I am very proud to tell you that I’ll have a new short story published in the upcoming anthology, Dim Shores Presents Vol. 2, due out sometime in the latter half of this year from Dim Shores.
“AV_NEST.CASEFILE” introduces a new character to Augustus Valley, an investigator who works for a top secret branch of the West Virginia state government who is tasked with reporting on mysterious goings-on around the state. It will appear alongside fiction from writers including C.M. Muller, Jennifer Loring, Mari Ness and a bunch of other winners! Continue reading →
The leaves have been fantastic around here the last few weeks. We’ve had some beautiful blue-sky days lately, though they have been a bit warmer for my tastes. Even though I’ve been going through some really hard stuff lately, I’m doing my best to get out and enjoy the greatest season in West Virginia. I even got me a brand new set of overalls. Continue reading →
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.
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.
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!
For any of you who are prefer your books more hefty than wimpy paperbacks, Beneath the Waves – Tales from the Deepis 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:
“The Unknown Thing” will soon appear in Beneath the Waves – Tales from the Deep, the next volume from Steve Dillon’s Things in the Wellanthology series. Fans of my previously published short story, “Fischer’s Mouth” (Hinnom Magazine Issue 004, Dec 2017) might recognize this new story’s setting: the mighty river that runs through Augustus Valley, West Virginia. Can anyone bear witness to what sleeps beneath those churning waves and live? Beneath the Waves will be available this April. Keep an eye out on my blog, the Things in the Well website, and their Facebook Page for more news and illustrations that will be included in the anthology. Until then, check out the rad cover and peruse the TOC:
I don’t know what will happen with this. I had been working on an idea for a novel set at the Moundsville prison, but this opening scene for a totally different story came to me the other day. I’m still keeping the prison novel in mind, but I think while this other idea has captured me I might follow it through and see where it leads. This is not part of my upcoming book, Little One, which I am currently finishing up and plan to publish in the summer. Soon I will share more of that. Until then, here’s the opening of—of what? A novella? Novel? I’m sure it will be longer than a short story. I don’t know where it will go and when it will end. Time will tell—or will it, if the watch is broken? Continue reading →
