New story

I traveled to Boston last weekend to see the Syracuse Orange play in the NCAA tournament, and while I was disappointed that Syracuse didn't advance to the final four, I was able to utilize the four hour round trip plane rides to complete the first draft of my new horror short story, tentatively entitled, "Unsafe."

"Unsafe" is a story about a terrorized child who both endures an abusive home life and is the victim of a malevolent haunting by a demonic presence that feeds on the negative energy in the household.

Next step will be to edit the story to bring it up to publication quality before sending it out to prospective horror markets.  Stay tuned for more info!

Last Writes

Kudos to my Dark Moon Digest colleagues Stan Swanson, Rachel Lee, and Araminta Starr Matthews on the publication of their interesting take on how to write horror fiction:  Write of the Living Dead: A Guide for Your Dark Side.

This book is presented from a truly unique set of perspectives--I can't say any more without ruining the surprise!  Here's a description:

Write of the Living Dead

by Araminta Star Matthews, Rachel Lee and Stan Swanson

Two redhead educators and a horror publisher walk into a bar . . . during a zombie apocalypse. Armed with only their wits and a fully-charged-laptop battery, they hammered out the world's darkest writing manual amidst the flurry and chaos of gnashing teeth and rotting cadavers. Each chapter of the handbook is devoted to a different genre of writing--everything from academic writing (complete with MLA and APA sample essays), business writing, and even poetry and fiction--all of it with a dark and undead twist. Developing or improving your writing skills has never been so enjoyable. WRITE OF THE LIVING DEAD is the spawn of two scholarly writers and a publisher conspiring to create a freshly dug look at writing for different genres and media. Spattered with popular horror culture and written with horror enthusiasts in mind, this book raises the struggling writing handbook from the dead. Addressing methods of voice, style, function, and formula, WRITE OF THE LIVING DEAD is the perfect tool for students, writers, poets, authors, business writers, and teachers with a dark side.

I'm pleased to announce that I was a contributing editor on this manuscript--the first book I've ever "professionally" edited.

Check it out here.

Two short stories published in new horror anthology!

Winter, snow, bitter cold, isolation, snowbound homes, wrecked cars on the ice, howling winds, short days and dark nights...

This is a sampling of the subject matter published in Winter Chills, a new horror anthology published by Static Movement featuring two of my short stories -- "Slay Bells" and "White."

I'm also pleased to announce that an excerpt from "Slay Bells" has been selected to appear on the back cover of the book.  The front cover is pretty cool, too!


 Winter Chills is available for purchase via Amazon.com.

Give it a read...and let me know if the chills you experience stem from the cold or the stories!

Just finished editing the manuscript for my FIRST novel

I'm happy to report that I just completed a massive edit of my novel manuscript, successfully wrapping up three solid weeks of uninterrupted work.  The manuscript, entitled Inner Demons, is my first novel.  

I started work on the novel back in 2002, tucking it into the proverbial drawer shortly after finishing it in 2003.  Just as I was putting the finishing touches on the story, I came up with a new idea for the beginning that had a substantial ripple effect throughout the rest of the entire plot.  Reworking the manuscript was too daunting of a prospect to take on, so I let the novel sit until two years ago, when I rediscovered the inspiration to go back to the drawing board--rewriting a significant portion of the story from scratch.

I've made several editorial passes through the updated material--the most recent of which was a massive edit designed to bring the manuscript up to publication quality.  Here's the final tally from my most recent round of edits:

Original Word Count                          134,145

Final Word Count                               112.176

Reduced Word count                          21969

Original Page Count                            523

Final Page Count                                 451

Reduction in Pages                              72

Next step--time to find an agent to help bring Inner Demons to publication!

Starting 2012 off with a bang...or is that a bite?

Friends:

Happy new year!  I'm pleased to report that my short story, "Infinity Drift," has been accepted for publication in Hungur Magazine, issue #15.

Hungur is a British print magazine that publishes twice annually.  The magazine specializes in creatively blending vampire themes with cutting edge science fiction.  My story is about an isolated crew member who awakens in deep space to discover that something on board is feeding upon the hibernating passengers in stasis on the space craft.


Issue #15 won't be published until November 2012 -- I'll post reminders / updates as that timeframe approaches...


Cover art from several previously published issues of Hungur are displayed below:

How awesome is this cover?

This pic shows the newly revealed cover art for Thirsty Are The Damned: A True Vampire Anthology, the third anthology publication I've gotten in the month of December.

If you like reading about vampires who glitter, brood, or become embroiled in extended bouts of teenage melodrama, this is not a book for you.  Each short story in this book puts a unique take on popular vampire myths--depicting creatures of the night that are cursed, deprived, and downright blood obsessed.

This collection is now available on Amazon.com.  Click HERE to check it out!

On a roll--another anthology publication!!

Everybody harbors dark secrets...and when the truth is revealed, it often has dangerous consequences!

That's the theme behind the horror anthology, Dark Secrets, published by Static Movement.

This collection features my short story, "Home to Meet Mother" -- coincidentally, this was the first short story I ever wrote [back in December of '09], so it is personally exciting [and gratifying] to see it in print.

Dark Secrets can be ordered via Amazon.com as well as through the Pill Hell Press bookstore.

Three anthology publications this month...I'm on a ROLL!   

Daily Frights 2012 flash fiction anthology available for purchase

Pill Hill Press's Daily Frights 2012 flash fiction anthology is now available...just in time for the holidays!

This book contains 366 pieces of flash fiction--one for each day of the [leap] year.  My flash fiction piece, "Descent," is the entry for September 23rd.

Daily Frights 2012 is available at both the Pill Hill website and on Amazon.com.

I had a chance to review a pre-print version of this book, and the stories it contains are exceptional.  ENJOY!!!

Another anthology publication!

Friends:

I've just been informed that my short story, "Descent," has been selected for inclusion in the upcoming anthology: Daily Frights 2012: 366 Days of Frightening Flash Fiction [Leap Year Edition]!  This clever collection will be published by Pill Hill Press, and should be commercially available by Christmas time.

I'll pass along more details closer to publication...

My flash fiction short story "Irreconcilable Differences" has been published...

...by Flashes In The Dark, a website that features a new horror-themed flash fiction story every day.

Flash fiction differs from more traditional short stories in that flash pieces have strict word count limitations [usually 1,000 words or less, but sometimes as small as 500 or fewer words] specified by the publication venue.

As coincidence would have it, "Irreconcilable Differences" is exactly 666 words long.

Click HERE to access the short story on the Flashes In The Dark website!