This is the site for Hillary Lyon — Poet, Author, Illustrator. Art Director for Black Petals, and Rhysling Award Nominated Poet.
:News:
Short Stories & Poems:
My classical myth inspired poetry collection, “Aphrodite Rides the Bus,” is featured on ImUptoMystic’s YouTube channel.
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Acceptances:
“Under the Mistletoe” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” have both been accepted for Yellow Mama‘s 2026 Christmas issue.
“The Cherry on Top” and “Them’s the Rules” have been accepted by Black Petals.
“One for the Road” has been accepted by Night to Dawn.
“Waketcha County Fair Crowns 52nd Beauty Queen!” has been accepted by Night to Dawn.
“Metempsychosis” has been accepted by Night to Dawn.
“The (Un)Life of the Party” has been accepted by Night to Dawn.
“Shadow Daddy” has been accepted for Home Sweet Horror Vol. 3 (Black Ink Fiction).
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Currently Online/PDF/In Print:
“Live! From Elvis Centauri” is in 365tomorrows, posted 6/10/2026.
“Simone and the Great Unknown” is in Home Sweet Horror Vol. 2 (Black Ink Fiction, 2026).
“Herbert’s Field” is in 365tomorrows, posted 5/29/2026.
“Nothing More Fun Than a Little Black Dress” has been accepted by The Yard.
“A Fist Full of Daisies” and “Dinner with Annette” are both in issue #115 of Black Petals, April 2026.
“B’Golly and the Rainy Day” is in 365tomorrows, posted 4/3/2026.
“Intergalactic Vixens on the Moon” is in 365tomorrows, posted 2/27/2026.
“Dear Maddy” and “Hillbilly Teeth” are both in Night to Dawn, Issue 49, April 2026.
“In Terra Incognita” is in 365tomorrows, posted 2/18/2026.
“The Last Hook-Up” is in the Valentine’s Day issue, Feb 2026, of Yellow Mama.
“Winding Up” is in the Valentine’s Day issue, Feb 2026, of Yellow Mama.
“Aileen and the Aliens” is in The Yard, posted 2/5/2026.
“The Dance of Chloe-Patra” is in Black Petals #114, Jan 2026.
“Feeding the Chronophage” is in 365tomorrows, posted 12/17/2025.
“Silent Night” is in the Christmas 2025 issue of Yellow Mama.
“So Hard to Get Good Hep These Days” is in 365tomorrows, posted 11/21/2025.
“Spanky, Slappy, and Moaner” is in the Best of Carnage House 2, 2025.
“Have a Holo-Monsters Inc. Halloween” is in 365tomorrows, posted November 2, 2025.
“In Widow’s Weeds” is in Night to Dawn, Issue 48, October 2025.
“Acme Bio-Refrigeration Services, Inc.” and the “Beast of Warehouse 9” are both in Black Petals #113 (Halloween), 2025.
“Chop, Chop” is in Yellow Mama, Issue #112, October 2025.
“What a Wonderful World” is in 365tomorrows, posted October 11, 2025.
“The Solution of Dr. Adair” is in The Yard: Crime Blog, posted 9/22/2025.
“The Smart Patch” is in the iSoldiers anthology (Shacklebound Books, 2025).
“Click, Click, Click” is in 365tomorrows, posted September 7, 2025.
“Spanky, Slappy, and Moaner” is in Carnage House, Issue#8, 2025.
“Tiger Woman in a Taxi-Cab” is in 365tomorrows, posted August 13, 2025.
“2-4-6-8- Who Do We Appreciate?” is in 365tomorrows, posted July 1, 2025.
“What’s in Your Closet?” is in Black Petals, Issue #112, July 2025.
“Upon Reflection” is in 365tomorrows, posted May 27, 2025.
“The Big Idea” is in The Yard: Crime Blog, May 24, 2025.
“Tsoukal’s Imperative” is in 365tomorrows, posted May 8, 2025.
“Ramona of the Red Eye” is in Dug Up Magazine, Vol 2, April 2025.
“Like a Shadow in the Tall Grass” is in 365tomorrows, posted April 15, 2025.
“The Witch’s Tit” is in Erotic Horror – Bloodlust anthology (Black Hare Press, 2025).
“When Next the Fractals Bloom” is in 365tomorrows, posted March 25, 2025.
“The Only Constant” is in 365tomorrows, posted February 28, 2025.
“The Strong Arm Man” is in Yellow Mama #108, Valentine’s Day 2025.
“Please Exit Through the Gift Shop” is in 365tomorrows, posted February 5, 2025.
“Gerald’s Rose” and “Chasing the Ragged Flag” are in Night to Dawn, issue 47, April 2025.
“What the Dead Know” is in The Yard: Crime Blog, posted January 29, 2025.
“Bait and Switch” is in issue #110 of Black Petals (January 2025).
“Aloysius and the Eternal Questions” is in 365tomorrows, posted 1/8/2025.
“Couplings” is in 365tomorrows, posted 12/19/2024.
“The Perfect Gift” is in the Christmas 2024, issue #107, of Yellow Mama.
“The Note” is in 365tomorrows, posted 11/27/2024.
“Cackling Rose” is in issue #109 (Halloween 2024) of Black Petals.
“When Sweaty Betty Met Bungee Cord Bob” in in The Yard: Crime Blog, posted October 9, 2024.
5 short stories (“Circe of the Summer Pool,” “The Circuit Breaker,” “A Quiet Place to Talk,” “Edie’s Intervention,” and “Don’t Make Me”) are in Dark Dossier’s Halloween 2024 anthology.
“Shadow Daddy” is in the Home Sweet Horror Vol.1 anthology, Black Ink Fiction, 2024.
“Edie’s Intervention” is in Dark Dossier, #93, September 2024.
“Circe of the Summer Pool” is in Dark Dossier, #92, August 2024.
“A Cinch” is in The Yard: Crime Blog, posted 8/2/2024.
“The First Time” is in Night to Dawn, Issue 46, October 2024.
3 stories (“Wisp,” “Sunburn,” and “This Heat is Murder”) are in The Sirens Call, Issue #66, Summer 2024.
“Seeker at the Galaxy’s Edge” is in 365tomorrows, posted 7/3/2024.
“A Quiet Place to Talk” is in Dark Dossier, issue #91, July 2024.
“A Broken String of Love Beads” is in Yellow Mama, Issue # 104, June 15th, 2024.
“Temporarily Out of Service” is in 365tomorrows, posted 6/2/2024.
“Millie Hits a Home Run” is in The Yard: Crime Blog, posted 5/26/2024.
“Pinky’s World” is in the Sonoran Horror anthology (Aphotic Realm, 2024).
“Mik-taa’s Map” is in 365tomorrows, posted 5/17/2024.
“The Circuit Breaker” is in Dark Dossier, issue #89, May 2024.
“Aura Scanner 3000” is in 365tomorrows, posted 4/19/2024.
“The Renovators” is in Black Petals, Issue #107, April 20024.
“A Bottle of Sherry” is in Yellow Mama, Issue #103, April 15, 2024.
“The Better Version” is in Paranormal Incorporated: Office Memo 2: The Offices of Supernatural Being, anthology, 4 Horsemen Publications, 2024.
“Thirteen Red Roses” is in The Yard, posted 3/23/24.
“I Stand with Vlad” and “SUX 2BU” are in Night to Dawn, Issue 45, Feb 2024.
“With This Ring” is in Yellow Mama, Issue #102 (Valentine’s Day), Feb 15, 2024.
“Are We There Yet?” is in The Yard, posted 2/9/2024.
“Can’t Win if You Don’t Play” is in 365tomorrows, posted 1/27/2024.
Two Stories (“The Little Black Book” and “The Demon’s Perk”) are in The Sirens Call, Issue 64, Winter 2023-2024.
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Artworks:
Illustrations for Yellow Mama:
“In Plain Sight” – Yellow Mama #101, December 15, 2023 (artwork for Cindy Rosmus’ short story, “Little Boy Noir”)
“Know It All” – Yellow Mama #101, December 15, 2023 (artwork for Bernice Holtzman’s short story, “”The Morale Builder”)
“Oh Yeah?” – Yellow Mama #101, December 15, 2023 (artwork for Abe Margel’s short story, “Bouncer Beware”)
“Chocolate Doughnuts” – Yellow Mama #100, October 15, 2023 (artwork for Cindy Rosmus’ short story, “Witchy”)
“The Trap of Memory” – Yellow Mama #100, October 15, 2023 (artwork for Pamela Ebel’s short story, “Unclaimed Property”)
“Nosy Old Bint” –Yellow Mama #99, August 15, 2023 (artwork for Cindy Rosmus’ short story, “Snoop”)
“All the Pieces Come Together” – Yellow Mama #99, August 15, 2023 (artwork for Pamela Ebel’s short story, “Venom!”)
“Bangin’ Blooms,” Yellow Mama Cover for Issue #97, April 2023
“New Landlords” – Yellow Mama, Issue #97, April 2023 (artwork for Cindy Rosmus’short story, “Final Notice”)
“Wake Up” – Yellow Mama, Issue #97, April 2023 (artwork forRoy Dorman’s short story, “Just a Small-Town Boy”)
“The Clue’s in the Matrix” – Yellow Mama, issue #97, April 2023 (artwork for Brandon Doughty’s short story, “The Loneliness of a Reseller “)
Hanging Out – Yellow Mama, Valentine’s Issue #96, Feb 2023 (artwork for Kennith Crist’s short story, “Hanging Out”)
Wishful Thinking – Yellow Mama, Valentine’s Issue #96, Feb 2023 (artwork for Joseph Carrabis’ short story, “Owen and Jessica”)
A Song for Christmas – Yellow Mama, Christmas Issue #95, Dec 2023 (artwork for Steve Carr’s short story, ” A Song for Christmas”)
Here Comes Santa Claus – Yellow Mama, Christmas Issue #95, Dec 2023 (artwork for Timothy Dunham’s short story, “Bless your Heart, Babbo Natale”)
Illustrations for Black Petals:
“Like a Disgraced Cosmonaut,” Black Petals Cover for Issue #104, Summer 2023
“As She Was” – Black Petals, Issue #104, Summer, 2023
“Pick a Card” – Black Petals, Issue #103, Spring, 2023 (artwork for Lawrence Buentello’s short story, “The Thorn Tree”)
“Angering the E-Gods” – Black Petals, Issue #103, Spring, 2023 (artwork for M. L. Fortier’s short story, “I’m So Sorry, Computer”)
“Just a Little Prick” – Black Petals, Issue #102 Winter 2023 (artwork for Ron Capshaw’s short story, “The Boy Who Loved Bolt”)
“Those Dirty Blues” – Black Petals, Issue #102 Winter 2023 (artwork for Cindy Rosmus’ short story, “Dirty Blue Bandana”)
“In the Air Tonight” – Black Petals, Issue #102 Winter 2023 (artwork for Roy Dorman’s short story, “It’s a Dry Heat”)
“Nom Nom Nom” – Black Petals, Issue #102 Winter 2023 (artwork for M. L. Fortier’s short story, “I Married a Zombie”)
Illustrations for Other Publications:
“What the Dead Know” – illustration for The Yard: Crime Blog, posted January 29, 2025.
7 chapter illustrations for Bertram Allen Mullin’s 42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42² Stories (hat-tip to Douglas Adams): “Airship Dreamer” (Steampunk), “Bacchus Invites You” (Myth), “Lady Noir,” (Noir), “Rockin’ Rocket” (SciFi), “Storm of War” (War), “The World Holds Many Traps” (Trapped), and “Indigenous Eternal” (Indigenous). MacKenzie Publishing, October 2024.
“At the Golden Dragon” – Artwork for Roy Dorman’s novella, “Unweaving a Tangled Web” ) Hekate Publishing, 2020).
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Hillary Lyon