Wednesday, November 16, 2011

WRITE? RIGHT!


Happily, I can announce that two of my stories have found homes in forthcoming anthologies. I’m also working on three more stories, am finishing up an RPG book, have successfully pitched a collection by an up-and-coming author, and am about to pitch another anthology. I have three or four outstanding invites to contribute to forthcoming books, and am hoping to submit to them all. Fingers crossed, all around! Seems like it’s a good time for my writing. Don’t know whether the stars are right or I’m just spending more time working at it (likely a combination of both), but things are going really well. As I’ve mentioned before, writing does not come easily to me, and when it does come it comes in streaks, so I take full advantage when its running hot. I really enjoy it and just wish it were lucrative enough to support me, as the depressing and soul-crushing search for “real” employment continues to plod along fruitlessly.

So here are the contents of the two latest books to use my stories:

HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS

A HORROR ROSH CHODESH                                                                                                                 “The Tomb of Oscar Wilde” by W.H. Pugmire 

HORRORS OF VALENTINE’S DAY                                                                                                        “Love and Darkness” by Oscar  Rios                                                                                                          “Be Mine” by Brian Sammons

A HORROR OF PASSOVER                            
“Cthulhu Mhy’os” by Lois H. Gresh 

HORRORS OF EASTER                     
“And the Angels Sing” by Cody Goodfellow                                                                                             “The Last Communion of Allyn Hill” by Pete Rawlik                                                                               “Mrs. Spriggs’ Easter Attire” by Joseph S. Pulver Sr. and Tara VanFlower                                               “Season of Sacrifice and Resurrection” by Adrian Tchaikovsky        

A HORROR OF MOTHER’S DAY                                                                                            “Mother’s Night” by Ann K. Schwader 

HORRORS OF THE FOURTH OF JULY                                                                                                  “Free Fireworks” by T.E. Grau                                                                                                                    “Doc Corman’s Haunted Palace One Fourth of July” by Don Webb 

A HORROR OF VJ DAY                                                                                                                         “Translator” by James Robert Smith 

HORRORS OF HALLOWEEN                                                                                                “Hallowe’en in a Suburb” by H.P. Lovecraft                                                                                              “The Hindmarsh Abomination” – or – “Moonday” by Will Murray                                                          “The Trick” by Ramsey Campbell

A HORROR OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD                                                                                         “El Dia De Los Muertos” by Kevin Ross 

A HORROR OF GUY FAWKES NIGHT                                                                                     “Treason and Plot” by William Meikle 

A HORROR OF REMEMBERANCE DAY                                                                                               “The Dreaming Dead” by Joshua Reynolds 

A HORROR OF THANKSGIVING                                                                                                           “Entrée” by Donald R. Burleson 

HORRORS OF YULE                                                                                                                  “Keeping Festival” by Mollie Burleson                                                                                                      “Wassail” by Tom Lynch 

HORRORS OF CHRISTMAS                                                                                                                    “Krampusnacht” by Joshua Reynolds                                                                                                         "Christmas Eves of Aunt Elise: A Tale of Possession in Old Grosse Pointe” by Thomas Ligotti              “Letters to Santa” by Scott David Aniolowski                                                                                            “Keeping Christmas” by Michael G. Szymanski                                                                                        “The Nativity of the Avatar” by Robert M. Price

This one should be out by the end of this year.
And then there’s:

UNDEAD & UNBOUND                                                                                                                   William Meikle "Descanse En Paz"                                                                                                            Gary McMahon "Dead Baby Keychain Blues"                                                                                           Cody Goodfellow "Blind Item"                                                                                                                   Mercedes Murdock Yardley "A Personal Apocalypse"                                                                               Damien Walters Grintalis "When Dark Things Sleep"                                                                                John Goodrich "In the House of a Million Years"                                                                                       C.J. Henderson "Undead Night of the Undeadest Undead"                                                                        David Dunwoody "Incarnate"                                                                                                                      Tom Lynch "The Wreckers"                                                                                                                        David Schembri "The Unforgiving Court"                                                                                                  Robert M. Price "I am Legion"                                                                                                                    Robert Neilson "Marionettes"                                                                                                                      Pete Rawlik "North of the Arctic Circle"                                                                                                    Brian M. Sammons & David Conyers “Romero 2.0”                                                                                 Gustavo Bondoni “Thunder in Old Kilpatrick”                                                                                           Scott David Aniolowski “Mother Blood”                                                                                                   Glynn Owen Barrass “Phallus Incarnate”                                                                                                   Oscar Rios “Scavengers”                                                                                                                             Mark Allan Gunnells “The Unexpected"                   

Which is supposed to be out in the first part of 2012. The idea of Undead & Unbound was stories that used the undead in some different way. I don’t know as mine is necessarily different or “unbound” beyond that it uses a very obscure member of the walking dead, and there is a sort of “surprise” ending. But the editors liked it enough to choose to include it, so they must have thought it fit. As I’ve not read any of the rest of these stories, I’m really looking forward to seeing the published book.
Next are stories for a cyberpunk book, a western horror book and a Thomas Ligotti tribute. Neither the cyberpunk nor western themes are my typical gigs, and I have very little interest in either genre, so this is going to be a challenge for me. But I have solid ideas for both, and am particularly excited about my cyberpunk idea. I have an amazingly talented co-writer for the Ligotti tale, and it’s a sort of dark, twisted fairy tale sort of thing. THAT one is going to be a blast.

So, I guess I better get back to work on some of these unfinished projects – they aren’t going to write themselves. 

Until next time from the House of Secrets,

Somebody's crying now
His head is full of pain
Take him to the building
where they're playing the perfect game
Perfect game
Perfect game
He's standing at the window
to watch the falling rain
No matter how he sees it
the view remains the same
Perfect game
Perfect game
They don't know what to call him
He doesn't have a name
But they still know how to force him
to keep playing the perfect game
A set of perfect criminals
is hard to criticize
When your watching the perfect crime
through a pair of perfect eyes
Perfect eyes
Perfect eyes
When everybody else is simply wondering why we came
Maybe it's because we're all playing the perfect game
Perfect game
Perfect game
They don't know what to call us
Because we don't have a name
But they still know how to force us
to keep playing the perfect game
So if you want to find out why you call someone insane
Just sit inside the building where they're playing the perfect game

2 comments:

  1. I am looking forward to the release of these two collections of stories.
    The project I am working on is coming to an end and I will soon be turning my eyes to something else.
    It the meantime, it will be good to catch up on reading some of the things that I have had to let slide over the last six months.
    When I committed to the current project I was only working part time. About two months in I managed to obtain a full time position where I work. This has been great financially and for adding more certainty to my ability to budget, etc. However, it has severely cut into any free time that I manage to scrape together. Almost every spare moment is being used to fulfill my obligations to my writing project.
    Very much looking forward to a short break.

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  2. That engine's running HOT, Scott!

    Congrats on the recent and future success, my friend. You're definitely on a roll, and I can't wait to read your stuff that's coming out.

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