J.M. Plumbley Fiction

Wet Feet” (Audio)

December 2023, Creepy Podcast (Episode: “Bonus: I Found it in a Field & Wet Feet”)

HORROR

“Sharp-eye watched Light-heart struggle for air. He struggled with her. The rot had traveled all the way up her thighs now: pink at the top, then red, then green-gray, and then, down at the stumps of her shins on the pine needle-strewn rock, black.”

Centuries after an apocalyptic event, a tribe of survivors clings to life on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. Fish provide the cornerstone of their subsistence. But to fish, the survivors have to go into the water. And in the water, merfolk wait to collect trophies of human feet.

When Sharp Eye’s lover dies post-amputation, he vows to fight back. But his clan remembers the failed rebellion of their progenitors, and blocks his way. Because if Sharp Eye fights, there will be more than limbs to pay. 

You can listen to “Wet Feet” by subscribing to the Creepy Podcast Patreon and navigate to the episode from December 27, 2023. 

“Beloved Mr. Grooch” (Audio)

October 2018, Kaleidocast (Season 2: Episode 7)

HORROR

“Big cities are smaller than you think. Everyone knows about me and Sheri, and everyone knows about Mr. Grooch.”

The narrator’s girlfriend is missing—stolen, she claims, by the local bogeyman that people have forgotten to believe in. Or is it that there was trouble in paradise? 

Listen for free on Soundcloud, on iTunes, or at the Kaleidocast website at www.kaleidocast.nyc.

J.M. Plumbley writes fantasy and horror fiction whose goal is to scare and/or steal you away. Her stories are often set in our reality, lifting the curtain to see what could be waiting just on the other side.

You may enjoy her stuff if you’re a fan of vivid characters, offbeat worlds, monsters, humor, and unreliable narrators (usually female). If that’s your thing, unplug for a while and check out what she has to offer.

For her part, Plumbley loves stories that thoroughly transport you, that make you feel awe, and that teach you a little about life. (Admittedly eclectic) influences include Neil Gaiman, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allen Poe, V.E. Schwab, Meg Cabot, and Dr. Seuss.

The Somniac 

Novel in querying

CONTEMPORARY FANTASY, DARK FANTASY, PORTAL FANTASY, YA

Troubled teenager Lucy has to save her sister from the fantasy Lucy abandoned her for.

Mother’s Helper

Novella(?) in development

HORROR

A 9-year-old is trapped in her apartment with a demon possessing the person she loves most: her mom.

Untitled Phantom of the Opera-meets-The Shadow over Innsmouth project

Novel in development

CONTEMPORARY FANTASY, HORROR, YA

A teenager girl will do (and does do) anything for her tight-knit, Pacific Northwest village on the beach. That is, until they ask her to sacrifice herself to the tortured god beneath the waves.

Misc. short fiction

Misc. rhyming horror poetry

Come at me, bro.

As always, more to come!