Horror Is What I Am Working On

12 12 2021

Its a sequel!

I think I’ve mentioned my novel “The Flesh Sutra” is currently out of print. I have been advised by Tom Monteleone that revising at least 10% of its content will help me find a new publisher.

“I have a 50 thousand word idea to add to it,” I replied.

He blanched. “You don’t need to do that.”

So guess what I’m doing?

I’m about halfway through the first draft and I’m on the right track. I tried writing a sequel before with the wrong mindset. Have you written with a bunch of disjointed images in mind and tried to make a plot? Don’t do that.

This time I went into writing asking “what would Olivia do if left alone for fifty years as a living mummy?” Then came “why” and “how” and “what then” and “who with” and there came a nice exciting plot. It has body horror, cosmic horror, possession, transcendence, occult knowledge, and more set in the here-and-now. I am enjoying this greatly. My writing groups are enjoying this greatly. No one knows what is coming next.

At present, I am writing the first draft. Next comes revision. Then comes pitching to small publishers. I am searching up horror conventions in my area with an eye toward networking. I am following the podcasts and Twitter of noteworthy small publishers.

I am greatly concerned I will die an untimely death. I am even more concerned that at my age, death isn’t actually untimely.

If you are interested in a pdf of my first novel, which was on the long ballot for the 2014 Stoker Awards, leave a comment and we’ll figure out how to get it to you.





Horror Podcast and How It Relates To Humor

12 12 2021

Try this podcast called “Wrong Station”. I’ve listened to a couple of episodes so far and the writing and directing are very good.

Here is Episode 88 “The Sea Provides”.

The podcast is written by three guys involved with the satirical site “The Beaverton”, which is also very good.

Are horror and humor closely related? Comedians and comic actors seem tor take on dark acting roles, at least in the US. Robin Williams played the disturbed villain in a few movies. Jordan Peele is creating horror satire. Michael McKean played evil characters in “Law and Order” and “ST:Voyager”. Scads more examples abound. Speaking for myself, I used jokes to avoid difficult emotions. Once I recognized that I started writing horror and that let me frame those emotions in a fictional context. I haven’t really turned back to humor even though I joke quite a lot in real life.

That reframing encourages me to look at the world through a “frame”. When I examine current events through that frame, I see foible and anguish everywhere. A timeless perspective; “A Modest Proposal” and so on. Humor and horror can be equally numbing. They can be equally useful tools for imagination.





Ok, I’m Inspired by Alexkansas Channel on YouTube.

1 12 2021
THESE VIDEOS ARE WONDERFUL! FUNNY AND CREEPY!







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