I kind of already said this, but HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Here is the jack-o-lantern Emily and I carved this season:
October is the best month for a variety of reasons. You got beautiful fall colors, crisp, cool weather, and yeah, Halloween (see above). I got in some good mountain biking, had tons of fun at the annual West Virginia Book Festival, and got to meet up for coffee with an old friend at Taylor Books, which is a pretty great coffee shop/book store in downtown Charleston that I recommend.
Also, this month I released a new Kindle horror novelette, Antique Bed, which you can get on Amazon for only $0.99.
And just in time for Halloween, Horror Tales Podcast released their fourth episode, which is my story “The Unknown Thing”, previously published in Beneath the Waves: Tales from the Deep. Click below to listen (it’s free):
***EDIT: I was just notified that my story has been listened to over one thousand times already, in just a few days! Cool!
One experience I had that was not enjoyable this month was the Witch’s Brew drink at Starbucks. This purple monstrosity was so awful looking that I just had to try it. There is zero coffee in this drink (not that anyone expected it), and I could only take a few sips before tossing it in the trash.
As I don’t live in a town where there is trick-or-treating (or a town of any kind, for that matter), sadly, my house is not stocked full of candy (also, I guess they don’t always do trick-or-treating on actual Halloween anymore?). However, Emily and I have some pretty fun plans involving our traditional viewing of Halloween is Grinch Night and some caramel apples that are sure to ruin our teeth but be wildly tasty (ironically enough, last night I had a dream in which two of my teeth fell out for no reason).
So go enjoy the holiday, however you do that—consuming tons of sugar, watching movies, listening to Horror Tales Podcast, or reading one of my books (I guess somebody else’s book is fine, too). Remember that tomorrow candy will be dirt cheap.
Horror
Listen to "The Unknown Thing" on Horror Tales Podcast
My short story “The Unknown Thing”, originally published in Beneath the Waves: Tales From the Deep by Things in the Well Publications, has been turned into an exciting podcast episode on Horror Tales Podcast. They were going release it on Halloween, but they just couldn’t wait any longer—so here it is! Click the icon below to see all the episodes, including mine (Episode 4).
Give the podcast a rating and review on iTunes if you have an account there, and it will help this new podcast reach more people.
Max Ablitzer does so much hard work in getting the best and most intriguing sound effects for the podcast and I love how it turned out. I think you will too.
Happy Early Halloween!
#Amazon #Top10 in One-Hour Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense
I just got back from mountain biking, all sweaty and muddy, and before my shower had to check the Amazon rankings… Number 8 in the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Short reads!
Pretty great! I have to stop obsessing over it though, so I’m done checking for the evening (I hope). Hopefully it will stay up there for a while and people might notice.
Need a quick, cheap thrill? Click Here to buy my new Kindle novelette, “Antique Bed” for just $0.99
Hot New Release
New #horror ebook release, Beyoncé style
Surprise! Today you can buy my new Kindle-only novelette, “Antique Bed” for only $0.99! Tell your friends, your enemies, your pets…
As kids we always used to say that the old hardware building was haunted. I don’t believe it no more—at least I don’t think so.
Two of my loves have intersected (NPR’s 100 Best Horror)
I don’t listen to the radio as much as I listen to podcasts, but most of my favorite podcasts are derived from public radio, so NPR is dear to me. And they are piling on some major bonus points. Having polled readers for their favorite horror novels and stories, judges who are well-known within the horror fiction community sifted through the results and whittled them down to an expertly curated list of one hundred! Find them here and figure out what you need to add to your reading list. I’m happy to say that one of the works I nominated made it to the list: “The Repairer of Reputations”, which is one of my favorite short stories and the first in Robert W. Chambers’ unforgettable classic collection, The King in Yellow.
New interview, new fiction! – Hinnom Magazine 007 now available
In association with Hinnom Magazine‘s new issue release, Gehenna & Hinnom Books has posted an interview with me up at their website. Go on and check it out!
Hinnom Magazine Issue 007 is now available in both Kindle and paper formats. Get it now to read my new short story, “The Station Agent’s Wife, 1927” as well as other fiction by Sarah Gribble, Pete Rawlik, David Turton, and poetry by Adam Bolivar and Deborah L. Davitt.
"The Station Agent’s Wife, 1927" to appear in Hinnom Magazine Issue 007
In December we met poor Fischer, a boy with some disturbing body troubles living in Augustus Valley, WV (“Fischer’s Mouth”, Hinnom Magazine Issue 004). In April, we were sucked under the mighty Augustus River with Charlie the river guide and despaired at what he found beneath (“The Unknown Thing”, Beneath the Waves: Tales from the Deep). This summer, travel back in time to 1927, when Augustus Valley was at its height as southern West Virginia’s coal mining capital. Meet Anna Sullivan, new mother and wife of Jim Sullivan, the young new station agent at the C&O Depot. Mrs. Sullivan loves her new house provided by the C&O and is proud of her husband’s position. But as we have already learned, and as Anna discovers, sooner or later things get weird in Augustus Valley. Sure, you can try to ignore it…
Read “The Station Agent’s Wife, 1927” in Hinnom Magazine Issue 007. The Kindle version is now available on Amazon for pre-order, and the paper issue should be available soon after the Kindle version goes live.
UPDATE: as of 6-30-2018, both versions are available to purchase and read! go get it! Also, read their interview with me here!
The new issue also features poetry by Adam Bolivar and Deborah L. Davitt, as well as short fiction by Sarah Gribble, Pete Rawlik, and David Turton. As always, up to date reviews and interviews regarding current trends and authors in horror are inside. See the cover and complete TOC at the Gehenna & Hinnom Books website. I’m honored to be in company with these cool cats!
Reading List: "The Pine Arch Collection" by Michael Wehunt (The Dark Magazine, May 2018)
Hot off the digital presses at The Dark Magazine, today I read Michael Wehunt’s new story, “The Pine Arch Collection”.
A tribute to found-footage style horror films like The Blair Witch Project, the story is presented as a thread of emails among filmmakers and a mysterious horror film group calling itself Pine Arch Research, which is “based—locally.” A representative of the aforementioned group emails filmmaker Aly Duarte an invitation to submit work to the Pine Arch Collection, a horror film series to be later uploaded to YouTube, “Cult status guaranteed.” Initial footage shows Aly’s house in a fog with strange black arms reaching up to her bedroom window. Aly is spooked by the invasion of privacy, but like any not-famous artist, she is flattered by the solicitation for her work. She passes the email on to her friend and colleague at Georgia State University, Bobby Power. Bobby is also wary of their tactics but is intrigued until seeing the video, which gives him an understandably dreadful feeling.
Beneath the Waves hardcover available now
For any of you who are prefer your books more hefty than wimpy paperbacks, Beneath the Waves – Tales from the Deep is now available in hardcover. My short story, “The Unknown Thing” appears within those musty pages alongside stories from contemporary writers as well as masters such as Lovecraft, Verne, and Wells. Click the image below to find it on Amazon:
