In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the supernatural soap opera "Dark Shadows,” the Dark Shadows Festival is hosting a two-day event in Southern California. Fans and actors from previous iterations of the show will gather at the Westin Los Angeles Airport hotel on July 31st - August 1. On Friday, July 31st (tentatively scheduled for 9:45 pm), I will be participating on the "Dark Shadows: The Next Generation" panel alongside artist Aleah Shockley (illustrator of the fort

In the late 1980s, Shelley Duvall teamed up with Showtime to create an anthology series of horror stories called Nightmare Classics. The first episode was The Turn of the Screw, starring Amy Irving as a nameless governess. This version elaborates on James's source material, turning it into a traditional vengeful ghost story. Irving's governess is the toughest, most fanatical broad I've seen in any adaptation (with the exception of Jodhi May in the 1999 BBC production). Yet, e

Flash fiction site Flash Phantoms has included my very short (under 1,000 words) story "Saturnalia" among its horror selections for July 2026. The current stories can be found here: July Flash Fiction Horror | Flash Phantoms

I’m thrilled to have my short story “George” featured in this month’s issue of Dirty Magick Magazine. "George" follows the misadventures of a movie studio intern who fears the studio's most infamous prop, an actual human skeleton, is out to get him. Digital copies of the magazine are available through July Issue Available – Dirty Magick Magazine or C.D. Brown « Weightless Books Choose your issue and your preferred platform.

Dan Curtis's adaptation of Henry James's classic novel, scripted by William F. Nolan, is heavily influenced by the 1961 Jack Clayton production but has enough of its own additions to make it interesting. Lynn Redgrave is an admirable governess, here named Miss Cubberly; her character is mentally stronger and more domineering than Deborah Kerr's. Redgrave is also a more age-appropriate governess. Megs Jenkins, who played Mrs. Grose in The Innocents, resumes the role here. Kath

In anticipation of the release of my novel Innocent on September 7th, I will be featuring reviews of various film and TV adaptations of The Turn of the Screw, beginning with Jack Clayton's adaptation of The Innocents from 1961. For years, I'd heard wonderful things about this film but was skeptical of the praise because I’d found the source material to be slow-moving, confusing, and frustrating. Happily, The Innocents offers an antidote to my qualms about James's novella. Whi

Vampire anthology Vampires Save the Night edited by Rebecca Buchanan and featuring my short story "It's Your Problem, Too" is now available through a new distributor, PubShare (it was formerly issued by Draft2Digital in 2025). More information about the collection can be found at https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/gorgons-gaze-press/ Paperback and ebook copies are available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H5X93X6P The ebook also can be purchased from the following retailers:.

Shepherd.com, a website connecting readers with authors and with recommended works in their favorite genres, has rebranded as BookDNA.com. I currently have three lists on this site: Amanda Desiree's Top 3 Books of 2025 Amanda Desiree's Top 3 Books of 2024 The creepiest epistolary horror novels Please check out my recommendations and search your own favorite titles and writers for related reading suggestions.

Recently, I had the honor of being interviewed by digital creator Katherine Gonzales for her Dark Shadows-themed podcast "Back at the Blue Whale" for a discussion of the ghosts of Collinwood, fan conventions, fan creativity, and absent friends. The episode can now be viewed on YouTube: TBRATBW (A Dark Shadows Podcast)- Ep. 10- Haunting Hallowed Halls with Amanda Desiree Podcast Host Katherine Gonzales Amanda Desiree

“She shuts her eyes in the dark, but I think that’s silly. I always look in the dark.” “Oh, look! It’s a lovely spider, and it’s eating a butterfly.” -Flora, The Innocents (1961) * My first exposure to The Turn of the Screw was through the TV series Dark Shadows. I started watching reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel when I was in high school, starting with Julia Hoffman’s arrival at Collinwood. By the following year, the ghosts of Quentin Collins and Beth Chavez began to materializ

Robert McCammon's novel Speaks the Nightbird became one of my favorite books when I first read it 15 years ago. This title launched the...

I'm thrilled that my short story "It's Your Problem, Too" will be featured in the forthcoming anthology Vampires Save the Day (er, Night...

The Smashwords e-book store is currently running a sale through the end-of-day on January 1, 2025. Thousands of books are deeply...

The Dark Shadows Event Diary: Memories of Festivals, Film Screenings, and Fan Gatherings is now available in e-Book form with expanded...

Originally, it was my intention to include photographs in my new book of Dark Shadows gatherings over the years, but I was unable to do...

August is winding down, and many students are already returning to school. Summer is drawing to a close. Alas! Summer has always been...

On Saturday, July 27th, I spoke at the North Torrance Library to a group of readers and writers about my novels, my experiences with the...

Many thanks to Joe, Sallie, Richard, Mischa, Michael, James, Alma, Adriana, Dell, Darien, Makayla, and everyone else who came out last...

On Saturday, July 27th, I will return to the North Torrance Library to discuss my novel In the Shadow of the Skull as part of the...

My first publication in a literary magazine is now available! The short story "God's Rat" is included in Issue Three of Dark Dead Things:...