About Delaney L. Mathew
Delaney L. Mathew (she/her) is a writer and poet from the Youngstown, Ohio area who focuses mainly on supernatural and horror literature. She’s a graduate of Youngstown State University and works full-time as a retail manager. When not working, Delaney can be found at literary events hosted by Lit Youngstown or writing her first novel which focuses on a supernatural take on the stages and effects of grief. Her short stories are featured in publications by Minds Eyes Publications, Wicked Shadow Press, and Jenny Magazine.
Published Works
Aurora Sanguis
In the Name of the Father
In the Name of the Father
Flash Fiction
Minds Eye Publications
The Vampiricon: Imaginings & Images of the Vampire
“Biting into his lips, a small drop of blood trickled into my mouth. Notes of vanilla, and bergamot, and pepper, and raspberry played along our tongues, intoxicating me with its tannins and levitating me into the open air.”
In the Name of the Father
In the Name of the Father
In the Name of the Father
Short Story
Wicked Shadow Press
Flash of the Dead: Requiem
“His soul had once belonged to God, but now his prayers were empty incantations, like sermons nobody is there to hear.”
The Haunting of Idora Park
Overnight at Sanctuary Square Shopping Center
Overnight at Sanctuary Square Shopping Center
Short Fiction
Jenny Magazine
Issue 22: Reimagine Youngstown
"Listen, let me stop here for a sec…some shit happened that night. Shit that I’m legally not allowed to talk about; but the NDA I signed didn’t say anything about typing...and you seem trustworthy, right?"
Overnight at Sanctuary Square Shopping Center
Overnight at Sanctuary Square Shopping Center
Overnight at Sanctuary Square Shopping Center
Short Fiction
Wicked Shadow Press
Spectral Spectrum: Queer Tales of the Macabre
"Cherry didn’t scare easily; when life at home was already a nightmare, trauma found a way to desensitize even the most extreme of circumstances. However they couldn’t deny that this was f****** weird."
Work In Progress
and all of its stages
Adult Literary Horror Fiction
Dr. Joseph Carter Andrews is a surgeon of formidable merit with a happy marriage and a baby on the way. While historically a man to only look forward, he’s finally able to live in the moment until, after tragically losing their daughter in a late-term stillbirth, Carter must also bury his wife. After six months of suppressed grief and an unhealthy obsession with trying to piece the lives of strangers back together, an accident renders him unable to operate and forces him to stop running from the tragedy that has untethered him from his previous reality and stability. Carter has no choice but to face his grief and navigate the thin line between his unraveling insanity and accepting that death may not be as final as he once thought.
“I think the days where we miss them the most aren’t all that bad. It hurts, but it’s a day filled with just her and the memories we had. Grief, and all of its stages, is mostly a reminder of the love that we shared.” —Dr. Joseph Carter Andrews
Status: On draft #3, tightening up character development and streamlining narrative. Once completed, the draft will be sent to beta readers, then my editor, Samantha Ensminger. I hope to begin querying literary agents by the fall of 2024.
LIT Youngstown
Something I’ve learned through my writing journey is the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people. A session or two before quarantine, my therapist gave me a flier advertising one of Lit Youngstown’s events that one of his clients left in the waiting room. I had mentioned how I used to write when I was in high school but hadn’t written anything really since. With his guidance and that piece of paper sitting on my desk, I sat down at my computer one day and the rest is history.
I held onto that flier for over a year and eventually followed them on Facebook—which I highly recommend you doing, dear reader—and watched as months of events and opportunities passed by. Then one day, I finally did it, I went to a third Thursday writing circle and once I recovered from the embarrassment brought on only by my self doubt and low self esteem, I went to another event, then another, and fast forward to this year where I am going to not only lead a workshop, be on the planning committee and book fair manager for the Fall Literary Festival for the second year in a row, but have a community of friends with me along for the ride.
It became apparent early on just how important it was to have a writing community. The sheer empowerment and support we have for each other’s projects has, at times, been the only thing keeping me from deleting my drafts. We’ve grown attached to each other's characters and shared tears of grief over feelings of hopelessness and confusion through our “cult meetings”, and online zoom sessions, Writers Anonymous. Writing is solitary, but it doesn’t have to be.
One of my biggest support systems has been my editor and good friend, Samantha. I remember sitting on the opposite side of her living room to ensure we were socially distant, and told them all about Carter and the plot details I have come up with for and all of its stages up until that point. Her genuine enthusiasm kept me moving forward. They know Carter, Vanessa, Nikki, and Eric almost as much as I do. My therapist was the first person to officially call me a writer, but Sam was the first person who believed that I’m an author way before I did.
Art, music, and the written word take a black and white world and give it color. Lit Youngstown is a community that celebrates artists of all types. I’ve never once felt inferior to those around me or that my work wasn’t worthy to be shared among the other members. There were authors with at least two or more published books volunteering beside me during the 2023 book fair and we looked at each other as equals. Karen has truly created a place of belonging and I’m honored to be involved in such a wonderful organization.
If you are a new or experienced writer in need of a community, tell them Delaney sent ya!
Please go to their website by clicking the picture here!
Writing Community
Gretchen McCarthy (She/Her)
Katie Passerotti (She/Her)
Karen Schubert (She/Her)
Gretchen McCarthy is a retail manager by day and a hopeless romantic writer and goofball of a wife by night. She and her husband reside in central Ohio where she daydreams of all her endless romantic story ideas. Working on her debut novel, this coffee obsessed millennial is excited for her future in publishing.
Karen Schubert (She/Her)
Katie Passerotti (She/Her)
Karen Schubert (She/Her)
Lit Youngstown Founding Director Karen Schubert is author of The Compost Reader, five chapbooks, and poetry featured in the Butler Institute of American Art’s Art, Poetically; the 2023 Cleveland Humanities Festival; The Pinch; and the anthology This is Cleveland. Her awards include an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award.
Katie Passerotti (She/Her)
Katie Passerotti (She/Her)
m.a.r.s. (She/Her)
Katie Passerotti is an educator by trade and an author by choice. She writes fantasy stories about fierce girls going on adventures to discover their truest selves and the found family that welcomes them. When Katie’s not writing, or fangirling over a favorite book or TV show, she’s exploring the woods with her Irish Wolfhound and looking for her own adventures.
m.a.r.s. (She/Her)
m.a.r.s. (She/Her)
m.a.r.s. (She/Her)
m.a.r.s. is a reader and writer of fantasy. She works in higher education by day and comes home at night to tales of crowns, magic, and inner direwolves. She is currently working on a series of short stories and learning to love the writing process again.
Mitchel Andrews (He/Him)
m.a.r.s. (She/Her)
Peyton Lohr (She/Her)
Mitchel Andrews is a prolific artist and adult literary horror author. As an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, he doesn’t shy away from giving a voice to the disturbing realities and flaws of human nature. When not writing, Mitchel can be found standing on the frontlines of protests advocating for queer rights, volunteering for local organizations, or perfecting his cupcake and buttercream recipes.
Peyton Lohr (She/Her)
m.a.r.s. (She/Her)
Peyton Lohr (She/Her)
Peyton Lohr is a freelance graphic designer and Registered Behavioral Technician from Columbus, Ohio. She received an Associates of Arts degree from Columbus State Community College, and is currently a student at The Ohio State University studying Social Work. She is a member of the media-credentialed NASCAR website Racing Refresh and in her free time she enjoys thrift shopping and painting.
Rose Marry (She/Her)
Rose Marry (She/Her)
Rose Marry (She/Her)
Rose Marry graduated with an MFA specializing in fiction. Her fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in several anthologies and literary magazines, including Straylight Magazine, Anomaly, and Laurel Review. When she’s not writing, she can be found drinking tea and trying to keep her horde of plants alive.
RW Franklin (She/Her)
Rose Marry (She/Her)
Rose Marry (She/Her)
RW Franklin lives in NEOhio with her incredibly supportive husband. Runner up in Lit Youngstown’s Short Short Fiction contest, her writing has appeared in Noctua Review, The Elevation Review, Jenny Magazine, and more. Since 2020, she’s enjoyed facilitating writing groups within her community.
Samantha Ensminger (She/They)
Rose Marry (She/Her)
Samantha Ensminger (She/They)
Samantha Ensminger is a Marketing Manager at Trumbull County Tourism as well as a freelance editor and marketing manager. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English from Youngstown State University and has been heavily involved in event coordination and marketing within the Valley for years.
Influential Artists
For me, music and writing go hand in hand. There are scenes in the book that I’ve written while Taylor Swift—specifically the folklore and evermore albums—is playing in the background, and others where I have Johannes Eckerström, from the Swedish heavy metal band, Avatar playing. To quote Mark Twain, “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.” Sometimes I get hung up on thinking, “Wow, I will never have an idea like that. How can Hozier create such a masterpiece of an album? My work will never compare.” But, then I realize that Hozier’s mastery is just another thing in my mental kaleidoscope. That’s the funny thing about not just being a creator, but being a human. We are a product of all we absorb and witness. And yes, that includes the bad, ugly, and painful things, but it also includes the good. We can’t forget the good.
Hozier, Matt Maeson, Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, Radiohead, Jimmy Eat World, Mitski, Foo Fighters, Backseat Lovers, Twenty One Pilots, Keaton Henson, Sir Chloe, and Ethel Cain…just to name a few!
Special Thanks
Thank you to Jacob at Zillinger Design Co for the logo design!
Please click the image to check out Jacob's other work!