Books:
September 10, 2025, World Suicide Prevention Day
Try Not to Die: By Your Own Hand
A Charity Novel: All profit donated to Maine’s Mobile Crisis Line run through The Opportunity Alliance in Portland Maine to support suicide prevention and mental health services
Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/try-not-to-die-renee-s-decamillis/1148146203
Back Cover Synopsis:
When you’re your own worst enemy, survival is the hardest choice of all.
At 37, Dahlia thought she’d be stronger. But years of trauma, addiction, and self-doubt have left her broken. Every decision she makes could be her last—and you’re the one making them.
In this raw and emotionally charged entry in the Try Not to Die series, you’re in control of her fate. With six harrowing paths to darkness, only one leads to survival—and it demands brutal honesty, inner strength, and the will to keep going.
This isn’t horror for entertainment.
This is horror born of real pain.
It’s not just a book. It’s a fight for survival.
⚠️ CONTENT WARNING:
This book contains disturbing themes and graphic content, including:
Sexual assault
Substance abuse
Alcohol abuse
Self-harm
Reader discretion strongly advised. For mature audiences only.
Some Wounds Are Invisible, But They Still Bleed.
BLURBS:
* “A beautiful, powerful, un-put-downable novel that dives deep into music, despair, literature, abuse, love, and— above all—hope. Read it, share it, read it again. You won’t be sorry. It just might save your life, or someone else’s.”
~ Elizabeth Hand, author of Generation Loss and A Haunting on the Hill
* “Try Not to Die By Your Own Hand is a harrowing, disturbing, honest, deep-dive into all-too-real horrors ably demonstrating that the right choice isn’t always so easy to make. Renee DeCamillis pulls no punches and writes with integrity and a survivor’s hope and heart.”
~ Paul Tremblay, NYT Bestselling Author of Horror Movie and The Cabin at the End of the World
* “In Try Not To Die By Your Own Hand, Renée S. DeCamillis offers not one, but many cautionary paths away from enacting permanent solutions to temporary problems. I had an ever-growing pit twisting in my guts the entire read. I’ve never been more relieved to find my way out of a story. Most importantly, Dahlia’s story explores the devastating effects making such a choice can bring, offering hope and a lighted path out from the bleakness.”
~ John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of Requiem and Ghost Heart
* “Try Not to Die, by Renee S. DeCamillis, is a novel only someone with a cutting edge as Renee could write. Deeply personal. Comes out the gate rocking and forces the reader to navigate through choices or suffer at their own hand. Took guts to write, takes guts to read. Available now!”
~ Mark Matthews, Author of Milk Blood and Kalie’s Web
July 23, 2024: Chisel the Bone, Debut Novel Release, Sequel to The Bone Cutters
Back Cover Synopsis:
Someone is carving people open, chiseling their bones, and stitching them back up. Cemetery vandalism and grave robberies are happening in record numbers across the state. Reports of strange sightings in the night sky are rolling into Maine’s Fisheries and Wildlife hotline. Members of the Silver Springs Psychiatric Hospital’s NA group start unraveling one by one, while a mesmerizing new nurse demands everyone’s attention.
Can Dory, former psych hospital patient out on safety release, and her nuthouse friends help detectives get to the bottom of these uncanny occurrences, or will they end up bled-out for the next Bone Cutter’s high?
Renee S. DeCamillis expands on the world of her critically acclaimed novella, The Bone Cutters, into a fully realized nightmare of survival.
BLURBS:
* “This one digs deep – bone deep, you could say. If you weren’t already gritting your teeth from the blade.” ~ Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians and The Indian Lake Trilogy
* “Chisel the Bone is by turns hallucinogenic, tough, rough, and unexpectedly tender. Lovecraft meets Nope on Renee DeCamillis’ long, strange, trip into a bone-dark nightmare. If you love books written in blood, you’ll turn the pages so fast your fingers will splatter. Sequel!” ~ Nancy Holder, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award
* “CHISEL THE BONE is a gruesome, gritty tale in which DeCamillis creates a stark, tense atmosphere of unease, dread, and pervasive and increasing madness. She shows evil in its big, bad, brutal glory, but also at its most insidious, often understandable, and inevitably tragic. Echoes of Laird Barron and Poppy Z Brite within a voice uniquely her own, DeCamillis flays the skin of polite society and exposes for all to see the sharp edges of desperation, need, and survival. This book will get under your skin in all the best ways.” ~ Mary SanGiovanni, author of THE EVERYWHERE HOUSE
* “Chisel the Bone by Renee S. DeCamillis cuts deep down. DeCamillis is an exceptional voice in horror, and Chisel the Bone is a fast-paced, dark and delightfully maniacal ride. You do not want to miss this or anything by DeCamillis. She’s a writer to watch!” ~ Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award Winning Author of Crime Scene
* “Chisel the Bone is beautifully vicious, both in story and writing. What resonates here is how the DeCamillis imbues all of her characters with distinct personalities. Each rocks their scenes and punctuates the horror in a way that speaks of a talented hand. The writing is as cutting as the tools the cults utilize. The words dig deep, and her prose is electric. For those expecting “quiet horror,” look elsewhere. This is “loud horror,” if that term actually exists. That doesn’t mean it isn’t quality — it holds plenty, but this is metal in style: beats pumping, staccato rhythms with smooth breakdowns, and lyrics that bounce off the page. Recommended.” ~ Cemetery Dance, Dave Simms
* “For all the readers, including myself, who did not want to see DeCamillis’ novella, The Bone
Cutters, come to an end, we are in luck. The anticipated sequel comes to us in the novel, Chisel
the Bone. And Renee DeCamillis does not disappoint. Dory finds herself in another nightmarish
battle for survival. Chisel the Bone takes horrific things that can happen in real life and blends
them with the supernatural. Follow the blood trail to the very end. You’ll be glad you did.”
~ Cindy O’Quinn, Bram Stoker Award-winning author
* “Brilliant and disgusting, Clive Barker meets Supernatural, the TV series…Sick, twisted, and demented…I like it! Give me more, please.” ~ Michelle Schmer, A.K.A. DJ Unikorn, A.K.A. Michelle Coffee, Author and Award-Winning Podcaster @ Coffee Fueled Stories
* “A fresh new voice in horror, Renee S. DeCamillis knows how to write tales that get under your skin. Chisel the Bone offers a macabre and unique brand of dark storytelling that will keep you turning the pages. This one is a fast-paced carnival ride that brings you on a wild journey full of twists and turns.” ~ Morgan Sylvia, Author of Abode
* “Chisel the Bone by Renee S. DeCamillis is exactly the kind of book I’m putting in the hands of the next generation of readers who are just cutting their teeth on the horror genre. It is breakneck paced, and left me absolutely impressed with this clever twist on vampire fiction. ~ Peter Dudar, author of The Goat Parade & Blood Cult of the Booby Farmers
* “Renee DeCamillis’s slashy, visceral novel, Chisel the Bone, is a wild literary ride. DeCamillis’s writing is really fun, super descriptive, and highly entertaining in such a dramatic way. It recalls similar writers like Christopher Moore, Joe Lansdale, and Carl Hiaasen. This story would make a great play or movie. Definitely R-rated, but teenagers would love it!” ~ Meg North, author of The Transformation of Charlotte Poole
New Cover for the Jan. 23, 2024 re-release, now signed with Encyclopocalypse Publications:
Back Cover Synopsis:
They wear their scars with pride, while Dory tries desperately to hide her own. No matter what she does to cover her wounds, they can still smell her bleed, and they want in—down to the bones.
Dory wakes up in the padded room of a psychiatric hospital with no recollection of how she wound up there. She soon finds out she’s been Blue-Papered—involuntarily committed. She gets sent to the wrong counseling group and discovers a whole new world of psychiatric patients she’d never known existed. At first, she just thinks they’re cutters, all marked by similar scars, but then she finds out those scars are from carving into their own bodies to satisfy their bone-crazy addiction. When they find out Dory’s never tapped into her bones, she becomes their target.
Frightened for her life, she desperately tries to prove to the psych. hospital staff she’s not delusional about these patients wanting to cut her open and get to her bones. The staff doesn’t believe her. They all think she’s crazy. She ends up on the run and fighting for her life, trying to avoid getting “dusted” by The Bone Cutters.
“Razor sharp…grabs hold from the get go, and drags the reader through a surreal experience that evokes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, if written by Clive Barker. A recommended novella.”—Monster Librarian
“It’s actually refreshing to be able to enjoy a book so much that you were miffed when it was over. As the debut novella from Renee S. DeCamillis it’s a fantastic beginning to what could prove to be a career to watch.” –Ginger Nuts of Horror
“I immediately fell in love with Dory, the writing style, the story. This is a terribly heart-wrenching story with a bit of a haunted house/ghost vibe where you’re also being chased by a bunch of crazy people who want to devour your bones. I didn’t want to put this book down.”
—Kendall Reviews
Original cover from 9-1-2019 Release through Eraserhead Press:
~ The Bone Cutters, from Eraserhead Press, Sept. 1, 2019
Teaser: They wear their scars with pride, while Dory tries desperately to hide her own. No matter what she does to cover her wounds, they can still smell her bleed, and they want in—down to the bones.
A novella: Horror, Psychological Thriller, Bizarro, Suspense
Originally published as part of Eraserhead Press’s New Bizarro Authors Series for 2019
Purchase Links:
BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/1741/9781621052937
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bone-cutters-rene-s-decamillis/1130356942?ean=9781621052937
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Bone-Cutters-Renee-S-Decamillis/dp/1621052931
Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781621052937
Also available for purchase at Bullmoose Music, Longfellow Books, and Quiet City Books, three Maine indie bookstores.
Short Fiction:
~~”Faceless” appears in Dethfest Confessions: The Devil’s Playlist
Synopsis: …
Published on Kindle 12-24-2023; Published in paperback January 9, 2024
~~”Beauty Shimmers Before Darkness Falls” appears in Horrors of the Deep: Startling Sea Stories
Synopsis: …
Published Oct. 12, 2023, from Rogue Owl Press ( https://www.rogueowlpress.com/ )
~~”Doom Saloon” appears in After the Burn, a post-apocalyptic anthology with 11 authors writing in a shared universe.
Synopsis:
In “Doom Saloon” you’ll meet Lucy, the owner of the Silver Blade Saloon, who discovers that trying to find her lost family members puts her chosen family, and her entire small town, in danger once the mysterious new arrivals traveling the tunnels under her barroom begin multiplying.
Published December 8, 2022, from Rogue Owl Press ( https://www.rogueowlpress.com/ )
Purchase Links: http://www.rogueowlpress.com/store
https://books2read.com/aftertheburn
Amazon link:
~~”Can’t Get Any Worse”, Northern Freights: Lost, The Journal of The Horror Writers of Maine 2.5/Mud Season 2021
Synopsis:
An artist whose creative ideas are getting stolen from his mind tries to convince his brother that depression is not the cause, but rather something ominous and uncanny is after him.
Published May 2021
~“Sunshower Death”, Deadman’s Tome: The Conspiracy Issue
Synopsis:
The mysterious death of rock legend Chris Cornell–Was his death by suicide or is something, or someone, much more sinister to blame?
Published June 1, 2018
A horror/ghost story inspired by the suspicious death of rock legend Chris Cornell
Amazon Link: amazon.com/dp/1983023175
~”The Unemployed Neighbor”, The Sirens Call, Issue #37, The Sixth Annual Women in Horror Month Edition, Feb. 2018
Synopsis:
Free Read Link: http://www.sirenscallpublications.com/pdfs/SirensCallEZine_February2018.pdf
~”The Unemployed Neighbor” & an interview, Jan. 17, 2018
Free Audio Link (incl. interview): http://www.theotherstories.org/episodes/episode-143-unemployed-neighbor-renee-s-decamillis/
~”The Unemployed Neighbor”– January 2014, Stonecoast Lines
Poetry:
![Screenshot_2020-02-04 HWA Poetry Showcase Volume IV (Volume 4) David E Cowen, Bruce Boston, Clay F Johnson, Stephanie M Wyt[...]](https://reneesdecamillis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/screenshot_2020-02-04-hwa-poetry-showcase-volume-iv-volume-4-david-e-cowen-bruce-boston-clay-f-johnson-stephanie-m-wyt....png?w=150&h=226)
~”This Is Only the Beginning”– October 2017, HWA Poetry Showcase Volume IV
Link: https://www.createspace.com/7588235
Horror Movie Reviews:
~“Say Bye-Bye to Your Dreams and Hello to Your Nightmares: We Are Satan’s Puppets, Pawns in His Game.” 31, January 2017; https://reneeyoungdecamillis.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/31-horror-movie-review
~”Supernatural Phenomenon or Psychological Disturbance? You Decide.” Oculus, June 2014:
http://phantom1333.wixsite.com/renee-young-decamillis
~”We’ve Been Waiting . . . We’ve Always Been Waiting:” The Lords of Salem, October 2013:
http://phantom1333.wixsite.com/renee-young-decamillis
~The Devil’s Rejects, February 2013:
http://phantom1333.wixsite.com/renee-young-decamillis
~The Woman in Black, September 2012: “Ever feel like somebody is always watching you? Maybe there is; they’re just too elusive to be caught—or stopped.”
http://phantom1333.wixsite.com/renee-young-decamillis
~”Dark and Shadows: Fear of the Unknown:” The Haunting (1963); June 2012:
http://phantom1333.wixsite.com/renee-young-decamillis
~The Raven, May 2012:
http://phantom1333.wixsite.com/renee-young-decamillis
~Halloween II, Rob Zombie’s remake; April, 2012:
Renee S. DeCamillis 