convo and signing with Kate Alice Marshall October 9th - Powell's, Portland OR - event for Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton October 10th - Parallel Worlds, Portland OR - store expansion party - panel with Ling Ling Huang, Lindsay Straube, and Evan Leikam October 16th - The Lost Church, Litquake, SF CA - panel: queer magic, a charmed evening with Charlie Jane Anders, Caitlin Starling, and Michelle Tea October 18th - Community library, Vancouver, WA - horror panel with Sadie Hartmann, Keith Rosson, Hiron Ennes October 18th - Always Here, Portland OR - launch event for The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes October 19th - Cedar Hills Powell's, Portland OR - SFFH group author signing October 23rd - LibraryJournal Day of Dialogue - virtual - The Monstrous and the Mundane w/ Caitlin Starling, Mackenzie Nolan, Justin Richards, Jacob Rollinson, and Andrew Joseph White

okay here’s my official event listing for October. Mostly general spooky season events with a few Graceview events sprinkled in for fun.

Happy release day, Jenny!! 🥳🎉

The cover for CRAFTING FOR SINNERS, featuring hand-crocheted art

CRAFTING FOR SINNERS releases October 7! Pre-order a signed copy here: www.horrorbookstore.com/product/craf...

Choco forever 🐓

"Milagros", by @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social:
When an author can grab your undivided attention and make you fully invested in a character (and their pet) in just 9 1/2 pages, that’s some damn fine storytelling! I can also freely admit it did not at all go the way I thought it was going to. Wow!

I've lived in Chicago 40+ years. I've never once felt unsafe here.

Today however, I feel if I breathe wrong in these people's direction that our government has sent to invade us, or if I post the wrong thing online...that it will not end well for me.

This was always a manufactured:

Us versus Them

And again and again the enemy is made out to be ... people of color.

Your government is telling you that you have no peace and you have no freedom because people of color are here.

Where do you think we possibly go from here?

And yes, I say this as the Texas national Guard arrives in Illinois.

Day 64

You have to control your nervous system if you want to create.

Some ways to do that?

Walk
Stretch
Journal
Meditate
Listen to steady, low music
Deep breathing, or box breathing (google it)

600 words every day started Aug 3 to Dec 31 for a novel draft by end of year.

#600X150

Oh, that's good news.

This is really good to know!

Aww! Little ones!

😂

Awww 😂 opportunists who appreciate cat food!

I’ll need to buy more cat food.

Ohhhhh! That’s a good one!

Gary, a Chicago opossum

The kid named opossum Gary

Literally if this was the only thing going on in Chicago this would be heaven. Alas…

Opossum is cute though!

Opossum does not want trees and prairie grass.

Opossum wants Chicago porch.

We caught a opossum in our backyard.

We took him a little further out.

This evening? We found him on our front porch eating the cat food we leave out for the stray cats.

So I guess we have a pet opossom now who lives under our porch.

It’s still Latine / Hispanic Heritage Month.

I’m very sorry that there are things happening in this country that attack your history, culture, identity and language.

Especially young Latines, I really want you to know how amazing you are.

Always be proud of who you are and where you come from.

Books of Blood release Cynthia Pelayo Hailey Piper Paul Tremblay Mick Garris John Langan Conner Habib Sarah Langan Grady Hendrix Insta at gradyhendrix at 6 est

Cynthia in Chicago sweater

Join us tonight! Let’s talk Clive Barker. I’m talking … Candyman.

Local Novelist Helps Marvel Revive White Tiger A Chicago horror novelist is helping Marvel reboot its White Tiger franchise with a fresh Latina face

Best known for her genre-blending horror novels, Cynthia Pelayo’s “White Tiger: Reborn,” written with Daniel José Older, tells the story of Ava Ayala, the new White Tiger. https://chicago.suntimes.com/books/2025/10/01/marvel-latino-character-white-tiger-revival-chicago-cynthia-pelayo

Thank you so very much to the Chicago Sun-Times and reporter Ambar Colón for writing about White Tiger. Thank you again so very much, Marvel!

chicago.suntimes.com/books/2025/1...

Congratulations to everyone who made the HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XII edited by Maxwell I. Gold.

The complete TOC is below.

Day 63

Sometimes it’s nice to talk through your writing with someone. Today is a good day to do that.

600 words every day started Aug 3 to Dec 31 for a novel draft by end of year.

#600X150

Authors address religion in horror writing - Chronicle Media Juan Martinez, an assistant and associate professor at Northwestern University since 2013, wrote Extended Stay, which published in 2023.

Here’s a fun write-up about the American Writers Museum event I’m doing this Friday 10/10 with Tananarive Due and Matt Ruff!

chronicleillinois.com/features/aut...

This evening, President Trump is ordering 400 members of the Texas National Guard for deployments to Illinois, Oregon, and other locations within the United States. No officials from the federal government called me directly to discuss or coordinate.

Explore the Haunting HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XII Table of Contents Explore the haunting verses in HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XII! Discover top horror-themed poetry curated by esteemed judges.

I am pleased to share the ToC for the HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XII!

It has been an honor to curate this volume for the last 2 years and read the incredible poetry in our horror community.

@jonathanmaberry.bsky.social @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social

thewellsoftheweird.com/2025/10/05/h...

Story Studio Genre Series — Horror edition

I’m so sorry I have to miss Tuesday but I’m teaching that day at @storystudiochicago.bsky.social

The amazing Mathila Zeller will be there at Women & Children First with this great line up!

Day 62

A very tough day in #Chicago today.

If you’re writing non-fiction —

Write things down. Record them. Save pictures. Journal. Tell your story. Tell people what you’ve seen, what you’ve lived through.

600 words every day started Aug 3 to Dec 31 for a novel draft by end of year.

#600X150

ICE to Buy Tool that Tracks Locations of Hundreds of Millions of Phones Every Day Documents show that ICE has gone back on its decision to not use location data remotely harvested from peoples' phones. The database is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile phones, according to ICE documents reviewed by 404 Media.”

www.404media.co/ice-to-buy-t...