It's about a children's scary book author (female, middle aged or elderly) who gives a Halloween reading at a library and then seems to be ambiguously haunted by the unseen fictional mischievous boy character she's famous for. It's told in first person, had a feel that vaguely reminded me of Thomas Ligotti's work. Sadly I cannot recall title, author, or any of the proper names in the story.
That is a Ligotti story. I just read it this last year in his reissued collection with Penguin.
Let me see if I can find the title.
These are the story titles. It's one of these.
Dreams for Insomniacs
--The Christmas Eves of Aunt Elise
--The Lost Art of Twilight
--The Troubles of Dr. Thoss
--Masquerade of a Dead Sword: A Tragedie
--Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech
--Professor Nobody's Little Lectures on Supernatural Horror
Dreams for the Dead
--Dr. Locrian's Asylum
--The Sect of the Idiot
--The Greater Festival of Masks
--The Music of the Moon
--The Journal of J. P. Drapeau
--Vastarien
Grimscribe
--Introduction
The Voice of the Damned
--The Last Feast of Harlequin
--The Spectacles in the Drawer
--Flowers of the Abyss
--Nethescurial
The Voice of the Demon
--The Dreaming in Nortown
--The Mystics of Muelenburg
--In the Shadow of Another World
--The Cocoons
The Voice of the Dreamer
--The Night School
--The Glamour
The Voice of the Child
--The Library of Byzantium
--Miss Plarr
The Voice of Our Name
--The Shadow at the Bottom of the World
I think it's either the Christmas Eves of Aunt Elise or Professor Nobody's Little Lectures.
Let's see if I can get a synopsis...
It's not in Grimscribe, I just read a synopsis of all the stories.
Still looking on Ligotti.net...
Got it! It's "Alice's Last Adventure" from Songs of a Dead Dreamer. Thanks David, your certainty that it actually was Ligotti rather than someone with a reminiscent style made me go back and take a closer look at his bibliography.
Boy, this author, Fran Wilde, who was just recommended by my Book Bub email this morning looks interesting!
*Runs to Deleted folder where she sent her Bookbub email this morning without looking at it because it's such a hectic day*
Fran was listed in my email of recommended authors from Book Bub.
That's really cool - will let her know!
