Eric Woods, Author

𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏’𝒔 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 – 2019
Starting in 2019, I published my first horror novel, Dragon’s Blood. This monster-in-the-woods tale was a fun way to finally break into the horror publishing arena. It was inspired my a dear friend’s creative jewelry business in which she made an item (out of used machine parts) that resembled a dragon’s blood tree. And I wondered how I could incorporate a dragon-like creature with blood…and trees! Anyway, I love the finished product and want to get new eyes on it. So, I will be working soon on rebranding the book with a new cover and new set of edits (much like I did this year on the next book on the list) for some time in 2026.

𝒲𝐸𝐿𝒞𝒪𝑀𝐸 𝒯𝒪 𝒪𝐵𝐿𝐼𝒱𝐼𝒪𝒩 – 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic when we were all quarantined for a period of time, I was working on two different novels. I had started the epistolary novel CLIPPINGS but was also knee-deep into a book I’d begun back in the early 2000s. WTO was inspired by a dream and initially written for the stage. But I quickly realized that my vision for the story was not conducive for the stage, and thus the bulk of what I had written (mostly dialogue and direction) sat stagnant on my computer. Well, after Dragon’s Blood, I needed a new horror project. And remembering how much I loved the WTO concept, I dusted off what I had written, and the rest is history. 

𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐃: 𝐀 𝐂𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 – 2021
Over the next two years, I only published novellas during the spooky season, but hey, it still counts! Anyway, this novella was co-written and set to be the start of a much bigger series of novels and novellas, but unfortunately it did not come to pass for various reasons. The novella is, however, quite compelling for a psychological ghost story. And you can read the prequel short story, “DERAILED: A Cedar Lake Short” as part of Hell’s Diner: 13 Devilish Delectables.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 – 2022
Do you ever wonder how you’d react if you were awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of heavy footsteps on your roof? How about if it happened every night…at the same time? This was the initial premise of the novella which soon took on a life of its own and brought a new twist to the haunted house trope by putting the ghost on TOP of the house instead of inside. Of course there is much more to this story, and it has now become the start of a novella trilogy, with the other two books releasing in early 2026.

𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑰𝑺 𝑯𝑶𝑾 𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑳𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑴 – 2023
Whenever I am at conventions and someone takes an interest in this book, I always tell them that this has my favorite backstory. The book was inspired by three dreams I’d had in the months leading up to when I sat down to tear through a first draft in November of 2022. The plot was so complex that I didn’t think I could pull off a first draft in 30 days. I was also thinking about giving up writing altogether. The previous few months had been tough for me personally, but when I started writing this story, I couldn’t stop. It became my therapy, and by my self appointed deadline, I’d completed a (VERY) rough draft that would go through a slew of edits before its ultimate release on Friday, October 13th 2023.

𝚂𝚃𝙾𝙺𝙴𝙱𝚁𝙸𝙳𝙶𝙴 1975 – 2024
From the time I first came up with the premise for STOKEBRIDGE, I knew it would at the very least have a prequel to tell the origin story of what happened in 1975 to cause the total elimination of the town’s existence. Almost as soon as I was finished with the first round of edits for the first book, I was diving into the prequel. Again, the first draft was written during the month of November (2023) during the “Organization We Shall Not Mention” challenge. And for the second year in a row, I was up to the challenge. I had finished two books in the series, with the first being released in June of 2024. Four months later in October, the prequel dropped, and I was ready to tackle the challenge of writing the final chapter…

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐆𝐄: 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- 2025
Originally it would be two novels. But the idea of a trilogy was intriguing. I’d never done it before, and if it was going to happen, it needed to be with this series because there was so much more to the story that needed to be told in order to answer all the questions still up in the air. So, for the third straight year (actually fourth, but I failed in 2021), I was looking to write a first draft in the month of November. Again, it was extremely rough at first, but with months to edit and revise (and send to my editor), I was able to get it out in October of 2025. And thus ends the trilogy that people have actually told me they enjoy more than anything else I have written.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚂𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝙲𝚊𝚖𝚙 – 2026
I’ve pulled off seven years and counting! My goal is (at least) ten straight years of spooky season publications, so the book I’m about to dive into will represent number eight. This throwback to 80s and 90s era slasher/serial killer movies is an idea I’ve tossed around for a while, and my brain finally came up with a fun story! This will be my 2025 November first draft (Power Novel November, if you follow my social media), and with a strong outline already written, I am going into this project with a confidence I hope to sustain through the 30 days I have challenged myself to write this first draft. I have no idea on a word count, but I know it will be more sizable than my last few novels.