Downtown Seattle

I’ve been away for a while, dealing with a family tragedy, but now I’m back and once again focused on my writing. I have another short story coming out this month in the Lovecraft eZine, a dark and spooky tale that readers will hopefully enjoy. I’ve also been spending a lot of time doing rewrites and edits on my first novel. I received some interest on it recently from a couple of agents, and some feedback regarding its length. Seems it’s too long.

In his nonfiction book/memoire of the craft, On Writing, Stephen King says that the second draft of your book should be the first draft minus ten percent. Personally, I’ve always been the type of writer who tends to add words on his second draft and not decrease them, but I’ve been taking his advice, going back through my manuscript and editing it for length. I’m only a few chapters in and already I can tell it’s much better for it. The writing is sharper, the pacing improved. I plan to keep going, cutting it down as much as possible. My ultimate goal is to shave off about ten-thousand words and then start submitting to agents again. Hopefully that will be all it needs. If you’re a writer struggling with pacing or word length this is a great formula to use as you write your second draft. It could make all the difference.

So that’s what I’ve been doing lately. I hope everyone out there has a happy holiday season and I wish you the best of luck in the New Year!

The Lovecraft eZine Megapack for 2014 is now out on Kindle, containing every story published in the magazine last year. That’s 39 tales of cosmic horror from well know authors such as Robert M. Price, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., W.H. Pugmire, William Meikle, Josh Reynolds, and many more. It also contains my short story, “The Power of a Name,” a Lovecraftian reimagining an old fairy tale that was originally published in issue 32 of the magazine. That’s a lot of stories from some of the best names in the field, so if you’re a fan of Lovecraftian fiction or just interested in checking it out for the first time, head on over to Amazon and see what it’s all about:

Amazon

Lovecraft eZine

Emby Press is celebrating along with Amazon today during their big Prime sale, and slashing prices on many of their best titles including Monster Hunter: Blood Trails, an action-packed monster hunting anthology containing my story “Walpurgis Night.” They are also running a program where if you post 2 reviews of their books on Amazon, the company will give you a free eBook version of one of their titles. Not sure how long these promotions will last, so head on over right now and check it out before its too late:
 

Emby’s Amazon Prime Sale

Emby Press Facebook

Emby Press Website

Image courtesy of Victor Habbick at http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

For centuries now, humanity has been at war with our eight-legged nemesis known as the spider, and unfortunately, as of right now, we are losing. A recent battle with one of them upon the deck of my home—a battle I just barely survived—has highlighted for me just how dangerous and integral our battle against them has become. So to help you win your own battles against these nightmarish creatures, I have compiled a list of all currently known ways to combat them, as well as several common misconceptions:

Spider spray: a fool’s choice of weapons to use against them. Spiders laugh at your silly bug spray.

Sunlight: a powerful weapon to employ against vampires, sunlight is woefully inadequate versus spiders. It will temporarily blind their eight hideous eyes, but does no lasting damage, and once they recover they will come for you in the night, crawl inside your ear while you are sleeping, and lay eggs in your brain. You have been warned.

Squishing them: a temporary solution at best. The spider will soon resurrect itself and any severed pieces will grow into brand new spiders. Then all the new spiders will come looking for you, seeking their revenge.

Shooting them: firearms currently have no known effect on spiders (save your silver bullets for the werewolves!).

Destroy their webbing: The material spiders make their webbing from actually grows in the swamps alongside the river Styx in the Fifth Circle of Hell. Spiders are somehow able to tear a whole in the fabric of our reality, opening a portal to Hell, and then pull the material through. Therefore, destroying the webbing alone does no good, as the spider will simply import more. The correct solution to this problem is to burn the webbing with a high-powered flamethrower, and then have a priest assist you in closing the portal to Hell and blessing the corner of your home the spider once inhabited…or at least the ashes where the corner once existed.

Burning the spider itself: there have been reports of this method offering temporary relief to a spider haunting, but only if the spider’s ashes are immediately buried in sanctified land and holy water is sprinkled over the grave. It is widely believed, however, that if this method is employed, the spider’s soul will then go on to possess another evil creature such as a scorpion or bat and come seeking its revenge.

Nuclear weapons: If your spider infestation becomes too great, your city may have to be nuked. I’m sorry, there really is no other option. Even if your city is able to recover from a zombie apocalypse or alien invasion, a spider infestation is much, much worse. It’s best to simply be diligent in your battles against the spiders so it does not come to this.

Alas, there is no known way to truly vanquish a spider. As long as there is evil in the world spiders will continue to exist. It is my hope that these methods will at least offer you some help, protection, and comfort in your battles against them, and perhaps save your life. If you find other methods that (you think) may work, please feel free to comment below. I wish you the best of luck in your battles with these fiendish creatures…I fear you will need it.

Disclaimer: This post is meant for entertainment purposes only and the author takes no responsibility for any injuries you inflict upon yourself, others or personal property, or any wounds or death inflicted upon you by said eight-legged adversaries.

The Seattle area may have a reputation for winters filled with nothing but endless rain, grey skies, and coffee, but I can tell you that’s not always the case (well, the coffee thing kinda is. I don’t know what constitutes the maximum level of caffeine one can safely consume per day, but I’m fairly certain I exceed it on a regular basis). This week has been filled with quite a few beautiful days that truly make me appreciate living in the Pacific Northwest. But on my ferry ride to work this week, as I sat there enjoying the sunny sky and shimmering blue water, the disturbing thought occurred to me that I’ve been failing miserably at my New Year’s resolution of updating my blog on a regular basis this year. I couldn’t have that, so I figured I’d better post an update today and let everyone know that I’m still alive and what I’ve been up to lately.

I’ve finished two new short stories and submitted them both to publishers. My newest Shadow’s Bane story has also been sent in, so hopefully I’ll get word on that one soon as well. I’ve been kicking around the idea of expanding that series into a full-length novel if I ever get the time, but I have too many other projects going on right now to be able to do it. Now, with my short story progress made, I’ve turned my attention back to finishing the novel I’m currently working on. I’ve made some really good progress on it, worked out most of the details for the next act, and I plan on putting all my free time into getting it finished. Then it’ll be on to the next one…

Well, that’s all to report at the moment. Stay tuned for more (hopefully sooner this time!).

Antisocial (2013)

Release Date: July 13, 2013
Director: Cody Calahan
Writer: Chad Archibald, Cody Calahan

What if the zombie virus wasn’t spread through bites from the infected? What if it didn’t start out as a biological weapon created in a lab? What if we weren’t all infected already? What if the zombie apocalypse was really started by…social media?

That’s the idea behind the horror movie/satire, Antisocial, a film that examines our modern society’s growing dependence on social media in a very gory way.

I found today to be a fitting day for this review, since it follows pretty 20-something Sam (played by Michelle Mylett) and her group of college friends on New Year’s Eve, as they host the party to end all parties. The film starts off with a brutal opening scene with two girls making a video blog post that goes horribly wrong, but then slows down dramatically, spending its time establishing its theme and introducing a group of characters who aren’t really anything special. You’ll learn very little about these people throughout the course of the movie—certainly not enough to care about any of them—and it will become quickly apparent that these are your standard horror movie stereotypes: the cool guy, the bimbo, etc. (although they do change it up with the virgin, giving her a small but predictable—and, ultimately, forgettable—character adjustment). But the theme is strong, and the final quarter of the movie is where things really kick up, with some bloody death scenes, lots of carnage, and a grand finale that makes the whole thing worth watching. (more…)

Great news! Right now the good people over at Emby Press are offering the Kindle version of Monster Hunter: Blood Trails, featuring my story, “Walpurgis Night,” absolutely free! With Halloween right around the corner, it’s a great time to indulge in some monster hunting adventures and check out one of my stories without having to pay a penny. Head on over and pick yours up right now!

Monster Hunter: Blood Trails

Have you had a chance to check out the Lovecraft eZine yet? If not, you should. The Lovecraft eZine is an online and print magazine dedicated to Lovecraftian fiction—a subset of the horror genre named after the late American author, H.P. Lovecraft, who became famous after his death for his works of psychological horror, focusing on topics like: forbidden knowledge, cosmic horror, and the idea the normal life is simply a thin cover over another reality so terrifying that it would destroy a person’s sanity if they were ever to uncover it. His work has influenced many writers over the years, including some of the masters of the craft such as Stephen King, and he is often hailed as one of the greatest horror writers of the Twentieth Century. The Lovecraft eZine is published several times a year, in print, electronic formats, and as a free online edition, featuring stories of quality Lovecraftian work, and the August, 2014 issue just happens to contain one of my stories.

“The Power of a Name” is a dark reimagining of a classic fairy-tale about a young woman named Ayanna, who allows her scheming mother to convince her to lie to a king, in a bid for power and riches, but ends up in locked in a castle tower and faced with an impossible task—one where failure would result in her slow and brutal execution. The only way for Ayanna to save herself may be to make a deal with an ancient and terrible god…a deal that could put the entire kingdom in jeopardy.

Sound interesting? Head on over to the website and see what Lovecraftian fiction is all about!

Lovecraft eZine issue 32

Hope you’re having a great Labor Day! I took the day off today from writing and from my day job in banking to spend a little time with my wife at one of Seattle’s picturesque beaches. Since moving here from Michigan the beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me. Between the lakes and mountains and endless pine trees it’s a nature lover’s paradise. Tomorrow, though, it’s back to work. I need to finish up my most recent work in progress—the second instalment in my Shadow’s Bane series of short stories—and then get back to work on my second novel. Hope everyone had a great day and thanks for stopping by!

It’s the most common questions writers get asked when talking about their work. Everyone wants to know: where you get your ideas? Do you have some kind of magical power to conjure up these strange worlds and characters? Do they come from some secret “idea depository” that only writers are allowed to access? Does Santa leave them under the tree for you on Christmas morning? It’s a mystery to so many people that I decided to take a moment to address the question of where my ideas come from, in an effort to answer that question for readers, but also to help new writers out there who may be stuck on how to start their story or take it where it needs to go. (more…)