Shadows & Secrets is a 5-day writing retreat for mystery, thriller, and suspense authors who are serious about their work and looking for transformation on their work-in-progress.
Save the date! shadows 2025 is happening september 17-21, 2025!
Applications are open for 2025.
Hi! We’re Sam and Kerry
(not alphabetical, but equal).
We are both book coaches and writers who love reading and coaching mystery, thriller, and suspense, aka scary stories that keep us up at night. We love haunted house stories (and haunted houses), gothic horror, books about serial killers, and delicious murder mysteries.
Shadows and Secrets is the writing retreat we wanted to attend, so we decided to make it happen. It’s taking place in the most haunted hotel in America (!!), the Hawthorne Hotel, in Salem, MA. There will be fun. There will be cussing. There will be new writer-friends made. There will be lots and lots of story problem solving. There will be relaxing around a fellow bunch of weirdos who love murder books as much as we do. And it will be totally inclusive (i.e. LGTBQIA+ friendly, believers of Black Lives Matter, Trans Rights are Human Rights, Science is Real, and Love is Love.)
If this sounds like your people, fill out the application form (available in early 2025). We’re limiting the retreat to 12 delightful humans, plus us.
Absolutely sign up. It's an investment worth every penny and you are guaranteed to walk away with a stronger story than when you walked in the door. I would do this again and again.
It was a good group that felt safe to be vulnerable. I also felt that you both knew my story so I didn't feel like I had to spend a lot of time explaining when I wanted to get to specific things.
—Olivia Day Wallace, Author
@oliviadaywallace
We are the co-founders of Shadows and Secrets Writing Retreats.
It's definitely worth it! Especially if you're stuck on really any part of your story. The outlining process has helped me so much with nailing down the twist points and emphasizing the emotional arcs of characters.
It was amazing to hear all the cool ideas other people had, and get some different perspectives on my own book.
—V.S. Lawrence, Author
@vslawrence.author, www.vslawrence-author.com
Details
When: September 17-21, 2025 in Salem, Massachusetts.
Arrival (at the hotel) by 4pm on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
Depart (the hotel) anytime after 1pm on Sunday, September 21, 2025.
Where: The Hawthorne Hotel: 18 Washington Square W, Salem, MA 01970. Rumored to be one of the most haunted hotels in America.
What/Who: A 5-day writing retreat (including departure and arrival days) for serious mystery, thriller, and suspense authors who:
Are not new to writing. You have a solid grasp of scene and story structure.
May or may not have a full manuscript completed, but you know you have a plot or pacing or suspense or twist/reveal problem. You have a strong vision but also some critical story questions to be answered. You also want some focused time to plan out your novel.
Adult and YA welcome. As we’ll be focused on adult fiction, if you’re writing a kid-lit or MG novel, this may not be the best fit.
Sub-and cross-genres welcome (i.e. historial, Sci-Fi, fantasy, romance, etc.) As long as your story has strong mystery, thriller, or suspense elements, this will be a useful retreat.
Retreat Goal:
With a focus on brainstorming solutions instead of rewriting from the ground up, the goal is for you to walk away from this retreat with a completed, revised or planned-from-scratch outline - with three twists.
We'll be working on deep-dives into your characters, twist brainstorming, and many other exercises designed to help you get unblocked and on your way as you write forward. You’ll also make a few new writer friends!
Get on the list!
Join our exclusive Shadows and Secrets email list to be the first to learn about future craft-focused webinars and public events. Also stay up-to-date on our Deep Dives, where we deconstruct our favorite well-known thrillers to understand how they tick.
BONUS! Get access to our three most popular webinars when you sign up!