Substacks recommended by Jay Allen Ford | Timberline: Lessons from the Mountain

Recommended by Jay Allen Ford

Momento mori, Momento vivere...

Modern folklore, psychological horror, and mythic fiction exploring the liminal spaces between fairy tale and the human mind. 🥀

Matt Garofalo

Wildwood Press

By Timothy E. Lambert

Non-fiction and Fiction works.

A Quiet Saga

By Amy Stauffer

Personal essays on grief, survival, love, and the weight of ordinary life. For those who notice more than they say.

Leo thee Lemon

I write about real life — the messy parts, the quiet wins, and everything we don’t say out loud.

The Writer's Attic

By Parker Peevyhouse

Unique insights into what makes for compelling fiction, with tips for writers and guides for readers.

Beckie Baybeck

By Darker Ink

Holding space and seeking light. A novelist’s journey through poetry, flash fiction, and the reality of hospice.

Rxan Smith Uncomfortable

By Rxan Smith: Uncomfortable

Independent analysis of cultural and political systems that delivers data-driven takes on power, incentives, recurring failure loops for readers tired of tribal narratives and institutional capture —zero loyalty to party over people or comfort over truth.

Mouse & Meditation with Andrea Thorfinson

Children’s author and spiritual writer exploring meditation, aphantasia, healing, intuition, misunderstood animals, anxious souls, and dreamers with heart, humor, and a little Beatles magic.

An insightful, deeply kind voice for meditation, healing, and spiritual strength. Their work feels warm, grounded, and truly come-as-you-are — welcoming people wherever they are on the path, including those with aphantasia. A gentle, generous presence that makes spirituality feel human, accessible, and quietly brave.

- Jay Allen Ford

The Place Between Things

By Kath Lloyd

Essays, poetry, observations and ordinary life by Kath Lloyd

Kath creates a safe place for writing, noticing, and sharing what I see. Sometimes that will look like essays. Sometimes poetry. Sometimes fragments, art, images, or things I don’t yet have a name for.

- Jay Allen Ford

Delilah's Substack

My personal Substack

Fierce and Found

The Unscripted Chronicles

By Hailey Fargo

Liminal Space Creative

Independent creator attempting to spill the messy worlds in my head onto the page.

- Jay Allen Ford

When Silence speaks: The Inner Journal of Terod Naej

✨When Silence Speaks is where whispers turn into wisdom and boldness begins. We help you level up your Spiritual Quotient (SQ).

When Silence Speaks is where whispers become wisdom and courage begins. We help you deepen your Spiritual Quotient — growing in awareness, compassion, inner strength, and the sacred art of listening.

- Jay Allen Ford

Komal Kadav

Beneath silver moons and starless skies, I write of intuition, transformation, and the sacred art of becoming. Part mystic, part wanderer — forever devoted to books, shadows, lunar rituals, and the unseen realms between worlds.

One of the quietly more insightful individuals on Substack.

- Jay Allen Ford

Judy's Substack

By Just Judy

Latter-day Frontier Fiction, factual history brought to life.

Just Judy is a writer of Frontier Fiction who enjoys research and the challenge of bringing characters and events to life. Join her on a journey to other places and times.

- Jay Allen Ford

Julewrites4change

My novels are shaped by my work in education and mental health. Here I’ll share my free, serialised novels set in Aotearoa, focusing on the quiet strength of people dismissed by those in power. Fiction with a backbone, stories that don’t look away.

My novels are shaped by my work in education and mental health. Here I’ll share my free, serialized novels set in Aotearoa, focusing on the quiet strength of people dismissed by those in power. Fiction with a backbone, stories that don’t look away.

- Jay Allen Ford

Fiction & Fables

By Janine Eaby

Take the scenic route off the beaten trail. Come for the unique indie book spotlight, stay for the book recommendations, reviews, and special sneak peeks.

Lettersbyclara

Personal essays, books, romanticising life, and finding beauty in the ordinary. ✨📚🌙

Clara🌷Writer. Reader. Mayor of Moonberry Village, Claraville County. 🫐🌙🏡 I write about books, life, illness, beauty and the strange little things our hearts do sometimes. Have some tea, and stay awhile. ☕️🫖🍓 Wonderfully peculiar people are welcome 🦆✨

- Jay Allen Ford

The Thinking Silence

By Sara da Encarnação

Writing that resists premature clarity and stays with what is not yet resolved.

The In Between

The In Between is a place to explore the world from the outside in.

Hawtorn V. Rabot

By James (HVR)

I'm a guy who writes. I was never supposed to. I never really learned how. Somehow, it's become a part of who I am, and I need it. I'm a father, teacher, and somehow, I'm published. Nicheless. Thumb Confessions™. Read Too Soon et Pero Too Late.

Sonia

I am an indie author and psychologist who writes heartfelt stories blending romance, self-discovery, and mental health. My books celebrate healing, body positivity, and the magic of second chances.

- Jay Allen Ford

Whispers of Her Soul

By Aaliya

For deep feelers learning how pain shapes love, family, emotional patterns, nervous system healing, and the way we live and trust.

Absolutely the solution for understanding what ales your soul. Also one of the kindest people on Substack.

- Jay Allen Ford

Stanley B. Trice’s Substack

Musings about science and fiction.

Writer, Volunteer, and Grant writer. How can you not subscribe to this man.

- Jay Allen Ford

Gary L Taylor

Encouragement Along the Journey

By Haide Wall Giesbrecht

An art exhibition of the many thoughts in my head. Reflections on grief, growth, and becoming, written as a friend, therapist, mother, and fellow traveller.

Remembring2Laugh

By Ginny Lynns

Remembring2Laugh reflects A Course in Miracles concept: the Child of God conceived "a tiny mad idea," and "forgot to laugh;" here we remember2laugh, including at creepy horror stories.

Romancing the Phone

By Alyssa Morris

A loving analysis of BookTok and romance trends - add this to your #TBR.

Naz and Mr. Boogs

Post-apocalyptic philosophy. Sacred absurdity. Dispatches from the reflective fringe. Naz is the mirror. Mr. Boogs is the prophet.

Post-apocalyptic philosophy. Sacred absurdity. Dispatches from the reflective fringe. Naz holds the mirror. Mr. Boogs brings the prophecy. The ruins have jokes, and some of them might be holy.

- Jay Allen Ford

TheEnlightenedWriter

Outside the Script Poetry

By UpsilonA

Outside the Script Poetry traces the moments when life breaks pattern, turning emotional rupture, mythic memory and unsentimental clarity into poems that refuse the expected.

Georgia Conlon

Poetry, workshop facilitation, theory, writing prompts... all the good stuff!

The M&A Hunter

Tracking biotech acquisition targets before big pharma strikes. Featuring acquisition targets with detailed analysis M&A probability signals and catalysts Valuation insight and deal timing estimates Big pharma strategy patterns "NOT Pro Advice"

Simply, Patiently, Quietly

By Charlie Rauh

Welcome! Here you will find my latest prose pieces and information on my published work.

Willow

Swallowing the lost pieces whole. Writing my way through the 'ghost' feelings and the weight of advocacy. A former painter finding a new version of myself, one word at a time.

Azike's Substack

By Azike Prosper

My personal Substack

Active in Chat, fun charcoal and other art

- Jay Allen Ford

Phone Free Will

One TV producer's 1,000 hour experiment in deliberately doing nothing on his commute. A very funny, very serious investigation into what the phone is doing to the mind - and what you find when you put it down. Neuroscience, ancient wisdom, an Evil Advisor

Vesper L. Rayne

Romance, fantasy, humor, and the occasional wonderfully odd story. Pull up a chair. Stay a while.

Hi, I'm Vesper. Ever wonder what ancient vampires do on their day off? Me too. Home of the Fenris Universe, Persephone Jones, Tractor Supply #412, and stories where the extraordinary feels surprisingly human.

- Jay Allen Ford

Beth Brower Scribbles Away

Beth Brower Scribbles Away is a twice monthly publication consisting of: The Bookshelf (a free newsletter) & The St. Crispian's Gazette (scenes, letters, and short stories from St. Crispian's).

Living her best life, pursuing her passion for rest, slow living & calm vibes. Catch podcasts, The Meditation Nest, Affirmations for Calm & Confidence, Calm in Minutes: Meditation for Stress & Anxiety, and Life Lessons.

- Jay Allen Ford

Off Ramp to Brave Spaces

An odyssey of aging alone, grey divoce, and uneven emotional terrain. This is my spiritual journey. Through poetry and philosophy, I welcome the darkness, embrace the light, and get comfortable in the brave spaces. Welcome.

Solomon Grim's Substack

By Quinlin's Substack

To prove the notion that there is nothing new under the sun, complete rubbish

Wisdom Library

By Alexandra P.

I am a student of life and I love exploring and learning deeply. I share my own learning and experiences to help others see more clearly, understand life more, wake up from autopilot, reconnect with themselves, and develop their inner power.

Innerverse

Explaining the human mind through storytelling, fantasy and mythology

Meg’s Substack

By Meg Floss

Poems and essays written to survive, to witness, and to name what others look away from—sometimes in the noble pursuit of not imploding, or dissolving into pillow screams and prolonged negotiations with the void.

Moss & Matchsticks

By Moss and Matchsticks

For anyone who’s ever felt too complex, too much, or just bloody knackered. I write sharp, funny essays on burnout, love & life. Matchsticks for the brittleness of burnout, moss for the softness that saves us from going feral.

The Reticent Gardener

By JGWunderlich

The garden is both setting and teacher. These essays wander through herbs and houseplants, moments of wonder and failure, and the ways tending plants mirrors tending the self. Curious, imperfect, and always learning—just like the garden itself.

Unsent Society

By Ghostie

A newsletter for the left-on read.