iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Oh, wow, thank you for the award!! I would thank my friends and family acting as sounding boards for my writing ideas, and then I would thank anyone who specifically helped with the piece that won me the award, such as editors. #HorrorWritersChat

1195

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Probably on horror video games and how they impact horror writing, specifically rpg-maker and indie games rather than the biggest ones. Or a panel on folklore and cultural consciousness, but specifically not only focused on Christianity. #HorrorWritersChat

3225

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write gothic historical horror, usually w/ supernatural themes. WIP: Set in the 15th century, Ada finds herself drawn to a house in the woods & the witch within. Unsure of everything, what will she do? A gory, erotic, sapphic novel in verse with three Speakers. #HorrorWritersChat

02310

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Thanks for running this, Eryn! I have a gothic horror novella: In 1926, Rosalyn (aged 9) invents a game of royalty with her dormmates. When it takes over their lives and stopping isn't an option; Rosalyn must 'win' and be Queen. It.../escalates/. 👑🍀🔨 bookshop.org/p/books/what... 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

bookshop.org

What Happened at Hawthorne House

Set in 1926, nine-year-old Rosalyn invents a new game to play with the girls she shares a dormitory with in the Hawthorne House Orphanage. Revolving around a Royal Court, their make-believe game quick...

094

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In my gothic horror novel in verse, the act of giving another person food or drink. As in, feeding it to them. The weight of that is used to detail the feelings behind the relationship between the main Speaker and the Witch; the way it changes displays how they think of each other #HorrorWritersChat

0123

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In my gory, witchy novel in verse, I'm using domestic tasks such as cooking and intimate tasks like brushing and doing someone's hair; they are familiar and comforting, and tend to bring a sense of safety, but the power dynamic at play twists that into unease and dread. #HorrorWritersChat

0154

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write primarily historical gothic horror, usually with child or non-human protagonists. And hmm, I had a dog teddy that was supposed to be a spaniel. So, that one. Mostly because I still have it. #HorrorWritersChat

0175

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Just a little update to say that I've been really busy these past few months, but I'll be starting on a new story soon! 🖤 I'll also be redrafting and editing my horror novel in verse, and I'm excited about the fact that it's been raining all day-- Autumn is incoming! 🍂 #HorrorAuthor #Booksky 💙📚🩸

070

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Thanks for running this, Eryn! I have a gothic horror novella: In 1926, Rosalyn (aged 9) invents a game of royalty with her dormmates. When it takes over their lives and stopping isn't an option; Rosalyn must 'win' and be Queen. It...escalates. 👑🍀🔨 bookshop.org/p/books/what... 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

bookshop.org

What Happened at Hawthorne House

1104

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Currently, it's the relationship and history between the witch in my novel-in-verse and her cat familiar... And I'm doing it through hints in the main poems, as well as through optional poems (in the interactive version, at least) #HorrorWritersChat

0134

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write primarily historical gothic horror, usually supernatural-flavoured and with a child or non-human protagonist. I think meteor showers possibly unsettle me more, mostly due to the fact that an eclipse can't land on Earth...I generally just find them cool!🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

1198

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

A lot of my writing is inspired by the experience of growing up as undiagnosed autistic, and Hawthorne House features a recurring nightmare I've had since childhood. #HorrorWritersChat

071

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I give my horror characters a pretty robust past, though a lot of it is never outright stated. I tend to have a few things decided & work out the rest as I go, using it to inform the character. eg: The main points of Gem's past Vs the details of previous experiences she's had. #HorrorWritersChat

0174

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write gothic historical horror, usually w/ supernatural elements and child or non-human narrators. It's a classic for a reason, but I really enjoyed Dracula! I can't remember the names for the life of me, but I remember reading some really good Penny Dreadfuls. #HorrorWritersChat

0227

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Thanks for running this, Eryn! I have a gothic horror novella: In 1926, Rosalyn (aged 9) invents a game of royalty with her dormmates. When it takes over their lives and stopping isn't an option; Rosalyn must 'win' and be Queen. It...escalates. 👑🍀🔨 bookshop.org/p/books/what... 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

bookshop.org

What Happened at Hawthorne House

1156

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

My vampire WIP has an overcast feeling to it. Despite being set in May w/ brightening skies & lengthening days, the mood is dismal & desperate & Gem knows it. She's expecting the lightning but not the form it takes or where it'll strike, & she's still pretending it doesn't exist. #HorrorWritersChat

0194

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I use weather in my stories to help curate the atmosphere/tone, as well as to give indications as to the plot or character motivations. I try to stop it becoming decorative background by having my characters actually engage with it in a meaningful way. #HorrorWritersChat

0193

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I'm not late, shh Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write historical gothic horror, primarily, often with a supernatural flavour. My protags tend to be non-human or children. As for weather... I love cloudy weather with a little bit of sun, just after rain, and my most hated is bright sunlight. #HorrorWritersChat

0224

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Most likely foreshadowing and worldbuilding! I like to include things that seem innocuous the first time around, which then gain a whole new light on a reread. #HorrorWritersChat

0175

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

It seems like a normal gallery; paintings, placards, sculpture. You don't remember how you got here, but that's fine. Maybe you went through a staff door? There's no one around... and once you see a rose in a vase, you know. 'You and the rose are linked. Know the weight of life.' #HorrorWritersChat

0162

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Well, given that one of my goals is to make a horror game & I tend to visualise my stories as games... B! I'm writing two choose-your-own adventure text games. Hawthorne House could work as a game, w/ the player as a visitor; you'd explore, avoid/interact, play along... survive! #HorrorWritersChat

0143

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write gothic historical horror, usually supernatural, often w/ child or non-human protags. I can't choose a favourite horror game... Ib, Little Nightmares, ReAnimal, The Witch's House, Fran Bow, Detention, Bramble: The Mountain King, Alice: Madness Returns... 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

1167

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I like using rules based around exact words, which applies to lots of common fairy 'rules'. My favourite is the idea of a name being representative of identity, & exploring the ways that can be used for horror. Of choosing a name that is then taken, or someone choosing one for you #HorrorWritersChat

0205

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

The fairy returned the child exactly as promised. No tricks, no swaps, no loopholes. The child remained exactly as promised, but they remained partway in Fairyland; they could not forget. The fairy returned the child exactly as promised. They never answered to their name again. #HorrorWritersChat

2226

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I write fae regularly- Mallow is the only published one. Fairies are frightening in my work because they have an alien morality. Two clockwork pixies in one of my WIPs engage in torture because people are not truly people to them. The pixies know they are, but don't care; it's fun #HorrorWritersChat

0238

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write gothic historical horror, usually with a fae or supernatural flavour, and I favour child and non-human protagonists. It depends on the tradition/mythos, but anything with such a fundamentally different scope of power and morality is frightening in ways. 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

0217

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write gothic historical horror, primarily, usually supernatural in flavour. My favourite story of this kind of probably Carmilla; I love vampire stories and Victorian literature, and I have a vampire WIP! 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

3205

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

The protagonist of my 15th Century novel-in-verse would probably give me something like an embroidered pocket, bag, or cap. Maybe a charm to help with protection or warning, though, depending at what point in the story this is. If at the end, she'd make berry tarts, or similar. 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

0102

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I've just finished a gothic horror novel-in-verse! In the late 15th Century, a young woman finds herself drawn to a witch's house in the woods. It's sapphic, disturbing, and gory, feat. 3 Speakers: the protag, the witch, and her cat familiar. In the dead of summer, she waits...🔪🫐🥩 #HorrorWritersChat

1199

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write historical gothic horror, usually with a supernatural flavour, and I've just finished the first draft of a 1500s sapphic and gory novel-in-verse about a person being drawn to a witch's house in the woods. ...I think it was raining on the day I was born? 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

0167

Reposted by Hadassah Shiradski

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

UK publishing generated £7.4 billion in revenue last year. Compare that to: Premier League football: £6.6 billion Home entertainment: £5.6 billion UK film industry: 2.8 billion Now tell me again why authors don't deserve fair contracts and better pay.

432138620

Reposted by Hadassah Shiradski

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

The first draft of my novel-in-verse is now DONE! 🔪🫐🥩 Reaching 102 poems, 5 chapters and 10080 words, Rosebud took me just over a year to write. It's done!! I wrote it as an interactive fiction in Twine though expect to publish as a standard book. 🖤 #HorrorAuthor #Booksky 🩸📚💙 #Poetry #HorrorFiction

A screenshot of the Twinery engine for creating interactive fiction. There are 102 cells laid out in five lines, with frequent cells placed higher or lower than the main lines. They are colour-coded by chapter.

031

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

031

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Right, calling it here for now; I'm very tired. I have one poem left to write, and then the first draft of my unexpectedly-year-long project will finally be done!🔪🫐🥩 🖤 #HorrorAuthor 🩸📚💙 #Poet #HorrorPoet #InteractiveFiction #Booksky #GothicHorror #Novella

040

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Two poems down ('broken' and 'pendulum'), two more to go! Taking a break for lunch & a walk, and then I'll be trying my best to finish the first draft of this story! The next poem was brought in/linked with the phrase 'a terrible fate'... 🔪🫐🥩 🖤 #HorrorAuthor 🩸📚💙 #Poet #Booksky #GothicHorror #Novella

030

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Listening to my favourite writing playlist as I work on my witchy, gory, sapphic novella-in-verse today! 🔪🫐🥩 I'm so close to the end... I only have the climax of the story left! 🖤 #HorrorAuthor 🩸📚💙 #Poet #HorrorPoet #InteractiveFiction #Booksky #GothicHorror #Novella www.youtube.com/watch?v=SESG...

youtube.com

RPG Maker's Vintage Melancholy【Playlist】

YouTube video by Sunny

071

Reposted by Hadassah Shiradski

Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Publishers: “Short stories don’t sell and are impossible to market so we are not going to take the risk of publishing them.” Also publishers: “What can we publish to fit this era of reduced attention spans when people are reading fewer novels?”

1153434545

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Probably the game 'The Witch's House'! It's influenced a lot of my writing, and Ib only narrowly beats it for nostalgia, but it's such a good game and I'd love to hear the music for the first time again and experience the story. Parts of the OST are in my current WIP playlist 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

0143

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

I wouldn't make a sequel or a spiritual successor to Ib; it would be very difficult to encapsulate the same feeling as an RPGMaker game from 2009 w/ over 10 endings, & I'd want to do it justice. What I would do is make an RPGMaker game inspired by Ib & others of its ilk & quality. #HorrorWritersChat

0122

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Samara from The Ring and Ib from the titular 'Ib' are children. Now, I have a strong preference for child narrators and slightly off-kilter settings, as well as a liking for the aesthetics of both medias; abandoned places, wells, and spaces that look fine at first but turn on you. #HorrorWritersChat

0155

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write historical gothic horror, often with a supernatural flavour, and I'm biased towards child, fae, or doll narrators. My first horror media was The Ring, which I watched at 13 -- it made an impact! The game 'Ib' got me into horror fully and is still a fave!🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

3279

Reposted by Hadassah Shiradski

Kate Messner @katemessner.com · 21/05/2026

Writer friends! The AI-generated email scams targeting authors are getting more sophisticated. I got one today w/ a real editor's name on it, which could be very convincing to someone who doesn't know how actual editors communicate, so I annotated it to highlight red flags. Spread the word, ok?

Photo shows an email that reads:

From: Allison hunter Hill <allisonhunterh@gmail.com>
Subject: Loved the storytelling in Disaster on the Titanic

Message Body:
Hi Kate,

I recently read *Disaster on the Titanic (Ranger in Time #9)*, and I really appreciated how effectively you combine historical detail with fast-moving adventure in a way that feels both exciting and emotionally grounded for young readers. The tension builds naturally throughout the story, and Ranger’s perspective adds a unique warmth and accessibility that makes the historical setting especially engaging.

I’m Allison Hunter, Senior Editor at Nosy Crow US, where I’m currently building a focused list of character-driven, voice-led middle grade fiction. Your work aligns closely with the kind of immersive, emotionally resonant storytelling I’m actively looking to develop for young readers.

I’m reaching out because I’m reviewing a small number of upcoming projects over the next couple of weeks. I’d love the chance to see what you’re working on next or learn more about any new middle grade adventures you may be developing.

If you’re open to it, I’d be glad to connect through your agent.

Warm regards,
Allison Hunter
Senior Editor
Nosy Crow US

It's annotated in red to highlight the following:
Not sent from publisher email.
Weirdly formal opening paragraph - this is AI voice.
Strange that introduction didn't come first.
What does the sentence about "reviewing upcoming projects" even mean?
Offers to connect through agent - but has already reached out directly. ?

89672

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

...I spoke about trials involving memory. That is because of my fear of personality death. There are so many different stories I could write involving that -- it's too difficult to choose or articulate only one! #HorrorWritersChat

0134

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Okay! My energy to write has run out, so I'm calling it here for now. I'm very pleased with myself; I sat down expecting to write 1 poem if I was lucky, with half a poem being more realistic. Instead, I wrote 3! I now have 4 poems left of this novella-in-verse! 🔪🫐🥩 #HorrorAuthor #Poetry #HorrorPoet

010

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

To me, the crux of medical horror (and honestly a lot of horror in my opinion) is the loss of autonomy. So by focusing on said lack of or loss of autonomy, I've found that the horror can be made more psychological and effective rather than solely relying on gore. #HorrorWritersChat

0217

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Hi, I'm Hadassah! I write gothic, historical horror, often supernatural, w/ a bias towards child characters, fae, and dolls. Currently writing a novella in verse set in ~1560 about a person being drawn to a witch in the woods.🔪 I would not volunteer for a trial involving memory. 🖤 #HorrorWritersChat

12210

Hadassah Shiradski @dassawrites.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

The one that comes to mind is the game ReAnimal. I love the way everything feels off-kilter, and how the sibling relationship between the two main characters is explored. I also love DARQ, for the interconnected elements and how 'floaty' everything is. #HorrorWritersChat

072