The Next Step
Discover more from Jakob Wild's Substack
I am taking my first ever steps outside as an author. Most of my work up to this point has kept itself hidden in my office on scattered notes, stored in file systems, and hoarded in the dark recesses of my mind. Finally, one of these stories not only wormed its way onto a page, but out into the universe…
“The Parking Garage” was published in Trembling with Fear by The Horror Tree. The piece is a Drabble (100wc) about the potential horror of underground parking garages. It is near the bottom of the publication web page, but I am so damn proud.
I recommend not only reading my Drabble, but other authors’ pieces published by The Horror Tree! Consider subscribing to the amazing publication and the other authors’ socials!
Who am I?
My name is Jakob Wild, and I grew up in the mixed oak forests of Pennsylvania, USA. My childhood took place in the middle of nowhere, with plenty of winding roads and a night sky full of stars. That place allowed me to roam and explore the hidden worlds within the surrounding woods. My imagination was able to truly grow and run wild in that place. Yet the quiet and isolated countryside had the misfortune of breeding many strong beliefs paired with incomplete world views in those around me. It threatened to swallow me. My few school friends lived over 35 miles away, my elders were busy with their own problems and preconceived notions, and the two kids within walking distance were hard to have any healthy relationships with. I sometimes worried I would be trapped there forever. Many aspects of these things bleed into my stories in some form or another.
In my early twenties, I finally left those back roads of nowhere. Instead of the traditional path of more schooling (which I tried for a while) I focused on working. I was fortunate to have the opportunities to travel during this time. This let me experience the world and all the things I had never been exposed to, let alone dreamed of. I traveled to Montreal, Quebec, with a group of friends and drove around Ireland with another friend. Both trips granted me many core memories. I met a woman that showed me the beauty of many places, including that of Italy, Small-town Germany, and Denmark. Don’t worry, I put a ring on it. I have also road tripped all over the USA, and lived briefly in magnificent Washington State. Now, I live in Colorado with my wife and our dogs.
I often read sci-fi, fantasy and horror, which you’ll see reflected in my writing. I am currently working on several projects, with many other ideas etched in my archives. Outside of writing, I love being outdoors, baking the occasional loaf of bread, seeing what I can build, playing board games and spending time with those close to me.
On writing so far...
While I always had stories in my heart, from pretending to running around Middle-earth to the stories I told myself, I did not start putting pencil to paper until high-school. While I had a love for it and wrote often, it was not my time, dwindling off during my attempt at college. After I spent years with the occasional day dream of revisiting old worlds and figuring out my life, my moment finally came.
Back in June 2021, I was driving back from the airport at 5 AM with a week alone ahead of me; the music hitting right and old stories bubbling up. On the radio was Creed. Let’s all be honest, it slaps. With my arms and mind wide open, I spent all of that day outlining, searching for old papers and writing some rough story drafts. While I am not sure if that project will ever see the light of day, I owe that story of a definite knight without hope to where I am now.
Since then, it’s been a long road of dedicating bits of my time to learning, researching, reading, networking, planning, finding a writing group, confiding in friends & family, and most importantly, writing & editing. So here I am, introducing myself to the Internet, where I hope someone is reading. Otherwise, ‘Hello void, It’s been awhile.’
On what I write...
I read mainly fantasy and sci-fi, so I had expected those to be a core part of what I write. Well, say hello to my backlog of story ideas, mostly rooted in horror. No, it’s not just blood, guts and off the walls disturbing scenes, though that also happens in things marketed as fantasy and sci-fi. While I might sometimes write on these, I am normally going for something else. I strive to make you think while you look over your shoulder. I also think this writing trend comes from the fact that I have a lot of things that keep me up at night.
Fun fact, when I see a spider, it’s going down! I don’t care about the part they play in the ecosystem. Fight or flight activated! I am still here, reigning champion over my mortal enemy.
The way I see it is that I am not a horror writer, it’s just what I am currently writing the most about. People change and so do their interests.
Why sign up for my newsletter?
My newsletter, paired with my existing socials, will be the lens through which you can join me on my writing journey. While I will strive to be active on my socials, the newsletter will be on the flip side of that coin. With fewer posts, but filling the niche of long form writing. Currently, I am looking to do a monthly letter with additional infrequent letters on important things, such as new releases. Be on the lookout on Thursdays (which Thursday? I don’t know).
Below are some topics to expect in these newsletters:
My current writing, and writing adjacent topics.
Snippets of a look into my life and where it intersects with my writing.
What am I reading currently, paired with my thoughts on my last book.
Notable creative media outside of writing that has affected me.
I plan to build on these as we go and expect some topics to leave these newsletters as they develop.
A brief note on socials, I am reviewing where I stand on Twitter (“X”), and might attempt to dive deeper into the Substack ecosystem (what powers this newsletter) that recently released options for short form writing interactions. So for those of you willing to sign up and log into Substack, you might see me experiment with these, but they are only local to the platform.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you stick around for the next month’s letter.
Thank you,
Jakob Wild
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The Next Step
Woohoo! Looking forward to more!
Starting out strong!