My husband Kyle and I, back before we had kids, were in already-remote mountain terrain in Colorado, but we wanted to be more remote than we could get even with a 4-wheel-drive SUV. So we rented an ATV (4-wheeler) and packed for a single night’s camping and drove beyond the designated areas, deep into bear country.

Us being Texans, we were very aware that we were in bear country. We had a can of bear spray. We’d reviewed the dos and don’ts. But still, we were a bit on edge. Something about being away from public campgrounds, away from other folks, away from help should we need it.

We found a cool spot and ate dinner, carefully packaging all wrappers and stuffing them into the storage cubby of the ATV since there were no trash cans–and the last thing we wanted was to put anything scented in our tent with us. We set up our rain fly just in time for a downpour that didn’t look like it’d let up anytime soon. Bit of a bummer, but we weren’t going to make a campfire in an undesignated campsite anyway, so we tucked in early to play cards and then get some extra shuteye.

If you’ve ever slept in a tent in a storm, you know that the sleep is usually sub-optimal. The sound of the rain was loud enough that I felt quite nervous we wouldn’t hear if a bear came sniffing around. It was too early for bed, but we were trapped. It was not a restful night, but hours into it we eventually passed out.

I awoke to a sound.

It was dark. Humidity choked the air. Drips from the tent edges occasionally made their way onto us. I became instantly aware that I’d heard a sound very close to me. Right outside the tent.

I froze, listening.

It came again. Something actually touching our tent. Not even right outside the tent. Inside the rain fly, between the shell and the actual tent, in the narrow triangle of space directly beside me. A thump, movement, more droplets falling. A pictured a large paw swiping it. A bear trying to find its way inside to eat whatever its super-human nose could smell. (Us.)

The peril of that moment, the feeling of immobilized terror, of no good choices–it has surely made its way into my fiction. You can’t distill that feeling of impending death on the page unless you’ve felt flashes of it in real life.

I woke Kyle. We pulled out the canister of bear spray. I was doing mental calculations of how far away the ATV was parked, how fast we could get out the other side of the tent and run to it, if a bear could outrun a 4-wheeler…

Kyle started talking loudly, which is what you’re supposed to do with bears. A big, calm voice telling it we weren’t tasty. The pawing at the tent side paused, then resumed. Maybe more urgent. Thumping swipes inside the rain fly.

Of course by this point I was scooted as far from the warm body thumping into the mesh side of the tent as I could get, but it definitely made contact. Kyle found his head lamp and turned it on. I searched for the big, clawed paw. I searched for a snuffling snout.

Something jumped at me. I, in true Annie fashion, squeaked in terror.

It jumped again, and again, and again. Frantic. Eyes glowing in the flashlight. A living ball of panic flinging itself against the mesh that it couldn’t see, like an invisible wall.

A bunny.

It took us a hilarious while to get it out of the rain fly. It just kept hopping into the tent wall, trying to break through. I didn’t want Kyle to unzip the tent because I was worried the rabbit would hop in with us and we’d never get it out, but he did stick an arm out and shine his light through the gap under the rain fly edge to show it where it could get out, and that eventually worked.

So, my first wild bear encounter turned out to be a bunny, but not all camping encounters end quite so charmingly. In fact, sometimes when you’re out in the wilderness, you cross paths with things far stranger and more sinister than a bear…

The Other

It’s not a sequel. It’s next in the sequence…

A couple meet their doppelgangers on a hiking trail while camping and are soon tested on how well they truly know the other.

The second novella in The Outsiders Sequence, following The Extra.

Out now from Shortwave Publishing. Where to buy:

• Shortwave Direct Shop • Next Chapter Booksellers • Amazon • Audible • Barnes & Noble • Books-A-Million • BookShop.org • Hudson Booksellers • IndieBound • Simon & Schuster • Target • Walmart •

“Annie Neugebauer’s The Extra ranks as one of the most clever and frightening horror novellas in recent memory, but that was only the beginning. This June, Neugebauer returns with the next book in what’s been dubbed “The Outsiders Sequence.” This time, Neugebauer’s strange world of doppelgangers and mimics turns to a couple on a hike who run into their exact duplicates, setting off a chain of events that will test their understanding of each other in terrifying ways. Neugebauer’s one of horror’s finest rising stars right now, so if you haven’t jumped on board The Outsiders Sequence yet, pick up The Extra and get ready for The Other.” —Bloody Disgusting

Early reviews agree that if you liked The Extra, you’ll love The Other. Set in the same uncanny universe, but with a new story that stands on its own, readers of Book 1 and newcomers to The Sequence alike are raving.

“The Other is, for the second time in a row, an A-star-star concept from Neugebauer, executed absolutely ruthlessly. An airless novella that raised my heartbeat so high that I considered the two hours I spent slumped in bed with it my exercise for the day- there is no reason why you shouldn’t be picking this one up if you’re looking for a quick, vicious hit of horror.

It’s a single-sitting, no-messing nightmare that is proficient in eliciting almost every sub-category of horror- anxiety, unease, terror. This is lean and vicious and comes enthusiastically recommended (along with its predecessor) by yours truly- although under no circumstances is it to be read in a tent.” —FanFiAddict

For those of you who like to listen to your books, you’ll be delighted to know that narrator of the audiobook for The Extra, Sean Patrick Hopkins, has returned for The Other with Patricia Santomasso, and they knock it out of the park. Just absolutely phenomenal actors who bring relatability, tension, and nuance to the characters. I highly recommend grabbing an audio copy.

“Neugebauer doesn’t need monsters when she has mirrors. The Other burrows into the terrifying possibility that selfhood might not be as fixed as we believe.

Neugebauer’s prose is clean and controlled, as always. She is just a master, allowing the strangeness of the situation to take center stage without unnecessary embellishment. She trusts the reader to sit with ambiguity, and that trust pays off.” —Ginger Nuts of Horror

The reception of Book 2 so far has been sort of breathtaking to me. I never intended to be the author of anyone’s favorite series with my third book ever published, but here we are, and I could not be more honored or more delighted to be the one freaking you out. Thank you so much to all of the readers who’ve been spreading the word about this sequence. These novellas are the little novellas that could, and any success they find has been thanks to the folks who champion them.

“Annie Neugebauer takes the doppelganger possibility to an entirely new level in The Other where it becomes far more terrifying than just finding someone who resembles you.

The Other by Annie Neugebauer is a quick, eerie and unsettling read that sneaks up on you in the best way possible. The story blends psychological tension with shocking twists and turns that you won’t see coming. I am eagerly awaiting The Spare which is on the horizon.” —Capes and Tights

The Other is out now. Grab a copy or two, settle in somewhere *safe and solitary, and enjoy.

Those of you who’ve followed my blog for years, especially back when I posted often, know that my biggest long-term dream has been to publish a novel with one of the ‘Big 5’ publishers (Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster). It has not been an easy journey.

I’ve stuck to that goal through the death of my dad, getting married, having kids, health issues, global issues, all kinds of personal and public trials and triumphs.

I might have at times seen my inability to have a novel picked up by a big press as a failure. The close calls we had could take the wind out of you. ‘Revise and resubmits’ that fell through. “Rave rejection” became part of my regular lingo. But my agent stood by me, and my husband, and my writing friends supported me even when they didn’t fully understand why I didn’t just adjust the course.

It meant sticking it out with book after book sliding into the someday drawer rather than moving to self-publishing or independent presses. (I did eventually realize that I could do non-novel books with top indie presses and still have a novel debut with Big 5, which is how I ended up publishing my novellas with Shortwave and my collection with Bad Hand. Experiences I wouldn’t trade for anything.) But I believed, right or wrong, that my novels merited a larger audience than any of the other routes could provide.

It is fitting that the novel to ultimately become my debut is a book about hope at its most dire, in the midst of darkness, against seemingly impossible odds.

On February 4, I got the offer. A week ago, the contract was officially completed. Today, it’s been announced in Publishers Marketplace. My novel Once the Darkness Comes has been bought in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal along with an unwritten novella, by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.—a Big 5 publisher.

Do I need to describe the feeling? I think if you’ve stuck with me this long, you feel it. I’m soaring. Triumph, validation, joy, exhilaration, relief, nerves, calm. So much. Just right.

This book has been a long time in the making, and yet I feel I’m just getting started. There’s work to do, and much to learn. I can’t wait to get to work with my new editor. I can’t wait to learn. And friends, I cannot wait for you to finally get your hands on what will be my debut novel.

When I reread things I wrote, they are of a time in my life. There’s the book I wrote while I was pregnant. There’s the story I wrote postpartum. There’s the novel I wrote when I thought I might have to give up on a certain dream, and another I created when I realized I’d be leaving Texas. There’s my first one, my first good one, the one I wrote during this or that trial or phase, etc. There’s deep examination of issues I wrestled with. There’s posthumous relationship studies. There are larks, side quests. There are explorations of beliefs. Reading any one of them might remind me of when I wrote it, what I was dealing with, how I felt and who I was with.

With a novel, for me, that’s usually a span of a few months, occasionally a year or so, that I can point to on the timeline of my life with relative specificity. I can say: “I’d just left my first agent and was afraid I’d never find a second. I was determined to do things my way. I dug into the literary side of things at the behest of a critique partner. I excavated childhood pain and explored the concept of forgiveness at its most dire during the same summer that my best friend and I decided to start lifting weights together.” You see how many things are rolled tightly into a specific project?

But the collection I have releasing today spans nearly two decades of my life.

All of my books are special to me. They all mean so much. It’s not that You Have to Let Them Bleed is my favorite or more important. But it is my first full-length book, and it holds within it 19 years’ worth of pouring my heart into this exquisite art and refusing to give up in this ridiculous industry.

This collection represents so much of my life during these two decades of toil and growth.

It’s my college poetry class, and me being one of the only students to bring in a poem for review every single class instead of hitting the mandatory three total for the semester.

It’s my dad dying, years of grief I can still just barely contain inside. It’s also his belief in me, support of me, love for me.

It’s my poetry critique group, the four of us who used to meet once a week for years to analyze and improve line by line, word by word individual poems, including the eight that frame out this collection.

It’s my prose critique group, the dozen-or-so-shifting of us who met once a week for years and years to learn and grow together, support each other, cheer each other on and commiserate. The majority of the stories in this collection moved through them.

It’s my mom, and her pride in how hard I work. It’s countless dejected and excited phone calls. Hours of scheming.

It’s my friends who’ve laughed with me, at me, and let me cry on their shoulders. It’s my friends who’ve read this story or that, my beta readers who’ve texted me wild reactions, my husband who’s given me the side-eye after the darkest of my dark pieces (and still crawled into bed to snuggle me—brave man).

It’s a couple of dear friends who I’ve parted ways with. It’s the holes they’ve left behind in my heart.

It’s my decision to do this even though it would’ve been so much easier not to. Over, and over, and over again.

It’s what I come back to, time and again, to process and express and change my world. It’s my whole dark and tender heart spread across the page in lines of text. You’ll have to forgive me if it’s a bit bloody.

When the book is out, it’s not mine anymore. Not just mine, anyway. It becomes the reader’s.

It becomes a book for all of those people, past and present in my life, who are waiting to see it. It becomes my friend Dan’s, who wrote the beautiful foreword. It becomes my friend Caitlin’s, who’s cheered me on from day one. It becomes my critics’. It becomes my old teachers’, my current coworkers’, my kids’ when they get older.

It becomes a book for the stranger who pops into the independent bookstore and takes a chance—or the one at the big chain who ventures beyond the front displays. It becomes a book for people in Minnesota who like events like tonight’s. It becomes a book for someone on Instagram who told someone else on Instagram they should check it out. It becomes a book for the person struggling, the person longing, the person exorcising fears.

If you want it, it becomes yours. For better or for worse, I have to release it.

There are more things to write. And these I’ve left for you?

You’ll have to let them bleed.

• Amazon • Apple • Barnes & Noble • IndieBound • Kobo • Goodreads •

I’m so excited to share the cover for The Other, the second installment in The Outsiders Sequence.

It’s not a sequel. It’s next in the sequence…

A couple meet their doppelgangers on a hiking trail while camping and are soon tested on how well they truly know the other.

Releasing June 9th. Preorders are open now!

What’s more, how about an extra edition of The Extra?!? Now that my publisher has distribution through Simon & Schuster—which means my books will now be easily available in major stores!—they’re releasing an updated version of the first book in The Outsiders Sequence. Now with the series title, that killer Wall Street Jornal blurb, and matching the second book:

Ten people head out on a backpacking trip, but the first night eleven set up camp. Everyone remembers everyone else. Who is the extra?

Second edition preorders are open now!

[Please note that preorders opening for this second edition also means that the first edition is no longer available for order. You might find some copies floating around here and there, but otherwise will need to preorder this one. But don’t worry, it’ll be released on March 24, so you won’t have to wait long!]

While we’re at it, here’s some amazing news about The Extra! It’s now Shortwave’s 3^rd bestselling title ever!! That’s absolutely unbelievable to me. It’s only been out for five months. If you click through to the publisher’s catalog page for the book, you’ll see that now it has a “bestseller” banner. Thank you so much to everyone who’s supported this little novella! Your preorders, reviews, and word of mouth are truly invaluable!

For those of you who’ve preordered my debut collection, You Have to Let Them Bleed, I want to thank you for your patience. That publisher *also* acquired major distribution (again, bookstores–YAY!), so we decided to push back the release date to utilize that. And since we had to hop over The Extra, it meant pushing it to this year. And now minor printing delays have caused us to bump it to March 17. (Final answer!!) Honestly, given the absolute chaos of the world and especially my corner of it, I’m not mad at a few extra weeks to catch up.

SO. If you’re up here near The Twin Cities, please stop by Next Chapter Booksellers at 6pm on March 17^th for my launch event! And if you’re elsewhere, feel free to use these last few weeks to get in your preorders. If you order directly from Bad Hand Books, your copy will come with a signed bookplate while supplies last.

It’s a busy, busy few months for me. I hope to see you in the stacks!

It wasn’t just sitting back and enjoying the ride, though. This year was also packed with work. I published The Extra with Shortwave Publishing, a novella and my debut book. This included my first audibook, read by the talented Sean Patrick Hopkins. I also published two original short stories: “A Song of Being Left Behind” in F(r)iction Issue #25: Fairytales and “The Grief Machines” in Swing Magazine, Vol. 2, Issue 1. One original poem came out: “The Bundles” in the Horror Writers Association’s Poetry Showcase XII. And I had a foreign language translation with “So Sings the Siren” being translated into Spanish: “Así Canta la Sirena” in Déjate Caer, La Tuerca Andante.

I also sold my first sequels! Shortwave loved my pitches for The Other and The Spare, which together with The Extra we’re calling The Outsiders Sequence. I had one story accepted in an incredibly competative anthology called Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year, edited by Michael Bailey and Chuck Palahniuk, with Saga (Simon & Schuster). And I was invited to write a story for another anthology, announcement forthcoming. Of those sold, I wrote all but “We Have Always Been Red” this same year that I sold them, for somewhere around 55,000 words of fresh fiction.

Not bad for a world on fire, selling a house, moving across the country, starting a part-time volunteer job, and moving into a new home.

Next year, I’d love for the non-writing stuff to calm down, but the writing stuff looks just as full if not more so. My collection You Have to Let Them Bleed comes out soon, in February, with an in-person launch event planned for 2/17. The Extra’s second edition/re-release with Simon & Schuster distribution is in March. And The Other comes out in June. Not to mention the stories I sold, and whatever other bookish mischief I can get up to. It’s a cool job, and I’m grateful to do it every day. No matter what is happening around me, being able to turn (and return) to writing is one of my most steadfast gifts.

I hope that your year has had beautiful things in it, and that you face the coming one with hope and something to look forward to.

The Extra
The Outsiders Sequence Book #1

long fiction/novella (24,600 words)

psychological horror, science fiction, thriller, suspense

Shortwave Publishing

Ten people head out on a backpacking trip,
but the first night eleven set up camp. Everyone remembers everyone else. Who is the extra?

“A Song of Being Left Behind”

short fiction (4,100 words)

horror, fantasy, weird, literary fiction

F(r)iction Issue #25: Fairytales

A woman who’s lost her partner in an unfathomable accident lays an egg, and must then contend with the wonder and horror of what, exactly, one does with an egg.

“The Grief Machines”

short fiction (6,200 words)

literary fiction

Swing Magazine, Vol. 2, Issue 1

When Melanie Breck’s partner dies in a shark attack, she’s left floundering in grief that everyone else seems to know how to navigate. Caught in the machinery of others’ traditions, she has to find her own way to cope with the loss of her love.

“The Bundles”

poem (35 lines)

horror, dark fantasy

HWA Poetry Showcase XII

Driving home in the wee hours of the night, our narrator sees an exodus of figures from the houses in their neighborhood, each one carrying or pulling along a child-sized bundle. The figures walk in a trance to some unknown destination, and the narrator rushes home hoping to find their babies safe.

It’s been a true joy to have these works reach readers this year.

If you’re a nominating/voting member of an organization that runs any of the major awards and would like a digital copy of one of my works for consideration, please reach out with your email! And for anyone who’s interested in these works in general, just click on the cover images to find where you can order a copy.

Thank you so much!

At launch, The Extra hit #1 on Ingram’s sales charts in a couple of categories: psychological horror and sci-fi. All of science ficiton. (!) In fact, it’s STILL #1 on Ingram’s Psychological Horror charts! (I will resist discussing genre for now, but to give you a broad perspective, Goodreads readers have shelved it most commonly in these terms: horror, science fiction, novella, thriller, fiction, mystery, audiobook, adult, suspense, favorites :D)

In the less than two months since release (September 9th), The Extra sales have increased nearly 400% over launch day sales totals! That means the magic thing that all authors hope for: word is spreading. People are talking. The book is gaining traction after launch rather than losing steam.

My publisher also shared that The Extra is nearing Shortwave’s Top 5 All-Time Bestsellers list. This is stellar news not just because I want the book to do well for my sake (duh), but also because I want it to be successful for my publisher! They’ve taken a huge chance on me, a debut, with not one but THREE novellas in The Outsiders Sequence, so this is validating and encouraging.

And in a plot twist I never saw coming, The Wall Street Journal reviewed The Extra in their paper (digital and print!!) with glowing praise. Some highlights:

“Annie Neugebauer’s The Extra offers a short, sharp shock; a combination of logistical and existential dread makes it feel like a much longer (and more frightening) experience.”

“Ms. Neugebauer is a poet and speculative-fiction writer who is no stranger to tales of horror. With The Extra she has written a nearly perfect, claustrophobic novella with a very effective countdown clock.”

“If you have time for only one terrifying tale this spooky season, make room for The Extra.”

All of this feels overwhelming, surreal, and slightly unbelievable to me as I gather it together for a blog update. It may not be an instant international bestseller, but damn, this is good stuff. Some more odds and ends to share:

I joined in on Next Chapter Bookseller’s Bookstore Horror Day here in Minneapolis–Saint Paul this weekend, and I sold out of The Extra before my hour was up! I met so many cool readers, tabled with fellow Shortwave author Patrick Barb, and had a blast. If you’re in the Twin Citities, be sure to check out Next Chapter.

My dear longtime writing friend and critique partner Lisa Bubert hosted me in her wonderful newsletter sharing some more behind-the-scenes writerly stuff about The Extra, including submission stats! If you’re not already subscribed to Lisa’s newletter, go sign up!

We broke through 100 written reviews on Goodreads and are well over 300 ratings! 50 on Amazon. Only a couple on Barnes & Noble. We need more everywhere! If you’ve enjoyed the book, please do consider copy-pasting a sentence or two saying why into your favorite sites. It really helps new readers take the leap.

Other free ways to help boost the book: mention it at your local bookstores. Request it through your library. Talk about it with your friends. Suggest it for your book club. Share posts online. So many of you have already done so much of this, and all I can say is thank you. It’s helping!!

I had a fabulous launch party. I’ve seen my book on library shelves. I’ve seen my book on bookstore shelves. I’ve seen my book with a shelf talker. I’ve signed my book for readers who’ve read it and loved it. Basically, I’m having the time of my life and savoring every single second of this ride. I have no idea what the future holds, but right now this part of things is an absolute blast.

Thank you to everyone who is celebrating with me, boosting the signal, and, of course, reading the book! I’m so grateful for you all.

Today is the day my first book officially releases, although for weeks now support and early reads and reviews have been rolling in like a tidal wave of joy. And now the day–9/9–is finally here and I am swept away in it. Truly, it feels like a dream come true.

It all started with a high concept idea. What if, instead of someone going missing, there was an extra?

Ten people head out on a backpacking trip,
but the first night eleven set up camp.
Everyone remembers everyone else.
Who is the extra?

Well, that idea has grown up to become my debut book, a novella called The Extra that you can now buy wherever you buy your books. Paperback direct from my publisher, ebook, audiobook from Audible (narrated by the talented Sean Patrick Hopkins), or ordered from most major chains or independent bookstores!

Not sold yet? Here’s what some award-winning and bestselling authors have to say:

And reviewers:

Want to know what you’re getting into, exactly? Here’s what you’ll find inside:

And if you’re thinking that a slim little novella just isn’t enough, you’re in luck, because The Extra is book #1 in The Outsiders Sequence, a trilogy of shared-world novellas. The Other comes out next year, and The Spare in 2027, so make sure you get your copy of The Extra now.

I would love so much if you’d join us to celebrate at the virtual launch party tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 6pm CST. You can come whether you’ve read the book yet or not, or even upgrade your free ticket to one that includes a personalized print copy mailed to you. It will include readings by the audiobook narrators, Q&A, and a teaser of book #2! It’s being hosted by my wonderful publisher Alan Lastufka and fantastic agent Alec Shane, and it’s going to be a blast! Just look at this crew!

And last but not least, if you’re a writer who’s been following me on my blog, or anyone who’s intersted in the “behind the scenes” of the writing life, I’m back as a guest today at my old stomping grounds Writer Unboxed sharing this book’s surprising journey with “You Don’t Choose Your Train.” How lovely to be so warmly welcomed back.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s helping make this debut special. It means the whole damn world.

Somehow, in the midst of moving across the country and all manner of global chaos and personal upheaval, release day for my debut book is right around the corner. My novella The Extra is officially out in the world on September 9^th, although subscribers to Shortwave’s quarterly book box have already gotten theirs, and pre-orders direct from the publisher tend to ship out early, and advance review copies have been floating around for weeks now…

Feeling left out? It’s not too late to get your pre-order in before we drop that “pre.” If you order direct, your copy will come with fun swag goodies while supplies last: a signed book plate (autographed sticker) and a custom coordinating bookmark. It’s also available for preorder wherever you normally buy your books, including the audiobook on Audible! (Sean Patrick Hopkins knocks it out of the park with his reading.)

As I mentioned, my family recently (as in less than a month ago) moved from Texas to Minnesota, so I am in a brand new state with no writing connections and am still living out of boxes. Still, though, this is something I’ve been looking forward to for years, so we’re going to make time to celebrate. And I would love nothing more than if you could join me.

It’s a virtual launch party! On Wednesday September 10, 7pm EST (that’s 6pm central for my Texan folks), my fantastic publisher Alan Lastufka of Shortwave Publishing is hosting a Zoom event to celebrate the release of The Extra. Talk about going above and beyond. Alan is amazing. My literary agent Alec Shane will be co-hosting, and in attendance will be the stellar audiobook narrator duo Sean Patrick Hopkins and Patricia Santomasso, along with some other special guests, like authors Tanya Pell and Clay McLeod Chapman (who generously blurbed the book). My dearest critique partners will be there, and (I hope) as many family members, friends, readers, writers, followers, interested people, and whoever else would like to pop in as can make it.

We’ll have Q&A, live readings, and all kinds of fun. It should be a great time. I would love, love, love if you’d come too. It’s free to register through EventBrite, unless you’d like to upgrade to a personalized print copy of the novella that I will sign and mail out after the event. (There’s even an option to buy the sold-out Q4 book box from Shortwave!!) You are welcome to come whether you’ve read the book yet or not!

In case you missed it, the shared-world novellas being published by Shortwave now have a series title: The Outsiders Sequence. The Extra is book #1, and there might be a little sneak peek of The Other (book #2) during the event.

Questions? Requests? Drop them in the comments. And please reserve your spot for the event on Wednesday, 9/10/25 for a fun evening to help me celebrate this milestone. I hope to see you there!

So You Have to Let Them Bleed will now release in the first quarter of 2026. If you’ve already preordered it (thank you!), everything is still good to go; it will ship upon release with a signed bookplate. If you’ve haven’t ordered it yet, please do! Direct from my publisher will include an autographed book sticker while supplies last. And everyone can also add it to your “want to read” shelf on Goodreads now.

What this means, if you’re keeping track, is that my novella The Extra will now be releasing first! The Extra releases on September 9th this year–so just about four months away! If you don’t yet have that one lined up to ship as soon as it’s out, you can preorder The Extra direct from Shortwave to also receive a signed bookplate and extra swag goodies while supplies last. (You can add The Extra on Goodreads too!)

If you like behind-the-scenes type stuff, like me unboxing my print copies of my first two books, be sure you’re following me on Instagram @AnnieNeugebauer. That’s where I’m most active online. You’ll also see author blurbs praising The Extra and You Have to Let Them Bleed on Instagram (as well as on my book pages on my website) as they come in. Highlights so far:

Huge thanks to these incredible (and incredibly busy) authors for reading my books and offering such generous support. It means more than I can say.

In other news, I have an amazing story acceptance to share! My new short story “We Have Always Been Red” will be in Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year, edited by Michael Bailey and Chuck Palahniuk!! It’s quite an honor; mine was 1 of only 6 stories chosen from well over 2,000 submissions. Slush pile for the win! The lineup here is incredible, with some of my favorite authors. Wicked cover. Coming next fall through Saga (Simon & Schuster); more as I hear it!

This is a busy, hectic time for me, but there is so, so much amazing stuff happening. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s supporting me and sharing in the joy! Thank you all!