Travis D. Johnson | Frolic Press
@frolicpress.bsky.social
Publisher & Founder, Frolic Press | Writer, Artist, Composer | Weird Fiction & Literary Horror
https://linktr.ee/travisdjohnsonwrites
https://linktr.ee/travisdjohnsonwrites
Pinned
Locals can pick up a copy of Frolic Press's new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' early and at $2 off the list price at Buy the Book St. Augustine!
#SmallPress #LocalBookStore #IndependentBookstore #WeirdFiction #Fritzleiber #RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress #LocalBookStore #IndependentBookstore #WeirdFiction #Fritzleiber #RamseyCampbell
Creating the cover illustration for Many Wade Wellman's 'Fearful Rock'
I used charcoal and graphite to create a drawing, made a Sator square on the opposite side in traditional iron gall ink using a dried cowpea pod as a pen, and placed the paper in my worm bin to see how the soil biota transform it
I used charcoal and graphite to create a drawing, made a Sator square on the opposite side in traditional iron gall ink using a dried cowpea pod as a pen, and placed the paper in my worm bin to see how the soil biota transform it
January 22, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Creating the cover illustration for Many Wade Wellman's 'Fearful Rock'
I used charcoal and graphite to create a drawing, made a Sator square on the opposite side in traditional iron gall ink using a dried cowpea pod as a pen, and placed the paper in my worm bin to see how the soil biota transform it
I used charcoal and graphite to create a drawing, made a Sator square on the opposite side in traditional iron gall ink using a dried cowpea pod as a pen, and placed the paper in my worm bin to see how the soil biota transform it
I've been shouting about Frolic, my new small press, every Wednesday. I've probably shouted for the moment. You can find the information on my profile.
This week, I'd rather shout about @charibdys.bsky.social , whose 'The Maidens of Midnight' is really quite extraordinary.
#Horrorwriterschat
This week, I'd rather shout about @charibdys.bsky.social , whose 'The Maidens of Midnight' is really quite extraordinary.
#Horrorwriterschat
This one goes out to all those who contributed tonight. Please go forth and promo!
#Horrorwriterschat
#Horrorwriterschat
January 21, 2026 at 9:04 PM
I've been shouting about Frolic, my new small press, every Wednesday. I've probably shouted for the moment. You can find the information on my profile.
This week, I'd rather shout about @charibdys.bsky.social , whose 'The Maidens of Midnight' is really quite extraordinary.
#Horrorwriterschat
This week, I'd rather shout about @charibdys.bsky.social , whose 'The Maidens of Midnight' is really quite extraordinary.
#Horrorwriterschat
The first deputy fell dead, eyes wide in the wiregrass. The second kept his distance, mandate trembling in his hand. “Says here it’s mandatory, miss.”
June’s razor caught the light. “So’s dying,” she said.
He looked to his partner. “We’ll mark you exempt then, ma’am.”
#Horrorwriterschat
June’s razor caught the light. “So’s dying,” she said.
He looked to his partner. “We’ll mark you exempt then, ma’am.”
#Horrorwriterschat
January 21, 2026 at 8:27 PM
The first deputy fell dead, eyes wide in the wiregrass. The second kept his distance, mandate trembling in his hand. “Says here it’s mandatory, miss.”
June’s razor caught the light. “So’s dying,” she said.
He looked to his partner. “We’ll mark you exempt then, ma’am.”
#Horrorwriterschat
June’s razor caught the light. “So’s dying,” she said.
He looked to his partner. “We’ll mark you exempt then, ma’am.”
#Horrorwriterschat
National Hugging Day.
Squirrels are meat. Sweatpants and granola bars don't exist yet. Playdates are for children who have homes and futures that aren't soaked in blood.
Her body isn't for comfort or casual contact, but to survive.
Hugging Day demands what to her is obscene.
#HorrorWritersChat
Squirrels are meat. Sweatpants and granola bars don't exist yet. Playdates are for children who have homes and futures that aren't soaked in blood.
Her body isn't for comfort or casual contact, but to survive.
Hugging Day demands what to her is obscene.
#HorrorWritersChat
I LOVE these days being subverted. You're all in sweatpant heaven. What about your WIP characters? your main characters? And what would they say?
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
January 21, 2026 at 8:07 PM
National Hugging Day.
Squirrels are meat. Sweatpants and granola bars don't exist yet. Playdates are for children who have homes and futures that aren't soaked in blood.
Her body isn't for comfort or casual contact, but to survive.
Hugging Day demands what to her is obscene.
#HorrorWritersChat
Squirrels are meat. Sweatpants and granola bars don't exist yet. Playdates are for children who have homes and futures that aren't soaked in blood.
Her body isn't for comfort or casual contact, but to survive.
Hugging Day demands what to her is obscene.
#HorrorWritersChat
Every playdate ended the same way: mother calling down the stairs, "Time to go home!" The children filing up from the basement, one by one. Every visit, there was always one more child than when they went down.
#Horrrorwriterschat
#Horrrorwriterschat
So we have four days today...or was it five? SUCH a busy day...
International Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
International Playdate Day
International Sweatpants Day
National Granola Bar Day
So which one will you choose to make horror? I know you can....
#Horrrorwriterschat
International Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
International Playdate Day
International Sweatpants Day
National Granola Bar Day
So which one will you choose to make horror? I know you can....
#Horrrorwriterschat
January 21, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Every playdate ended the same way: mother calling down the stairs, "Time to go home!" The children filing up from the basement, one by one. Every visit, there was always one more child than when they went down.
#Horrrorwriterschat
#Horrrorwriterschat
#HorrorWritersChat
Hi, I'm Travis. I write strange stories. I quite like International Jazz Day (UNESCO 36 C/Resolution 39) because I love jazz and blues, which inform my work. I also observe International Day of Potato [FAO] (A/RES/78/123).
Hi, I'm Travis. I write strange stories. I quite like International Jazz Day (UNESCO 36 C/Resolution 39) because I love jazz and blues, which inform my work. I also observe International Day of Potato [FAO] (A/RES/78/123).
#HorrorWritersChat
Q1.
For me this is the most important. Who are we, really?
Let's spill the beans. Or the squirrels. Or even the granola.
We're all listening.
Q1.
For me this is the most important. Who are we, really?
Let's spill the beans. Or the squirrels. Or even the granola.
We're all listening.
January 21, 2026 at 7:23 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
Hi, I'm Travis. I write strange stories. I quite like International Jazz Day (UNESCO 36 C/Resolution 39) because I love jazz and blues, which inform my work. I also observe International Day of Potato [FAO] (A/RES/78/123).
Hi, I'm Travis. I write strange stories. I quite like International Jazz Day (UNESCO 36 C/Resolution 39) because I love jazz and blues, which inform my work. I also observe International Day of Potato [FAO] (A/RES/78/123).
Reposted by Travis D. Johnson | Frolic Press
Is it Wednesday? Why yes, it is.
Did you know, it's also:
International Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
International Playdate Day
International Sweatpants Day
National Granola Bar Day
I bet you're glad to know that! Hmm. Laters, then. You know what to do.
#HorrorWritersChat
Did you know, it's also:
International Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
International Playdate Day
International Sweatpants Day
National Granola Bar Day
I bet you're glad to know that! Hmm. Laters, then. You know what to do.
#HorrorWritersChat
January 21, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Is it Wednesday? Why yes, it is.
Did you know, it's also:
International Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
International Playdate Day
International Sweatpants Day
National Granola Bar Day
I bet you're glad to know that! Hmm. Laters, then. You know what to do.
#HorrorWritersChat
Did you know, it's also:
International Squirrel Appreciation Day
National Hugging Day
International Playdate Day
International Sweatpants Day
National Granola Bar Day
I bet you're glad to know that! Hmm. Laters, then. You know what to do.
#HorrorWritersChat
Locals can pick up a copy of Frolic Press's new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' early and at $2 off the list price at Buy the Book St. Augustine!
#SmallPress #LocalBookStore #IndependentBookstore #WeirdFiction #Fritzleiber #RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress #LocalBookStore #IndependentBookstore #WeirdFiction #Fritzleiber #RamseyCampbell
January 16, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Locals can pick up a copy of Frolic Press's new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' early and at $2 off the list price at Buy the Book St. Augustine!
#SmallPress #LocalBookStore #IndependentBookstore #WeirdFiction #Fritzleiber #RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress #LocalBookStore #IndependentBookstore #WeirdFiction #Fritzleiber #RamseyCampbell
My small press is releasing a new edition of Fritz Leiber's 'Conjure Wife'—featuring two essays by Ramsey Campbell—on March 20.
It can be pre-ordered from @bookshop.org (and wherever books are sold): bookshop.org/a/110901/979...
A collection of my own short work will be out soon
#HorrorWritersChat
It can be pre-ordered from @bookshop.org (and wherever books are sold): bookshop.org/a/110901/979...
A collection of my own short work will be out soon
#HorrorWritersChat
January 14, 2026 at 8:07 PM
My small press is releasing a new edition of Fritz Leiber's 'Conjure Wife'—featuring two essays by Ramsey Campbell—on March 20.
It can be pre-ordered from @bookshop.org (and wherever books are sold): bookshop.org/a/110901/979...
A collection of my own short work will be out soon
#HorrorWritersChat
It can be pre-ordered from @bookshop.org (and wherever books are sold): bookshop.org/a/110901/979...
A collection of my own short work will be out soon
#HorrorWritersChat
My protagonists are usually antagonized by venality, cruelty, hubris, vanity... often their own.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
Horror is known for having both natural and supernatural antagonists, like the landscape or a ghostly presence.
Q4 #HorrorWritersChat
In your current WIP or latest published horror work, who or what antagonises your protagonist?
---
The outro with promo opportunity will be posted in 10 mins.
Q4 #HorrorWritersChat
In your current WIP or latest published horror work, who or what antagonises your protagonist?
---
The outro with promo opportunity will be posted in 10 mins.
January 14, 2026 at 7:54 PM
My protagonists are usually antagonized by venality, cruelty, hubris, vanity... often their own.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
Similarly, prosody is the most important part of my technique. Many of my stories begin as poems. The transformation to prose is never complete. Many poems simply remain poems.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
Q3 #HorrorWritersChat
How does your writing style seek to instill fear, disgust, or otherwise unsettle your readers?
[See an example from Cynthia Pelayo in the graphic]
How does your writing style seek to instill fear, disgust, or otherwise unsettle your readers?
[See an example from Cynthia Pelayo in the graphic]
January 14, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Similarly, prosody is the most important part of my technique. Many of my stories begin as poems. The transformation to prose is never complete. Many poems simply remain poems.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
The perceived reality that I'm most interested in violating is the reductive one that sees the world as fully explicable by rationalism and materialism.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
“Horror comes from a violation of what characters perceive to be reality.” - Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner
Example: a haunted house violates the assumption that we are alone in our homes.
Q2 #HorrorWritersChat
Which perceived realities do you utilise in your horror writing?
Example: a haunted house violates the assumption that we are alone in our homes.
Q2 #HorrorWritersChat
Which perceived realities do you utilise in your horror writing?
January 14, 2026 at 7:37 PM
The perceived reality that I'm most interested in violating is the reductive one that sees the world as fully explicable by rationalism and materialism.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
Hi, I'm Travis and I write strange stories.
Looking at the tales I've written for the collection that is is my WIP, I detect some influences:
"Stranger In The House" by Lisa Tuttle
"The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen
'The Princess and the Goblin' by George MacDonald
#HorrorWritersChat
Looking at the tales I've written for the collection that is is my WIP, I detect some influences:
"Stranger In The House" by Lisa Tuttle
"The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen
'The Princess and the Goblin' by George MacDonald
#HorrorWritersChat
Welcome to #HorrorWritersChat
Q1
Introduce yourself and the horror subgenres you write.
Then, share three works of horror that influenced your latest work OR current WIP.
Q1
Introduce yourself and the horror subgenres you write.
Then, share three works of horror that influenced your latest work OR current WIP.
January 14, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Hi, I'm Travis and I write strange stories.
Looking at the tales I've written for the collection that is is my WIP, I detect some influences:
"Stranger In The House" by Lisa Tuttle
"The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen
'The Princess and the Goblin' by George MacDonald
#HorrorWritersChat
Looking at the tales I've written for the collection that is is my WIP, I detect some influences:
"Stranger In The House" by Lisa Tuttle
"The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen
'The Princess and the Goblin' by George MacDonald
#HorrorWritersChat
Reposted by Travis D. Johnson | Frolic Press
#HorrorWritersChat will start in 30 minutes. Prepare yourself!
This week, #HorrorWritersChat will be all about the kind of #horror we write and our influences.
Join us!
Wednesday 14 January
2 pm ET (USA) / 7 pm GMT (UK)
How? Answer four questions, chat in the comments, share posts, then promote your work in the outro.
🩸📚 Discover new horrors
#AmWriting
Join us!
Wednesday 14 January
2 pm ET (USA) / 7 pm GMT (UK)
How? Answer four questions, chat in the comments, share posts, then promote your work in the outro.
🩸📚 Discover new horrors
#AmWriting
January 14, 2026 at 6:30 PM
#HorrorWritersChat will start in 30 minutes. Prepare yourself!
frolicpress.ink
Our special new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' is now available for pre-order from @bookshop.org , @barnesandnoble.com , Thriftbooks, and independent book sellers!
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #FritzLeiber #RamseyCampbell #SmallPress #FrolicPress #Booksky
Our special new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' is now available for pre-order from @bookshop.org , @barnesandnoble.com , Thriftbooks, and independent book sellers!
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #FritzLeiber #RamseyCampbell #SmallPress #FrolicPress #Booksky
January 11, 2026 at 11:16 PM
frolicpress.ink
Our special new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' is now available for pre-order from @bookshop.org , @barnesandnoble.com , Thriftbooks, and independent book sellers!
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #FritzLeiber #RamseyCampbell #SmallPress #FrolicPress #Booksky
Our special new edition of Fritz Leiber's classic 'Conjure Wife' is now available for pre-order from @bookshop.org , @barnesandnoble.com , Thriftbooks, and independent book sellers!
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #FritzLeiber #RamseyCampbell #SmallPress #FrolicPress #Booksky
The Frolic Press edition of Fritz Leiber's 'Conjure Wife' is now avaliable for pre-order at Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conjure-wi...
#FritzLeiber #WeirdFiction #ClassicHorror #Booksky
#FritzLeiber #WeirdFiction #ClassicHorror #Booksky
Conjure Wife: The 1943 Text|Paperback
www.barnesandnoble.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:33 AM
The Frolic Press edition of Fritz Leiber's 'Conjure Wife' is now avaliable for pre-order at Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conjure-wi...
#FritzLeiber #WeirdFiction #ClassicHorror #Booksky
#FritzLeiber #WeirdFiction #ClassicHorror #Booksky
It's amazing to hold this in my hand. From contemplating starting a small press to holding the first book in my hand after five months of exhausting work.
The Frolic Press edition includes scholarly apparatus by @ramseycampbell.bsky.social and lists at $16.
It will be available worldwide March 20.
The Frolic Press edition includes scholarly apparatus by @ramseycampbell.bsky.social and lists at $16.
It will be available worldwide March 20.
January 9, 2026 at 10:42 PM
It's amazing to hold this in my hand. From contemplating starting a small press to holding the first book in my hand after five months of exhausting work.
The Frolic Press edition includes scholarly apparatus by @ramseycampbell.bsky.social and lists at $16.
It will be available worldwide March 20.
The Frolic Press edition includes scholarly apparatus by @ramseycampbell.bsky.social and lists at $16.
It will be available worldwide March 20.
Changes may accrue: barnacles on wrists that breathe with the tide, veins turning to ink, or a child growing translucent, drifting like milkweed seed.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
You spring out of your den, gliding between trees. You follow the winged figures. Your kin. Your home.
Your past has left its icy trails behind.
Becoming a new self also often includes a physical transformation. Do your characters change physically? In what way?
#HorrorWritersChat
Your past has left its icy trails behind.
Becoming a new self also often includes a physical transformation. Do your characters change physically? In what way?
#HorrorWritersChat
January 7, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Changes may accrue: barnacles on wrists that breathe with the tide, veins turning to ink, or a child growing translucent, drifting like milkweed seed.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
My characters sacrifice daylight’s illusion—easy disbelief, untroubled sleep, loved ones who flee the new quiet in their eyes. They bury ambition for obsession with the unseen. The pain is a slow flaying, raw and irrevocable—yet paid willingly, lest blindness claim them.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
The susurrus sharpens into a voice. Your voice. A human rumble deepened by the forest’s savagery bursts from your maw.
A question blazes in your mind.
Becoming a new self is laden with sacrifices. What do your characters sacrifice? How painful/significant is it?
#HorrorWritersChat
A question blazes in your mind.
Becoming a new self is laden with sacrifices. What do your characters sacrifice? How painful/significant is it?
#HorrorWritersChat
January 7, 2026 at 7:54 PM
My characters sacrifice daylight’s illusion—easy disbelief, untroubled sleep, loved ones who flee the new quiet in their eyes. They bury ambition for obsession with the unseen. The pain is a slow flaying, raw and irrevocable—yet paid willingly, lest blindness claim them.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
My characters survive, when they do, by shedding daylight skins—scholars wake tasting old sea voices; skeptics return with something gazing from behind their eyes. They become quiet keepers of the thin places.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
The figures bury you in frozen earth, in chains of pine needle and bone. Golden eyes fuse into a singular pair.
The soil trembles with a question.
For characters to survive the horrors, they must often become new selves. What kind of new selves do YOUR characters become?
#HorrorWritersChat
The soil trembles with a question.
For characters to survive the horrors, they must often become new selves. What kind of new selves do YOUR characters become?
#HorrorWritersChat
January 7, 2026 at 7:36 PM
My characters survive, when they do, by shedding daylight skins—scholars wake tasting old sea voices; skeptics return with something gazing from behind their eyes. They become quiet keepers of the thin places.
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
#HorrorWritersChat
I am Travis D. Johnson—scribe of the weird, guardian of Southern ghostlore, founder of Frolic Press. Most I dread surrendering my watch upon the threshold: that dusk-haunted ear attuned to footsteps not my own along ancient stones
I am Travis D. Johnson—scribe of the weird, guardian of Southern ghostlore, founder of Frolic Press. Most I dread surrendering my watch upon the threshold: that dusk-haunted ear attuned to footsteps not my own along ancient stones
The figures encircle you in ursine and lupine furs. Jagged symbols mark their foreheads under antlered hoods.
The susurrus coalesces into a question.
Tell us who you are, what you write, and what part of your current self would you be scared to give up the most?
#HorrorWritersChat
The susurrus coalesces into a question.
Tell us who you are, what you write, and what part of your current self would you be scared to give up the most?
#HorrorWritersChat
January 7, 2026 at 7:29 PM
#HorrorWritersChat
I am Travis D. Johnson—scribe of the weird, guardian of Southern ghostlore, founder of Frolic Press. Most I dread surrendering my watch upon the threshold: that dusk-haunted ear attuned to footsteps not my own along ancient stones
I am Travis D. Johnson—scribe of the weird, guardian of Southern ghostlore, founder of Frolic Press. Most I dread surrendering my watch upon the threshold: that dusk-haunted ear attuned to footsteps not my own along ancient stones
Went to my favorite bookstore today.
#thomasligotti ##weirdfiction ##vintagepaperbacks #independentbookstore
#thomasligotti ##weirdfiction ##vintagepaperbacks #independentbookstore
January 6, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Went to my favorite bookstore today.
#thomasligotti ##weirdfiction ##vintagepaperbacks #independentbookstore
#thomasligotti ##weirdfiction ##vintagepaperbacks #independentbookstore
!!!
ICYMI
Our latest episode of Horror Joy Meet Your Maker is live! Join me (Jeff) as I chat with @ivygrimes.bsky.social about horror, joy, and everything in-between.
redcircle.com/shows/979960...
#horrorjoy #horrorsky #horrorpod #horrorfans
redcircle.com/shows/979960...
#horrorjoy #horrorsky #horrorpod #horrorfans
January 6, 2026 at 4:23 PM
!!!
frolicpress.substack.com/p/conjure-wi...
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #FritzLeiber #RamseyCampbell #SmallPress #BookDesign #ConjureWife
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #FritzLeiber #RamseyCampbell #SmallPress #BookDesign #ConjureWife
January 4, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Full wrap reveal! CONJURE WIFE by Fritz Leiber - The 1943 Text, with two essays by Ramsey Campbell, illustration by James Hutton
Available March 20, 2026 at bookstores everywhere
#WeirdFiction
#HorrorFiction
#FritzLeiber
#RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress
#BookDesign
#ClassicHorror
Available March 20, 2026 at bookstores everywhere
#WeirdFiction
#HorrorFiction
#FritzLeiber
#RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress
#BookDesign
#ClassicHorror
January 2, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Full wrap reveal! CONJURE WIFE by Fritz Leiber - The 1943 Text, with two essays by Ramsey Campbell, illustration by James Hutton
Available March 20, 2026 at bookstores everywhere
#WeirdFiction
#HorrorFiction
#FritzLeiber
#RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress
#BookDesign
#ClassicHorror
Available March 20, 2026 at bookstores everywhere
#WeirdFiction
#HorrorFiction
#FritzLeiber
#RamseyCampbell
#SmallPress
#BookDesign
#ClassicHorror