author update

Horror en América and Beyond: an Update

The newest anthology I’m featured in, Horror en América and Beyond, has been released!

Here’s a small blurb about it:

Horror en América and Beyond is a chilling collection by some of the most talented horror and speculative fiction authors, poets, and creative non-fiction writers in the country. It includes terrifying tales by award-winning authors Pedro Iñiguez and Carmen Baca, poetry by Poet Laureates Edward Vidaurree and Juan Perez, and Creative-Nonfiction by the prolific Daniel Olivas.

Each story traverses the boundaries of horror; with topics so fiendishly taboo, yet deliciously mortifying, you’ll be tucking your toes under your blankets at night. With razor-sharp poems unveiling the horrifying nature of American violence, both supernatural and mundane. The non-fiction will have you question the horror of politics in America. This anthology will keep you in a stranglehold until the very last page, and leave you gasping for more!

As usual, you’re more than welcome to purchase it on your own if you’re interested in buying a copy or if you rather, if you’re on my mailing list, I can send you an autographed copy. I would just have to add in mailing expenses. Plus the bonus charge for my autograph. 🙂

Please feel free to let me know if this anthology is something you’d like to add to your collection.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, I sent Killer of Creatures to three alpha readers and I’m about 34k words into a different novel. I know I should be working on the sequel to Killer of Creatures, but to be honest, I had to leave that on the back burner because I haven’t been feeling very funny lately.

Isabelle Palerma

A Peek into a Sleepless City

Sleeping is illegal. Dreaming is monetized. They said it was for our safety. But it wasn’t.

The city never sleeps. Why should it…?

The Regime is watching. Always watching…

Interested in more?

Wait until the official blurb comes out.

Maybe you’ll just have to stay awake to find out. 😉

Isabelle Palerma

Update on Catching Dreams

Yesterday morning, I received an email with my edited manuscript. I was all prepared to dive into the edits and see how I could improve my writing before sending it back to the publisher for one more round of final edits.

Then, I read the email. The small press I had to decided to go with is shutting down as of January 1, 2025 and will not be publishing Catching Dreams.

Isabelle Palerma

On Enjoying the Journey

Sometimes, I think I’m only worth the amount of XYZ I produce. I’m only worth my word count or the amount in my checking account. Sometimes, I think if I’m not producing art or making words appear on the page, I’m worthless.

But as I was sketching in my sketchbook recently, I rediscovered a phrase that resonated with me: “The creative requires as much care as the creation.”

All of a sudden, it feels clear. I’m supposed to take breaks. I’m allowed to have time away from writing and creating and doing. I can’t be a machine. I’m only human and that’s what makes me so beautiful.

It’s not about constant production. It’s about living life and having experiences and enjoying my life. So I need to forget about constant output and just enjoy the world around me. No longer am I going to entertain the guilt that has been a passenger to everything I do, instead, I’m going to focus on enjoying the journey.

Isabelle Palerma

Imperfections

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my art and my writing. I have found sketch pads and notebooks where I have ripped out nearly every single page because I was expecting perfection out of myself. What a lofty goal – perfection ten out of ten times? It was ludicrous. I realized I stopped enjoying the process when I was so focused on the outcome.

It took me some time, and a lot of journaling, to revitalize my love for writing and art as a process. I spent today working on a painting where I told myself, no matter what, I was going to keep it and not throw it away. I accidentally spilled a blotch of purple paint on the corner and my first thought was that I needed to fix it, but instead, I just lived with it. And you know what? All Hell didn’t break loose. I survived, and the painting survived too.

I used to have a friend who said, “It’s not in spite of our flaws that we’re wonderful, it’s because of them.” And that’s the attitude I’m bringing into the new year. I’m enjoying my imperfections, whether it’s in my poetry, fiction, or art. I stopped creating for so long because I was expecting too much out of myself.

Now, I’m back to simply enjoying the process – no matter what the outcome may be.