Are You Ready to Be Spellbound?

Spellbound Mystery Magazine

Welcome to our community of mystery lovers! We’re so glad you’re here.

We’ve vetted a growing list of riveting reads and hard-to find mysteries for you – plus mystery short stories, puzzles, hot trends & tips.

We know how hard it can be to find a really good mystery, especially those without over-the-top violence. If you agree, you’ll be glad to know we’re more into whodunit and howdunit than the dastardly deed itself.

Whether you subscribe for free or upgrade to premium, we hope you’ll join us. Each month you’ll receive:

Free subscribers have access to:

Two issues of Spellbound Mystery Magazine each month include:

  • Two Inside Stories sharing Spellbounder and/or Guest Author insights and reflections about mysteries and what we love about writing them.

  • Two recommendations of favorite mysteries from authors we admire.

Premium subscribers receive:

Two issues of Spellbound Mystery Magazine each month include:

  • Two Inside Story sharing Spellbounder and Guest Author reflections about mysteries and what we love about writing them.

  • Four recommendations of favorite mysteries from authors we admire.

  • Word Search, Clue-a-Gram, and other mystery-related puzzles & quizzes.

  • Writing tips you can use in your own work (including at the office).

  • Giveaways & book promos.

  • Access to our complete Substack archive (including dozens of mystery recommendations you may have missed).

In addition, you’ll receive:

  • Two early-bird reviews with a bonus puzzle, riddle, or something else fun!

  • Free copy of Showdown at the Beach, a long short story by Peter Bartram with Duane Lindsay.

  • Bi-monthly original mystery short stories.

  • Quarterly “Written By You!” where you, our reader, share your personal writing on a given mystery topic. (You may even win a free annual subscription!)

We may not be saving the world, but we can help save your sanity!

Meet the Spellbounders

We’re mystery writers who’ve earned thousands of five-star reviews for series ranging from a jaunty journalist in Brighton, England, to former crime reporter and sidekick in the Appalachian Mountains.

Lynda McDaniel is an award-winning journalist who writes the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries, which she started to share unforgettable stories from her back-to-the-land experience in the North Carolina mountains. Recently, Up the Creek, her sixth book in the series, won the IndieGold Silver Award.

But her real love these days is curating and editing Spellbound Mystery Magazine.

”I am ribbeted, er … I mean, riveted to the prospect of finding under-the-radar authors,” Lynda says. “There are so many out there just waiting to be discovered. I’ll admit, sometimes the books don’t pass muster, but I am finding so many independent authors who publish award-winning mysteries we’re proud to feature. Sure, I have to kiss a few frogs, but overall my results are princely!”

Lynda McDaniel kissing a frog

Peter Bartram brings years of experience as a journalist to Spellbound and his Headline Hero mystery series. His novels are fast-paced, and the action is matched by the laughs. The books feature a host of colorful characters as befits stories set in Brighton, one of Britain’s most trend-setting towns.

Peter began his career as a reporter on a local weekly newspaper before editing newspapers and magazines in London, England and, finally, becoming freelance. He has done most things in journalism from door-stepping for quotes to writing serious editorials. He’s pursued stories in locations as diverse as 700-feet down a coal mine and a courtier’s chambers at Buckingham Palace.

Peter Bartram

Got questions?

Contact us at: Spellboundmysterywriters@substack.com

User's avatar

Subscribe to Spellbound Mystery Magazine

Discover whodunits worth solving. Our curated reviews of riveting reads maximize your precious reading time + original short stories, mystery puzzles, hot trends, writing contests & tips

People